programme tuesday, july, 31 - Université de Caen Basse Normandie

Tidalites 2012, 8th International Conference on tidal environments, Caen, France – Abstract book
COMPARISON OF HYPERTIDAL SYSTEMS IN EUROPE, SOUTH AND NORTH
AMERICA
Allen ARCHER
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, Department of Geology, 66506, Kansas, Us, aarcher@ksu.edu
Hypertidal ranges exceed 6 m and can range upwards to 15 m and potentially higher.
Herein a comparison is made among systems that have the highest recognized tidal ranges on
Earth. Settings in Europe include Bristol Bay and the Severn River estuary, southwestern UK
and Mont-Saint-Michel Bay in Normandy, France. In South America, hypertidal ranges occur
within tidal estuaries of Patagonia (southeastern portion of the Atlantic coast of Argentina). In
North America hypertidal systems include: Turnagain Arm within Cook Inlet in south-central
Alaska, USA, Leaf Lake in Ungava Bay, northern Quebec, Canada and the Salmon River estuary
in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada.
When compared to micro-, meso- or macrotidal coasts, hypertidal systems are extremely
rare. Hypertidal systems, however, do have enormous tidal ranges coupled with a tremendous
potential for high rates of sedimentation and erosion. A complete understanding of the dynamics
of these extreme systems is important for at least two reasons. First, they serve as modern
analogs for ancient systems that were formed with extremely dynamic tidal systems. In addition,
from a more pragmatic standpoint, tidal power is a relatively untapped nonpolluting and
renewable source of energy. Currently operational tidal-power stations have been constructed
entirely within hypertidal coastal settings. It is highly plausible that future developments will also
be concentrated in hypertidal coastal settings.
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