Navigation Channel Effects on Estuarine Mean Water Level
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 2
Abstract
The traditional conceptual model of freshwater-dominated estuarine hydrodynamics states that long-term average within-estuary water level is elevated over long-term average sea level at the sea inlet(s) in order to push freshwater inflows seaward. At low freshwater inflows, other factors, including nonlinear tidal propagation, can cause either setup or setdown in the average estuary water level. The Cumberland Sound estuary straddles the Georgia–Florida state line. Deepening and widening of the Cumberland Sound entrance and interior channels from 1984 through 1988 increased channel dimensions by 25%–66%. A weight of evidence approach considering analytic, physical, and numerical models’ results, plus statistical analysis of observed MTL from 1953 through 2019 leads to the conclusion that the channel enlargements reduced a pre-existing Fernandina Beach MTL setdown of up to 0.02–0.05 m.
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Acknowledgments
Data used here were obtained from US Army Corps of Engineers and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publications as cited in the text and listed in the references.
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 2 • March 2022
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 16, 2020
Accepted: Oct 13, 2021
Published online: Dec 1, 2021
Published in print: Mar 1, 2022
Discussion open until: May 1, 2022
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