Tidal inlets are among the most dynamic of landforms and leave a geological legacy within coastal barrier systems. Background document analysis of the historic Cranbury Inlet (also known as New or Cranbury Inlet, New Jersey, USA), suggests much debate surrounding the years of its opening and a relatively poorly constrained migration history. According to coastal charts and maps dating back to the early 1700s, there have been numerous inlets along the wave-dominated central New Jersey coast but due to the unstable location and the cross-sectional area, most of them had closed or migrated, leaving little surficial evidence of their existence. Cranbury Inlet was located south of Mantoloking Beach (a breach from the 2012 Superstorm Sandy), between Barnegat Inlet in the south and the historic Herring Inlet in the north. A large channel connected Barnegat Bay with the Atlantic Ocean and was a key artery for navigation and historic Revolutionary War battles. The timing of its opening has varied from 1740 to 1760. The channel location was unclear, and some sources described it to be several km north of the Toms River mouth, while others claim it was located at the current Ortley Beach. My historical document research helped to establish a more accurate timing of the Cranbury Inlet opening between 1738-1747. The migration path and the final location of the inlet were also confirmed using a first-ever set of geophysical surveys collected along this section of the coast. This study employed a 500 MHz ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to test whether a channel sequence can be identified below an intensely developed barrier segment and to help locate the closure site of the inlet channel. With more than 3 km of high-resolution GPR images, I was able to locate the northern margin of the historic inlet and its migration to the south, consistent with the longshore transport direction. My study confirms that Cranbury Inlet was at least 4-5 m deep and started filling up several years before closing in 1812, gradually shoaling more each year until it was finally closed. In the following century, there were several failed attempts to reopen the channel. My study also helped to reveal that in 1821, there was another inlet in a close proximity to Cranbury Inlet, which most likely was opened due to an intense storm and did not stay active for a long time. Geophysical imaging confirms the presence of Cranbury Inlet seaward of a lobate region, terminating in the north at West Point Island. The latter is likely a large flood-tidal delta complex with relict ebb-shield and ebb-spits, with several undeveloped marsh-covered islands to the south representing the path of a rapidly migrating inlet prior to its closure. The paleo-inlet complex remains as a site of inverted stratigraphy (fining-upward sequence), with implications for hydrologic structure (saltwater intrusion) and stability of the barrier. / Geology

Among sources of renewable energy, development of tidal energy has traditionally been plagued by relatively high costs and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high tidal amplitudes or flow velocities. However, many recent technology developments and improvements, both in design (e.g. dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons) and turbine technology (e.g. new axial turbines, crossflow turbines), showed that the economic and environmental costs may be brought down to competitive levels comparing to other conventional energy sources. It has long been identified that the Bay of Fundy is one of the world’s premier locations for the development of tidal power generating systems, since it has some of the world’s largest tidal ranges. Consequently, several proposals have been made in the recent years to find economical ways to harness the power of tides. Presently, there is considerable interest in installing tidal lagoons in the Bay of Fundy. The lagoon concept involves temporarily storing seawater behind an impoundment dike and generating power by gradually releasing the impounded seawater through conventional low-head hydroelectric turbines. A tidal lagoon will inherently modify the tides and tidal currents regime in the vicinity of the lagoon, and possibly induce effects that may be felt throughout the entire Bay of Fundy. The nature of these hydrodynamic impacts will likely depend on the size of the tidal lagoon, its location, and its method of operation. Any changes in the tidal hydrodynamics caused by a tidal lagoon may also impact on the transport of sediments throughout the region and upset ecosystems that are well adapted to existing conditions. The scale and character of the potential hydrodynamic impacts due to tidal lagoons operating in the Bay of Fundy have not been previously investigated. The present study endeavours to investigate these potential impacts to help the development of sustainable, science-based policies for the management and development of clean energy for future generations. After outlining fundamental aspects of tidal power projects taken in consideration in the Bay of Fundy, an analysis of present knowledge on tidal lagoons was conducted in order to provide a focus for subsequent investigations. Hydrodynamic modeling was used to quantify any of the potential hydrodynamic changes induced in the Bay of Fundy due to the presence of tidal lagoons. In the last part of the thesis, new relationships were derived in order to describe the amount of energy removed from tidal lagoons associated with its hydrodynamic impacts.

Tidal currents can be used as a predictable source of sustainable energy, and have the potential to make a useful contribution to the energy needs of the UK and other countries with such a resource. One of the technologies which may be used to transform tidal power into mechanical power is a vertical axis turbine, the hydrodynamic analysis of which this thesis is concerned with. The aim of this analysis is to gain a better understanding of the power transformation process, from which position there is the possibility of improving the conversion efficiency. A second aim is to compare the results from different modelling approaches. Two types of mathematical modelling are used: a basic blade element momentum model and a more complex Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) model. The former model has been programmed in Matlab by the present author while the latter model uses a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, ANSYS CFX. This RANS model uses the SST k-! turbulence model. The CFD analysis of hydrofoils (equally airfoils), for both fixed and oscillating pitch conditions, is a significant proportion of the present work. Such analysis is used as part of the verification and validation of the CFD model of the turbine. It is also used as input to the blade element momentum model, thereby permitting a novel comparison between the blade element momentum model and the CFD model of the turbine. Both types of turbine model were used to explore the variation in turbine efficiency (and other factors) with tip speed ratio and with and without an angle of attack limiting variable pitch strategy. It is shown that the use of such a variable pitch strategy both increases the peak efficiency and broadens the peak. The comparison of the results from the two different turbine modelling approaches shows that when the present CFD hydrofoil results are used as input to the blade element model, and when dynamic effects are small and the turbine induction factor is low, there is generally good agreement between the two models.

Tidal stream energy has gained attention as a source of predictable and renewable energy. Devices resembling underwater wind turbines, placed in fast tidal streams, have been proposed to extract this energy. Arrays of many such devices will need to be deployed to deliver a significant amount of energy to the electricity grid. One consequence of energy extraction is that the array provides a resistance to the tidal stream, which may change the local and far field hydrodynamics, which in turn affects the power available to the array. Array-scale hydrodynamic changes affect the flow presented to the devices, which in turn affects the total resistance the array provides to the flow. This thesis is concerned with the interactions between device, array, and the tidal stream resource, to better understand the power potential of turbine arrays. Linear momentum actuator disc theory is employed to describe the operation of an idealised turbine array partially spanning a wide channel. The model is comprised of two quasi-independent sub-models, an array-scale model, describing flow phenomena around the array, which provides the upstream boundary condition to the device-scale model, describing the flow around a device. The thrust applied by the array is the sum of the thrust applied by the devices, completing the sub-model coupling. The numerical simulation of arrays in depth-averaged simulations is then investigated using the two-scale concept developed in the analytic partial-array model. It is shown that the device-scale flow must be modelled with a sub-grid scale model in order to correctly describe the unresolved device-scale flow and hence estimate the power available to an idealised array. Turbulence modelling in depth-averaged simulations of turbine arrays is also discussed. Temporal variations in tidal amplitude and strength mean that generator capacity will need to be economically matched to the available resource. As device performance may consequently depart from the relationship derived in idealised models when power capping is employed, blade element momentum theory is modified to parameterise tidal turbine performance during power capping. The array-scale effect of power capping is studied in depth-averaged simulations, in which it is shown that a significant reduction in device thrust may occur during power capping, reducing the impact of energy extraction from the tidal stream.

Louisiana’s wetlands are losing land in response to sea level changes, anthropogenic influences and natural marine processes. Historical satellite image analysis reveals that between 2005 and 2015, fifteen tidal creeks in Barataria Bay, Louisiana eroded at the rate of 1.80 m/yr (± 1.98 m), and the open water area behind these creeks enlarged at the rate of 530.00 m2/yr (± 204.80 m2). This research revealed that selected tidal creeks within the estuary have cross-sectional areas larger (2639% larger) than established ocean-inlet equilibrium models would predict. This work suggests that tidal prism to tidal creek cross-sectional area relationships in Barataria Bay are most strongly shaped by creek exposure to waves and secondarily by tide range and currents. A trend of increased inlet erosion rates due to large fetch distances is evident, but impacts from storm driven subtidal variations also play an important role.

Tidally-induced head fluctuation is a natural phenomenon in coastal regions. The discharge of groundwater through sediments will occur anywhere that the aquifer is hydraulically connected to a surface water body and the time averaged tidally-influenced water level in the aquifer is higher than sea level, and almost all coastal regions are subject to such flow. With the development of coastal areas, the discharge of groundwater contaminants into tidally affected coastal water bodies has become a significant problem. Biota that live in the benthic region are known to be sensitive to the concentration of discharging anthropogenic chemical compounds. Thus the contaminant concentration entering the benthos is of very significant practical importance and its study is the focus of this dissertation. An investigation of the effect of tides on the concentration of groundwater contaminants discharging to a surface water body is studied using a one-dimensional homogeneous sand column. Results of the experiment are confirmed using a three-dimensional heterogeneous groundwater tank model. A constant water level is imposed upgradient, and the downgradient water level is controlled by a wave generator that controls the hydraulic head to mimic a 12 hour tidal fluctuation. The experimental results demonstrate that the tidal fluctuations in the downgradient reservoir result in a decrease in average contaminant concentration at the point of groundwater discharge to the surface-water body. The further upstream the well is located, the smaller the amplitude of the concentration oscillation. In addition, upstream migration of concentration oscillations is observed in spite of a net downgradient flow. Fourier analysis suggests that the dominant frequency of the peaks of pressure and chemical data at different locations along the length of the column is identically two cycles per day and that the amplitudes of the concentration oscillations increase with time at measurement locations at the upstream responding probes. As the classical groundwater flow and transport model cannot reproduce the phenomena we observed, an innovative multi-mobility model, is proposed with one highly mobile liquid phase, one less mobile liquid phase and a solid phase. Averaging theory is applied to develop the mass conservation equation from the microscale to the macroscale and facilitate the reduction of dimensionality to obtain one-dimensional governing equations with closure relations. A new finite volume method is utilized to solve the resulting equations. The simulation confirms the existence of the enhanced tidally-induced mixing process.

Tidal inlets play a significant role in barrier island sustainability along the barrier islands of southern Louisiana. With increasing tidal prism, major changes are taking place within and adjacent to the inlets. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how Caminada Pass, a tidal inlet along the Caminada-Moreau headland, has evolved through time. Fundamental to this effort is evaluating which processes have contributed toward inlet evolution and what is the response of the inlet-bordering barrier island shorelines of Grand Isle and Elmer’s Island. This effort summarizes previous results and utilizes published bathymetric data, aerial photographs, vector shorelines, satellite images, and seafloor grab samples. The intent of this research is to document the variety of data that are available for future studies of Caminada Pass, an evaluation of long and short-term changes to the system, and an overall better understanding of the inlet dynamics of Caminada Pass.

We examine the tides in the Kitikmeot Sea using year-long time-series from moored instrumentation in Dease Strait, and a 3D barotropic numerical tidal model of the region. The in-situ data show strong tidal damping during wintertime seasonal sea ice cover, with a 50-60% reduction in M2 and K1 tidal elevation and 65% reduction in M2 and K1 tidal velocities at the sea ice maximum. We hypothesize the damping largely occurs in Victoria Strait, the eastern gateway of the Kitikmeot Sea, where tidal-induced ridging causes thick, rough ice to accumulate over its shallow sill. Using the numerical model, FVCOM, we independently vary sea ice friction and sea ice thickness, and show that the observed wintertime tidal damping likely requires both very rough ice and a partial sea ice blockage in the sill region. Analysis of the model shows different dynamics and dissipation of the dominant M2 and K1 tides. Both M2 and K1 tides are dominated by the Atlantic tides entering through Victoria Strait. Arctic tides, entering from the west, have a minor, but significant, contribution to the M2 tide. Overall, the K1 tide, after 19% dissipation in Victoria Strait and 24% in adjoining bays, propagates far into the region and behaves as a Helmholtz resonator in Dease Strait and Coronation Gulf. In contrast, 92% of the M2 tidal energy does not reach Dease Strait because, in addition to dissipation in Victoria Strait (29%), it is significantly diverted into adjoining bays and around an amphidrome in eastern Queen Maud Gulf. The K1 tide, with double the wavelength of the M2 tide, is less diverted. / Graduate / 2020-07-22

Mullet Key is a right angle barrier island located at the mouth of Tampa Bay, west-central Florida. Based on historical shoreline data from 1873, the Gulf (west)-facing section of the beach has been dynamic illustrating large beach advances and retreats of up to 500 m on a decadal scale, while the south (channel)-facing section of the beach has shown to maintain a stable shoreline. This study focuses on the morphodynamics of the Gulf-facing beach. Since the 1920s, most of the Gulf-facing beach has been accreting except at the southern end near the Tampa Bay main channel. However, over the past 17 years, severe beach erosion has occurred along the northern portion of the island while accretion occurred along the middle portion. The southern end of the island has been maintained through artificial beach nourishments. Analysis of 27 aerial images from 1942 to 2014 revealed that the above large shoreline variations can be explained by the initiation, emergence, landward migrating, shoreline attachment, and post-attachment beach adjustment of the swash-bar complex on the Bunces Pass ebb delta. Two cycles of the swash-bar complex attachments with a period of approximately 30 years were identified from the aerial photos spanning 72 years. Twenty-eight beach-profiles spanning the 4 km Mullet Key Gulf-facing beach were surveyed 7 times on a bi-monthly basis from March 2014 to February 2015 to quantify the recent rapid changes, and to assess a yearly rate of shoreline change. Beach-profile analyses showed that the 120 m beach at the north-most tip in the immediate vicinity of Bunces Pass has lost a small amount of sediment. The 360 m beach to the south has gained some sediment. The 670 m stretch of beach further south has had significant shoreline retreat at a rate of 10-15 m/year. The 2,400 m section southward has experienced some gain of sediment, while the 370 m nourished beach at the southernmost tip has had slight retreat. This beach change pattern illustrates a diverging longshore sediment transport. Nearshore wave and current conditions were measured during a cold front passage in December 2014 to quantify the hydrodynamic processes that induced the diverging longshore transport. Three wave and current gauges were deployed along the eroding and accreting sections. The hydrodynamic data reveal that the longshore transport divergence is caused by diverging flood tidal flow into Bunces Pass to the north and Tampa Bay channel to the south. Furthermore, the waves in front the eroding beach were higher than the adjacent accreting beach.

Among sources of renewable energy, development of tidal energy has traditionally been plagued by relatively high costs and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high tidal amplitudes or flow velocities. However, many recent technology developments and improvements, both in design (e.g. dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons) and turbine technology (e.g. new axial turbines, crossflow turbines), showed that the economic and environmental costs may be brought down to competitive levels comparing to other conventional energy sources. It has long been identified that the Bay of Fundy is one of the world’s premier locations for the development of tidal power generating systems, since it has some of the world’s largest tidal ranges. Consequently, several proposals have been made in the recent years to find economical ways to harness the power of tides. Presently, there is considerable interest in installing tidal lagoons in the Bay of Fundy. The lagoon concept involves temporarily storing seawater behind an impoundment dike and generating power by gradually releasing the impounded seawater through conventional low-head hydroelectric turbines. A tidal lagoon will inherently modify the tides and tidal currents regime in the vicinity of the lagoon, and possibly induce effects that may be felt throughout the entire Bay of Fundy. The nature of these hydrodynamic impacts will likely depend on the size of the tidal lagoon, its location, and its method of operation. Any changes in the tidal hydrodynamics caused by a tidal lagoon may also impact on the transport of sediments throughout the region and upset ecosystems that are well adapted to existing conditions. The scale and character of the potential hydrodynamic impacts due to tidal lagoons operating in the Bay of Fundy have not been previously investigated. The present study endeavours to investigate these potential impacts to help the development of sustainable, science-based policies for the management and development of clean energy for future generations. After outlining fundamental aspects of tidal power projects taken in consideration in the Bay of Fundy, an analysis of present knowledge on tidal lagoons was conducted in order to provide a focus for subsequent investigations. Hydrodynamic modeling was used to quantify any of the potential hydrodynamic changes induced in the Bay of Fundy due to the presence of tidal lagoons. In the last part of the thesis, new relationships were derived in order to describe the amount of energy removed from tidal lagoons associated with its hydrodynamic impacts.