The relatively small Keurbooms/Bitou estuarine system on the south coast of South Africa forms a typical bar-built estuary, with a back-barrier lagoon and a barrier dune almost 4-km long. The lagoon is only about 500-m wide, while the barrier dune is not anchored to any substrate and consequently the position of the tidal inlet, or mouth, varies over the whole length of the barrier dune. This study analyses the sedimentary morphology over the years 2006–2019, during which time, three flood events caused substantial changes in the position of the mouth and the structure of the flood-tidal deltas and flow channels. It is found that after each flood the tidal exchanges reached a maximum, decreasing as sand entered the estuary again. The floods caused considerable infrastructural damage, and the sedimentary changes affected the tourism industry which is dependent on stable tourism attractions in the area. With no management changes, it is surmised that future floods will continue the process of dramatic changes in morphology of the estuary, though climate change may exacerbate these effects.

南非南海岸相对较小的 Keurbooms/Bitou 河口系统形成了典型的酒吧建造的河口，有一个后屏障泻湖和一个近 4 公里长的屏障沙丘。泻湖只有大约 500 米宽，而屏障沙丘没有固定在任何基底上，因此潮汐入口或潮汐口的位置在屏障沙丘的整个长度上变化。本研究分析了 2006-2019 年的沉积形态，在此期间，3 次洪水事件导致河口位置以及洪水-潮汐三角洲和流道的结构发生了重大变化。发现每次洪水后潮汐交换达到最大值，随着沙子再次进入河口而减少。洪水对基础设施造成了严重破坏，沉积变化影响了依赖该地区稳定旅游景点的旅游业。在没有管理变化的情况下，据推测，未来的洪水将继续河口地貌发生巨大变化的过程，尽管气候变化可能会加剧这些影响。