Appendix A: Welfleet Inner Harbor 1989-1992: A Summary of Work

Giese, Graham; McSherry, Thomas; Spencer, Wayne

In the winter and early spring of 1989, the Wellfleet Natural Resources Advisory Board held several meetings with representatives of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to explore the possibility of a study to elucidate the processes of circulation and sedimentation in Duck Creek. Wellfleet's inner harbor. The board agreed that such a study should be carried out, but requested that it be implemented in phases to accommodate the Town's funding schedule. Therefore, the first phase of this study, designed to determine the tidal characteristics of the inner harbor, was carried out between 31 August, 1989, and 20 February, 1990. The study's second phase, which began 1 September, 1990, and ended 28 February, 1991, produced a bathymetric map of the inner harbor. The study's third phase - development, testing and application of the numerical tidal model-was divided into two tasks. Task one consisted of developing the tidal model using the tidal forcing data and bathymetric data obtained as the product of phases one and two. This task was Carried out between 1 March and 30 September, 1992. Task two of the third phase entailed (1) testing and adjustment of the numerical model through comparison with newly acquired tidal data, (2) application of the model to investigate the effects of changes in the physical form of the system on its circulation and associated sedimentation patterns, and (3) preparation of a report presenting the results of the study. This final task began on 15 July, 1992, and was completed on 31 August, 1993, when a draft report was submitted and discussed at a public meeting held at the Wellfleet Public Library. The present final report incorporates into the text of the August, 1993, draft report several clarifications requested by the Wellfleet Natural Resources Advisory Board.