PrintHydrographic Regime
What does it mean to discuss the hydrographic regime of a coastal zone?
What variability exists in the range of tides and the amount of wave energy for different coastal zones?
Hydrographic Regime is a term that is used to describe the relative influence that waves and tides have along coasts, particularly coasts where the deposition of sediment is more dominant than erosion and removal of sediment. This is because waves and tidal currents are responsible for the movement of sediment along depositional coasts and, ultimately, the relative magnitude of these parameters dictates the type of coastal morphology that will develop. In a discussion of hydrographic regime, there are two primary things to consider, waves and tides. The following sections provide a brief background on each of these phenomena.