Author(s): Jaya Kumar Seelam; N. Amarnatha Reddy; M. V. Ramana Murthy; R. Mani Murali; A. Aruna Kumar
Linked Author(s): Jaya Kumar Seelam, Shri Subba Rao
Keywords: Inlet morphology; Coastal orientation; Estuary; Coastal dynamics; Wave transformation
Abstract: The opening and closure of coastal tidal inlets play a major role in regulating the water and sediment exchange between the river and ocean as well as in the interruption of the longshore sediment transport. The present work is an effort to understand the seasonal variations in the morphology of tidal inlets located on the east coast of India, which is often prone to cyclonic storms. An area comprising of two adjacent inlets located within 5 km, but with a different coastal orientation and estuary configurations is considered in this study. The two inlets considered in this study show different opening and closure conditions albeit similar offshore and hinterland conditions. A desktop study on the variations of general morphology changes of these two inlets is carried out using satellite images and GIS. Field investigations are carried out on the hydrodynamics inside the inlet comprising of water level variations and flow dynamics. Nearshore wave information is obtained by transforming the offshore waves using a calibrated global numerical model. This study includes field investigations in one of the bay area as well as in the coastal regions to understand the morphodynamics of these two inlets. This study would be one of the few works that would be addressing the inlet dynamics including field and numerical model investigations along the central east coast of India in particular.
Year: 2014