Photo 10 (Return)

Pagham Harbour inlet and tidal deltas 2000. Drift convergent upon the inlet has formed Church Norton (to left) and Pagham (to right) spits. Sand and gravel drifts along the spits to the inlet where it is flushed seaward by dominant ebb tidal currents and becomes stored within a tidal delta outside of the harbour. Wave action drives sediment ashore in the form of swash bars that migrate landward from the margins of the delta. The net effect is that shoreline sediments arriving from the west can naturally bypass the harbour inlet. Some will re-circulate up Pagham spit and back to the inlet, but significant proportions are transported eastward towards Aldwick. Considerable quantities of littoral sediment are stored within the ebb delta, the spits and flood tidal delta deposits located within the harbour immediately behind the inlet. These interpretations are based in part on the work of Barcock and Collins (1991). Note that this is a false colour infrared image that highlights saltmarsh vegetation and provides some penetration of shallow water. (Photo: Cambridge University CAP).