Wave parameter classification based on morphological changes around a small wave-dominated tidal-inlet using a schematized Delft3D model

The investigation of long-term morphological changes of a tidal-inlet using process-based models is a complicated and resource dependant task. To date, a number of input reduction techniques have been utilised to reduce the complexity of the modelling tasks; amongst them the wave condition has been
shown to be of significant importance. Rapid and significant morphological changes generally occur as a result of a highly energetic waves occurring over a short period, whilst low energy waves can only be influential if they occur for a longer period. Therefore, research has been focused on methods to categorize a
continuous time-series of waves into discrete events which, in combination, have an almost identical morphological outcome as the full time-series. Nevertheless, there is no clear agreement on a preferred categorization method based on an overall frequency of occurrence of wave parameters. Additionally, for a re-arranged, categorized wave dataset, the selected chronology of the events is a matter of further consideration as research has shown that the morphological outcome would vary. Moreover, despite some noteworthy research for coastal areas, the current literature is quite limited in regard to morphological changes around small tidal-inlet entrances. The first of the above-mentioned gaps was considered in this study and as such this article aims solely to determine important classes of wave parameters based on their
relative morphological impacts on a wave-dominated, small tidal-inlet entrance. The effects of chronology, as well as the cumulative influence of consecutive wave events are therefore not further considered here.