Abstract Tidal inlets connect the ocean or sea to coastal estuaries and bays, allowing water to be exchanged and creating pathways for transport of sediment and migration of aquatic life.
Many inlets also serve as navigation channels for commerce and recreation.
Channels cut through inlets sometimes exhibit a strong tendency to change alignment and location, causing difficulties for navigation and endangering the nearby jetty through scour. Through hydrodynamic numerical modeling and field measurements, the authors infer that eddies formed by the ebb-tidal jet also control inlet channel alignment at Shinnecock Inlet, Long Island, New York. Numerical calculations indicate that the combined growth and migration of eddies modifies the strength, alignment, and shape of the ebb jet. Ebb-tidal eddies and jets may be responsible for channel realignment at many inlets.