Beach-Inlet Interaction and Sediment Management

Comprehensive exploration of the processes that shape beaches and tidal inlets, and how to manage these environments systematically.

Beaches and tidal inlets are valuable coastal resources. This book discusses their morphologic features and how they behave as one interconnected system and should be managed as such. Illustrated with numerous aerial photographs, this is a valuable reference for graduate students, researchers and professionals working in coastal management.Beaches, barrier islands and tidal inlets are valuable coastal resources and provide desirable environments that are often densely populated. They are dynamic landforms that change constantly, driven by both normal processes and energetic storms. They behave as one interconnected system and must be understood and managed as such. This book discusses their various morphologic features, as well as the processes that shape them and future challenges due to environmental change. A major focus is placed on the interaction between sandy beaches and tidal inlets, and the sediment exchange among various morphologic features. Balancing these valuable sediment resources while maintaining the natural sediment exchange constitutes a major goal of modern shore protection and coastal management. Illustrated with numerous aerial photographs to demonstrate how beaches and tidal inlets interact, this book provides a valuable reference for graduate students, researchers and professionals working in coastal management and geomorphology.