Impact of wave-current interactions on the morphodynamics of a wavedominated tidal inlet

Abstract

Coastal lagoons are of great ecological and socioeconomic importance given their privileged location at the land-ocean interface. Tidal inlets, which connect the lagoon to the open ocean constitute navigation routes and enable fish and larvae migrations, nutrient exchanges and maintenance of water quality and salinity levels in the lagoonal water. However, wavedominated tidal inlets are subjected to fast morphological changes as they constantly need to adapt to the oceanic forcing. When the flushing of sediments by ebb currents cannot balance the longshore and cross-shore wave-induced transport that infill the lagoon, inlets may eventually close. In order to predict accurately such morphological changes, it is primordial to understand well the physical processes that govern the dynamics of the inlet. Numerical models constitute very powerful tools to investigate these processes. Figure