LONG-TERM EVOLUTION OF A TIDAL INLET IN A MULTI-OUTLET ESTUARINE-BAY SYSTEM: CASE STUDY OF THE SHIZIYANG TIDAL INLET, PEARL RIVER DELTA

摘要

Shiziyang tidal inlet is important for navigation purpose and economic development of the Pearl River Delta. Understanding morphological evolution of Shiziyang tidal inlet has both academic and practical values. This study proposed a schematized model to explore how the Shiziyang tidal inlet develops over three hundred years and the effect of human activities. By comparing with measurements and historical maps, the proposed schematized model has been demonstrated to be reasonable for simulating the evolution of the Lingding Bay as well as the Shiziyang tidal inlet. Subsequently, a series of numerical cases have been designed to investigate effects of different influence factors. The results suggest that tide is rather substantial to maintain volume of the tidal inlet, while land reclamation introduces complexities on the long-term development of tidal inlet. When the volume of Shiziyang tidal inlet reduces to a certain value, the morphological evolution may switch to a completely different trend.