![]() ![]() Our results demonstrate how the cyclic channel-shoal dynamics at natural tidal inlets is likely to affect the safety functions of the ebb-tidal deltas, varying the offshore wave energy dissipation as well as adjusting the sediment pathways on the ebb-tidal delta. Moreover, we find that the wave energy dissipation on the ebb-tidal delta is enhanced by a shallow shoal or an updrift-oriented ebb-channel, which shields the coast from the incoming waves. As a result, the net sediment exchange between basin and sea is cyclic and follows the periodicity of the one- and two-channel inlet configuration. In particular, the periodic variations in the channel positions appear to significantly influence the tidal asymmetry in the inlet and mean flow characteristics. Here, we use Delft3D/SWAN models to simulate the Dutch Ameland tidal inlet during four phases of the cycle to show that many of the physical processes on the ebb-tidal delta and in the entire tidal system are affected by the cyclic evolution of channels and shoals. The effect of the long-term (> years) cyclic behavior on the short-term patterns of waves, tidal currents, and sediment transport is unknown. This cyclic behavior can also include an alternation between one- and two-channel inlet configurations. On many ebb-tidal deltas, channels rotate and shoals periodically attach to the downdrift island. Ebb-tidal deltas are shallow features seaward of tidal inlets, acting as a wave filter for the nearby barrier island and a source of sediment for the landward tidal basin.
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