Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Coastal Science pp 1–20Cite as

Tidal Flats

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition and Introduction

Tidal flats are low-gradient tidally inundated coastal surfaces. Jackson (1997) defines them as extensive, nearly horizontal, marshy, or barren tracts of land alternately covered and uncovered by the tide, and consisting of unconsolidated sediment. Tidal flats may be muddy, sandy , gravelly, covered in shell pavements, or locally underlain by rock pavement and, compositionally, be underlain by siliciclastic or carbonate sediments. They are complex coastal systems combining elements of coastal geomorphology, sedimentology, hydrology, hydrochemistry, diagenesis, biology, and ecology.

Geologically, tidal flats have been of great interest to sedimentologists and stratigraphers as coastal systems that are readily accessible to sampling and study, and rich in processes and products resulting from oceanographic, sedimentologic, geohydrologic, hydrologic, hydrochemical, mineralogic, and biotic interactions (Ginsburg 1975; Klein 1976; Alexander et al. 1998; Black et...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Bibliography

  • Adam P (1990) Saltmarsh ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Albrecht AS (1998) Soft bottom versus hard rock: community ecology of macro-algae on intertidal mussel beds in the Wadden Sea. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 229:85–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander CR, Davis RA, Henry VJ (eds) (1998) Tidalites: processes and products. SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), special publication, Tulsa, Oklahoma, vol 61

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen JRL (1970) Sediments of the modern Niger Delta: a summary and review. In: Morgan JP (ed) Deltaic sedimentation: modern and ancient. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, special publication, Tulsa, Oklahoma, vol 15. pp 138–151

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Amos CL (1995) Siliciclastic tidal flats. In: Perillo GM (ed) Geomorphology and sedimentology of estuaries. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 273–306

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Beeftink WG, Rozema J, Huiskes AHL (eds) (1985) Ecology of coastal vegetation. Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkeley A, Rankey EC (2012) Progradational Holocene carbonate tidal flats of Crooked Island, south-East Bahamas: an alternative to the humid channelled belt model. Sedimentology 59:1902–1925

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black KS, Paterson DM, Cramp A (eds) (1998) Sedimentary processes in the intertidal zone. Special publication, vol 139. Geological Society, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Brocx M, Semeniuk V (2009) Coastal geoheritage: encompassing physical, chemical, and biological processes, shoreline landforms and other geological features in the coastal zone. J R Soc West Aust 92:243–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman VJ (ed) (1977) Ecosystems of the world, vol 1, wet coastal ecosystems. Elsevier Scientific Publishing, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman JM, Gagliano SM, Smith WG (1970) Sedimentation in a Malaysian high tide tropical delta. In: Morgan JP (ed) Deltaic sedimentation: modern and ancient. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, special publication, Tulsa, Oklahoma, vol 15. pp 185–197

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Coull BC (2009) Role of meiofauna in estuarine soft-bottom habitats. Austral Ecol 24(4):327–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dankers N, Wolff WJ, Zijlstra JJ (eds) (1983) Fishes and fisheries of the Wadden Sea, report 5. In: Wolff WJ (ed) Ecology of the Wadden Sea, vol 2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies JL (1980) Geographical variation in coastal development, 2nd edn. Longman, London

    Google Scholar 

  • de Sylva DP (1975) Nektonic food webs in estuaries. In: Cronin LE (ed) Estuarine research, vol. 1, chemistry, biology, and the estuarine system. Academic, New York, pp 420–447

    Google Scholar 

  • Dionne J-C (1998) Sedimentary structures made by shore ice in muddy tidal-flat deposits, St. Lawrence estuary, Québec. Sediment Geol 116:261–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans G (1975) Intertidal flat deposits of the wash, western margin of the North Sea. In: Ginsburg RN (ed) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin, pp 13–20

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fan D (2012) Chapter 9. Open-coast tidal flats. In: Davis RA Jr, Dalrymple RW (eds) Principles of tidal sedimentology, 1st edn. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 187–229. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0123-6_9

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fan D, Wang Y, Lui M (2013) Classifications, sedimentary features and facies associations of tidal flats. J Palaeogeogr 2:66–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Flemming BW (2012) Siliciclastic back-barrier tidal flats. In: Davis RA Jr, Dalrymple RW (eds) Principles of tidal sedimentology. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 231–267

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ginsburg RN (ed) (1975) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginsburg RN, Hardie LA (1975) Tidal and storm deposits northwestern Andros Island, Bahamas. In: Ginsburg RN (ed) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin, pp 201–208

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hagan GM, Logan BW (1975) Prograding tidal-flat sequences: Hutchinson embayment, Shark Bay, Western Australia. In: Ginsburg RN (ed) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin, pp 215–221

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison SC (1975) Tidal flat complex, Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia. In: Ginsburg RN (ed) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin, pp 31–38

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Howard JD, Frey RW, Reineck H-E (1972) Georgina coastal region, Sapelo Island, U.S.A.: sedimentology and biology. VIII conclusions. Senckenberg Marit 4:217–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins P, Saenger P (1987) Ecology of mangroves. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson JA (1997) Glossary of geology, 4th edn. American Geological Institute, Alexandria

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson DP (1982) Sedimentary facies in an arid zone delta: Gascoyne delta, Western Australia. J Sediment Petrol 52:547–563

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendall CGSC, Skipwith SPA d’E (1968) Recent algal mats of a Persian Gulf lagoon. J Sediment Petrol 38:1040–1058

    Google Scholar 

  • Kershaw S (1994) Classification and geological significance of biostromes. Facies 31:81–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein G dV (1963) Bay of Fundy intertidal zone sediments. J Sediment Petrol 33(4):844–854

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein G dV (1976) Holocene tidal sedimentation. Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Stroudsburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight KJ, Dalrymple RW (1975) Intertidal sediments from the south shore of Cobequid Bay, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada. In: Ginsburg RN (ed) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin, pp 47–55

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Knox GA (1986) Estuarine ecosystems: a systems approach, vol II. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Krogel F, Flemming B (1998) Evidence for temperature-adjusted sediment distributions in the back-barrier tidal flats of the East Frisian Wadden Sea (southern North Sea). In: Alexander CR, Davis RA, Henry VJ (eds) Tidalites: processes and products. Special publication, vol 61. Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), Tulsa, pp 31–41

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Larsonneur C (1975) Tidal deposits, Mont Saint-Michele Bay, France. In: Ginsburg RN (ed) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin, pp 21–30

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lippson AJ, Lippson RL (1997) Life in the Chesapeake Bay, 2nd edn. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Little C (2000) The biology of soft shores and estuaries. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 252 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Maloof AC, Grotzinger JP (2012) The Holocene shallowing-upward parasequence of north-west Andros Island, Bahamas. Sedimentology 59:1375–1407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitbavkar S, Anil AC (2004) Vertical migratory rhythms of benthic diatoms in a tropical intertidal sand flat: influence of irradiance and tides. Mar Biol 145:9–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson HF, Brown CWM, Brineman JH (1962) Skeletal limestone classification. In: Ham WE (ed) Classification of carbonate rocks – a symposium. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir, vol 1. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, pp 224–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Owen M, Black JM (1990) Waterfowl ecology. Chapman and Hall, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Paterson DM, Aspden RJ, Black KS (2009) Intertidal flats: ecosystem functioning of soft sediment systems. In: Perillo GM, Wolanski E, Cahoon DR, Brinson MM (eds) Coastal wetlands – an integrated approach. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 317–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennings SC, Grant M-B, Bertness MD (2005) Plant zonation in low-latitude salt marshes: disentangling the roles of flooding, salinity and competition. J Ecol 93:159–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Postma H (1961) Transport and accumulation of suspended matter in the Dutch Wadden Sea. Neth J Sea Res 1(1, 2):148–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purser BH (ed) (1973) The Persian Gulf: Holocene carbonate sedimentation and diagenesis in a shallow epicontinental sea. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Reineck H-E (1972) Tidal flats. In: Rigby JK, Hamblin WK (eds) Recognition of ancient sedimentary environments. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, special publication, Tulsa, Oklahoma, vol 16. pp 146–159

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Reineck H-E (1975) German North Sea tidal flats. In: Ginsburg RN (ed) Tidal deposits: a casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts. Springer, Berlin, pp 5–12

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Reineck H-E, Singh IB (1980) Depositional sedimentary environments, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Reise K (1985) Tidal flat ecology. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Reise K (1991) Macrofauna in mud and sand of tropical and temperate tidal flats. In: Elliott M, Ducrotoy J-P (eds) Estuaries and coasts: spatial and temporal intercomparisons. Olsen and Olsen, Fredensborg, pp 211–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (1981a) Sedimentology and the stratigraphic sequence of a tropical tidal flat, North-Western Australia. Sediment Geol 29:195–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (1981b) Long term erosion of the tidal flats King Sound, NW Australia. Mar Geol 43:21–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (1983) Mangrove distribution in Northwestern Australia in relationship to freshwater seepage. Vegetatio 53:11–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (1993) The mangrove systems of Western Australia – 1993 presidential address. J R Soc West Aust 76:99–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (1996) Coastal forms and quaternary processes along the arid Pilbara Coast of Northwestern Australia. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 123:49–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (2005) Tidal flats. In: M L Schwartz (ed) Encyclopaedia of coastal science. Springer, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (2008) Sedimentation, stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and Holocene history of the Canning Coast, North-Western Australia. J R Soc West Aust 91:53–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (2015a) Tidal flat. In: Kennish J (ed) Encyclopaedia of estuaries. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 665–678. ISBN: 9789401788021

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V (2015b) Tidal flat salinity gradient. In: Kennish J (ed) Encyclopaedia of estuaries. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 678–683. ISBN: 9789401788021

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V, Cresswell ID (2015) Species zonation. In: Kennish J (ed) Encyclopaedia of estuaries. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 613–621. ISBN: 9789401788021

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V, Kenneally KF, Wilson PG (1978) Mangroves of Western Australia. Handbook, vol 12. Western Australian Naturalists Club, Perth, 90pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Semeniuk V, Semeniuk TA, Unno J (2000) The Leschenault inlet estuary – an overview. J R Soc West Aust 83:207–228. Special Issue on the Leschenault Inlet Estuary

    Google Scholar 

  • Shinn EA (1983) Tidal flats. In: Scholle PA, Bedout DG, Moore CH (eds) Carbonate depositional environments. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, pp 171–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Shinn EA, Lloyd RM, Ginsburg RN (1969) Anatomy of a modern carbonate tidal-flat, Andros Island, Bahamas. J Sediment Petrol 39(3):1202–1228

    Google Scholar 

  • Silvestri S, Defina A, Marani M (2005) Tidal regime, salinity and salt marsh plant zonation. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 62:119–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2004.08.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spalding M, Kainuma M, Collins L (2010) World atlas of mangroves. Earthscan/Guttenberg Press, Malta. ISBN 978-1-84407-657-4

    Google Scholar 

  • Stal LJ, de Brouwer FC (2003) Biofilm formation by benthic diatoms and their influence on the stabilization of intertidal mudflats. Ber Forschungszentrum Terramare 12:109–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson C, Kearney MS, Pendleton EC (1985) Sedimentation and erosion in a Chesapeake Bay brackish marsh system. Mar Geol 67:213–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson RW (1968) Tidal flat sedimentation on the Colorado River Delta, Northwestern Gulf of California. Geological Society of America Memoir, vol 107. Geological Society of America, Boulder

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomlinson PB (1986) The botany of mangroves. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Watzin M (1983) The effects of meiofauna on settling macrofauna: meiofauna may structure macrofaunal communities. Oecologia 59:163–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolff WJ (ed) (1983) Ecology of the Wadden Sea. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Z, Ye Q, Coco G (2016) A one-dimensional biomorphodynamic model of tidal flats: sediment sorting, marsh distribution, and carbon accumulation under sea level rise. Adv Water Resour 93:288–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Q, Yang S, Ma Y (2014) Intra-tidal sedimentary processes associated with combined wave-current action on an exposed, erosional mudflat, southeastern Yangtze River Delta, China. Mar Geol 347:95–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wetlands Research Association, V & C Semeniuk Research Group, Warwick, WA, Australia

    V. Semeniuk

Authors
  1. V. Semeniuk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. Semeniuk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Fletcher, North Carolina, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

  2. Coastal Education & Research Foundation , Coconut Creek, Florida, USA

    Christopher Makowski

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Semeniuk, V. (2018). Tidal Flats. In: Finkl, C., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science . Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_317-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_317-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation