A tidal inlet is a constrained channel or system of channels maintained by tidal flows that connect the open ocean to an estuary or other inland tidal water body. They exist around the world in a range of coastal environments but are especially common along barrier island systems and other sandy shorelines where they may originate due to storm driven overtopping and scouring processes (FitzGerald & Pendleton, 2002). Because inlets regulate the flux of water, sediment, and nutrients between the ocean and an inland water body, they often play an important role in the ecologic health of the inland system (Fulton et al., 1993) and may exhibit morphologic control well beyond their immediate geographic footprint (FitzGerald, 1988;Hayes, 1980). For example, cross-shore oriented tidal currents disrupt alongshore sediment transport, temporarily or permanently storing large volumes of sediment in flood and ebb tidal deltas (

No abstract