RESONANCE AND MORPHOLOGICAL STABILITY OF TIDAL BASINS

The paper describes the concept of a network model for the morphologic al behaviour of a near-resonant multiple-inlet tidal basin, as part of a model system which includes the barrier island coasts and the outer deltas. It addresses the question whether a small interference somewh ere in such a basin can have major effects on sediment transport and m orphology elsewhere in the system. In order to explain the basic ideas of the model, only the main tidal constituent (M(2)) and the associat ed topography-induced residual current are considered, not the overtid es. Furthermore, the model concerns only non-cohesive sediment (sand). In spite of these simplifications, the model concept is shown to be e ffective, in that it results in a morphological evolution equation for each branch of the network and a picture of the influence of each bra nch on the resonance-sensitivity of the system as a whole.