Analysis of the Dynamic Aspects of the River Murray Mouth, South Australia

Abstract

Much of the work on tidal inlets carried out to date has been devoted to the determination of time-independent equilibrium criteria for the inlet dimensions. The relationships have generally been defined in terms of tidal prism, inlet velocity, littoral transport and mouth area. In the case of the River Murray Mouth it has been found that river flows play a major role in maintaining the inlet, and that the inlet dimensions are directly affected by the magnitude of those flows. The emphasis of the present study has been to utilise Time Series Analysis techniques to analyse and quantify the dynamic aspects of the inlet behaviour. The work presented includes results of the analysis leading to the identification of a linear system between the river flows and the mouth restriction. It is proposed that the use of Time Series Analysis has enabled a clear understanding of the role of river flow in maintaining the inlet to be gained and has provided a tool which is proving useful in managing the mouth.