A simplified model for frictionally dominated tidal flows

The response of vegetated tidal wetlands to environmental changes is governed by vegetation-flow-landscape feedbacks occurring over large spatial and temporal scales, and thus typically studied using simplified models. Here, we present a new simplified approach to describe frictionally dominated tidal flows, characteristic of tidal wetlands. The derivation of the model follows from an expansion of the momentum and mass conservation equations in terms of small dimensionless parameters, which arise once the relevant variables are suitably scaled. A comparison with a full-fledged finite element model indicates that the proposed simplified approach ensures a reliable description of the flow field; suggesting that the model provides a key advancement to study the bio-morphodynamic feedbacks which shape intertidal landscapes.