Hydrodynamics and Modeling of Water Flow in Coastal Wetlands

Abstract The flow of water into and out of coastal wetland landforms and associated ecosystems in the form of tides, surges, freshwater flow, wind-driven currents, and waves plays a key role in their formation, growth, and functioning. Recent decades have seen a rapid growth in our understanding of both the role of water as a conveyor of materials and hydrodynamic energy. This chapter focuses on the hydrodynamics of coastal wetlands at a range of scales. We discuss, by way of illustrative examples, the current state of knowledge derived from both empirical observations (in the field and laboratory) and numerical modeling. Knowledge on the transfer of water into and out of coastal wetlands is reviewed at a range of temporal and spatial scales and some key knowledge gaps are identified. The comparison between observational evidence and numerical modeling methods highlights key scaling issues which we address specifically at the end of the chapter.