Indicators and impact analysis of sediment from the Changjiang Estuary and East China Sea to

Based on the historical evolution of the Hangzhou Bay, by making use of the conclusions made by the previous research workers and the integration of concrete data, five distinct impact indicators of the sediment from the Changjiang Estuary and the East China Sea to the Hangzhou Bay are summarized. Numerical calculation and analysis indicate that the scouring and deposition of seabed in the Hangzhou Bay are subject to the direct impact of the evolution of the Changjiang Estuary, and the growth and decline and the direction of the sandy bar at Nanhuizui give traces to the sediment transport between the Changjiang Estuary and the Hangzhou Bay. The transport of sediment from the Changjiang Estuary to the Hangzhou Bay occurs mainly in winter and spring seasons and the increase of the Changjiang River runoff and the decrease of sediment charge have caused scouring in the northern coast of the Hangzhou Bay and the seabed erosion along the frontal margin of the Changjiang River Delta.     

Indicators and impact analysis of sediment from the Changjiang Estuary and East China Sea to the Hangzhou Bay

Based on the historical evolution of the Hangzhou Bay, by making use of the conclusions made by the previous research workers and the integration of concrete data, five distinct impact indicators of the sediment from the Changjiang Estuary and the East China Sea to the Hangzhou Bay are summarized. Numerical calculation and analysis indicate that the scouring and deposition of seabed in the Hangzhou Bay are subject to the direct impact of the evolution of the Changjiang Estuary, and the growth and decline and the direction of the sandy bar at Nanhuizui give traces to the sediment transport between the Changjiang Estuary and the Hangzhou Bay. The transport of sediment from the Changjiang Estuary to the Hangzhou Bay occurs mainly in winter and spring seasons and the increase of the Changjiang River runoff and the decrease of sediment charge have caused scouring in the northern coast of the Hangzhou Bay and the seabed erosion along the frontal margin of the Changjiang River Delta.     

近年来人类活动影响下长江河口的变化模式

To evaluate the controlling factors for coastline change of the Changjiang(Yangtze River) Estuary since 1974,we extracted the mean high tide line from multi-temporal remote sensing images that span from 1974 to 2014 at 2-year intervals.We chose 42 scenes to constrain the changing pattern of the Changjiang Estuary coastline,and implemented GIS technology to analyze the area change of the Changjiang(Yangtze) Subaerial Delta.Runoff,sediment discharge and coastal engineering were withal considered in the analysis of the coastline changes.The coastline has transgressed seaward since 1974,and a part of it presents inter-annual variations.The area of the Changjiang Subaerial Delta increased by 871 km2,with a net accretion rate of 21.8 km2/a.Based on the change of sediment discharge due to the major projects in the Changjiang River Basin,we divided the changing pattern of the coastline into three stages:the slow accretion stage(1974–1986),the moderate accretion stage(1987–2002),and the rapid accretion stage(2003–2014).Liner regression analysis illustrated that there is a significantly positive correlation between the area changes and sediment discharge in the Chongming Eastern Shoal and Jiuduansha.This suggested that sediment load has a fundamental effect on the evolution of the Changjiang Estuary.Construction of Deep Waterway in the North Passage of the Changjiang River(1998–2010) led to a rapid accretion in the Hengsha Eastern Shoal and Jiuduansha by influencing the hydrodynamics in North Passage.Coastal engineering such as reclamation and harbor construction can also change the morphology of the Changjiang Estuary.We defined a contribution rate of area change to assess the impact of reclamation on the evolution of Changjiang Estuary.It turned out that more than 45.3% of area increment of the Changjiang Estuary was attributed to reclamation.     

COMPUTATION OF SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION IN THE QIANTANG ESTUARY WITH CONSIDERATION OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN TIDAL FLAT

There exists a wide tidal flat in the Qiantang Estuary. In this article the sediment concentrations in the mainstream and on the tidal flat are computed separately, taking into account the transverse exchange of sediment between them. The basic equation is similar to that used in Reference [2], but the ratio of the bottom sediment concentration to the vertical average is not taken as the same to the ratio of sediment transport capacity. The ratio of sediment concentration can be determined by the computational results of a simple model and checked by the field data. The formula of the sediment transport capacity for tidal flow can be obtained by statistical analysis directly using the measured values of sediment concentration.The verification of sediment concentration has been carried out with two sections both in the mainstream and on the tidal flat during twelve successive tidal cycles. The average discrepancy between the calculated and the measured is less than 20%.     

长江口北支悬沙浓度在潮周期内和大小潮周期尺度的变化特征及输运研究

Profiles of tidal current and suspended sediment concentration(SSC) were measured in the North Branch of the Changjiang Estuary from neap tide to spring tide in April 2010. The measurement data were analyzed to determine the characteristics of intratidal and neap-spring variations of SSC and suspended sediment transport. Modulated by tidal range and current speed, the tidal mean SSC increased from 0.5 kg/m3 in neap tide to 3.5 kg/m3 in spring tide. The intratidal variation of the depth-mean SSC can be summarized into three types: V-shape variation in neap tide, M-shape and mixed M-V shape variation in medium and spring tides. The occurrence of these variation types is controlled by the relative intensity and interaction of resuspension, settling and impact of water exchange from the rise and fall of tide. In neap tide the V-shape variation is mainly due to the dominant effect of the water exchange from the rise and fall of tide. During medium and spring tides, resuspension and settling processes become dominant. The interactions of these processes, together with the sustained high ebb current and shorter duration of low-tide slack, are responsible for the M-shape and M-V shape SSC variation. Weakly consolidated mud and high current speed cause significant resuspension and remarkable flood and ebb SSC peaks. Settling occurs at the slack water periods to cause SSC troughs and formation of a thin fluff layer on the bed. Fluxes of water and suspended sediment averaged over the neap-spring cycle are all seawards, but the magnitude and direction of tidal net sediment flux is highly variable.     

Relationship between suspended sediments from the Changjiang Estuary and the evolution of the embayed muddy coast of Zhejiang Province

South of Hangzhou Bay, Zhejiang Province, exhibits an embayed muddy coastline, with the muddy beaches of embayments extending continuously seaward.The source of sediments on this coast presents an interesting problem to marine geologists and geomorphologists .The total annual load of sediments from the rivers of Zhejiang is only 12×106t.These materials affect only the area near the river mouths. The paper showed that the sediment along the coast of Zhejiang mainly comes from the Changjiang Estuary through analysing the time and space variations of suspended sediment, the features of sediment and the sedimentary transport.The Changjiang River is the largest river system in China, its sediment to the sea amounting to 468×106t. The sediment during summer transports mainly eastward, and is affected by the water body with high temperature, salinity and transparency; the winter season is the period with high sediment concentration. The sediment of the Changjiang Estuary transports together with the longshor     

The rule of sediment transport on the Nanhui tidal flat in the Changjiang Estuary

The Nanhui tidal flat is located in the area of slow current where the ebb currents from the Changjiang Estuaryand the Hangzhou Bay converge and the flood current from the sea diverges into the estuary and the bay. The flat extends seaward in tongue shape and has a wide and gentle surface with a marked difference of tidal levels on its two sides, which results in the sediment longitudinal transport on the flat. The water-sediment conditions are diverse at different locations. The velocity and sediment concentration in intertidal zone are higher during the flood tide than those during the ebb tide. The net sediment transport is landward, resulting in a large amount of deposition of sediments on the shoal. However, the ebb current is the dominant one in deep-water area where the net sediment transport is seaward. There exist two circulation systems in plane view on the shoal and in its adjacent deep-water area, which results in the sediment exchanges between the flat and channel and between the estuary an     

Cross-shore suspended sediment flux in the salt marsh pioneer zone of Chongming eastern beach in the Changjiang Estuary in China

Between April 2002 and April 2003, in situ measurements of water depth, current velocity and suspended sediment content were carried out in edge region of East Chongming salt marsh and neighboring bald flat in the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary under different weather conditions. Cross-shore suspended sediment flux was calculated and analyzed. The results show that under calm weather conditions, the current velocity process in bald field and salt marsh area varied differently during semidiurnal tidal cycles. Owing to current velocity asymmetry, mean SSC during flood tide phase was 1.8 times higher than that of ebb tide phase. As a result, net onshore sediment flux controlled cross-shore suspended sediment transport process and salt marsh pioneer zone was generally accreting. There was significant positive correlation between total sediment flux and quartic power of maximum water depth. It indicates that tidal ranges dominate suspended sediment transport and sedimentation process in the salt marsh pioneer zone under the calm weather condition. The sedimentation rate on the adjacent mudflat was higher than the salt marsh, which induced stable accreting of salt marsh towards the sea. The wind events enhanced SSC and current velocity during the semidiurnal tides. And the remarkable onshore net sediment flux could occur on the high marsh and mudflat close to the marsh fringe during the short period under the rough weather condition.     

A preliminary study on fingerprinting approach in marine sediment dynamics with the rare earth elements

Locating the quantitized natural sediment fingerprints is an important work for marine sediment dynamics study.The total of 146 sediment samples were collected from the Shelf of the East China Sea and five rivers,including Huanghe (Yellow),Changjiang (Yangtze),Qiantang,Ou and Min River.The sediment grain size and the contents of rare earth elements (REEs) were measured with laser particle size analyzer and ICP-MS technology.The results show that absolute REE content (ΣREE) and the concentration ratio of light REEs to heavy REEs (L/HREE) are different in the sediments among those rivers.There are higher REE contents in being less than 2 m and 2–31 μm fractions in the Changjiang Estuary surface sediments.The REE contents of bulk sediment are dominated by the corresponding values of those leading size-fractions.REE of sediment is higher close to the estuaries and declines seaward on the inner shelf of the East China Sea (ECS).The L/HREE ratio has a tendency of increase southward from 28 ? N.Hydrodynamic conditions plays a predominate role on spacial distributions of the surficial sediment’s REE parameters.In some situations,the currents tend to remove the coarser light grains from initial populations,as well as the deposit of the finer heavy mineral grains.In other situations,the currents will change the ratio of sediment constituents,such as ratio between silts and clays in the sediments.As a result,the various values of REE or L/HREE ratio in different bulk sediments are more affected by the change of size-fractions than source location.Under the long-term stable hydrodynamic environment,i.e.,the East China Sea Shelf,new sediment transport model based on the size and density gradation concept may help to understand the spatial distribution patterns of REE parameters.     

Numerical study on residual current and its impact on mass transport in the Hangzhou Bay and the Changjiang Estuary Ⅰ.A3-D joint model of the Hangzhou Bay and the Changjiang Estuary

A 3-D numerical model is set up in a large domain covering the Hang zhou Bay and the Changjiang Estuary based on the ECOM model in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates.The numerical schemes for baroclinic pressure gradient (BPG) terms and convective terms are improved in the paper according to the characteristics of velocity field and mass transport in the area.The model is validated by the simulations of residual current and salinity transport in the Hangzhou Bay and the Changjiang Estuary.     

Sediment Transport Investigation in the Yangtze Estuary with Radioactive Tracer

- This paper describes a radioactive tracer experiment carried out at the landward spoil site of the North Passage in the Yangtze Estuary in June, 1991. Scandium -46 was selected as the tracer, the total activity released was 179.45 GBq and the amount of the Sandium-46 glass was 495 g. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the sediment movement direction, path, velocity and transport rate, and therefore, to provide direct evidence for using the landward spoil site in the future. The experimental results showed that the sediment movement was governed by the ebb tide current during the period of mean and neap tides when the radioactive tracer was injected both on the flood and ebb tides, and the sediment moved from the release point to the middle of the North Passage near navigation buoy No. 269. The direciton of the sediment movement was 110 ° , the particle velocity was 758 m/d, and the sediment transport rate per unit width was 47.8 m3 / md.     

Investigation of saltwater intrusion and salinity stratification in winter of 2007/2008 in the Zhujiang River Estuary in China

Saltwater intrusion is a serious environmental problem in the Zhujiang River Estuary(ZRE),which threatens the water supply of fifteen million people.The hydrological observations as well as meteorological and tidal forcing in the winter of 2007/2008 were analyzed to examine the saltwater intrusion in the ZRE.The observational results suggest that the maximum vertical difference of salinity can reach 10 in the Humen Channel during neap tide,but is very small in the Hengmen Channel.The vertically averaged salinity from time series stations during spring tide is higher than that during neap tide.A three-dimensional finite difference model was developed based on the environmental fluid dynamic code(EFDC) to study the mechanism of saltwater intrusion and salinity stratification in the ZRE.By analyzing the salt transport and the temporal variation of saltwater intrusion,the authors found that the net salt transport due to the estuarine circulation during neap tide was more than that during spring tide.This caused salt to advance more into the estuary during neap tide.However,saltwater intrusion was stronger during spring tide than that during neap tide because the spring-neap variation in salt transport was small relative to the total length of the saltwater intrusion.The physical mechanism causing this saltwater intrusion was investigated by a series of sensitivity experiments,in order to examine saltwater intrusion in response to river discharge and winds.The freshwater source was a dominant influencing factor to the saltwater intrusion and controlled salinity structure,vertical stratification and length of the saltwater intrusion.The prevailing northeast monsoon during winter could increase the saltwater intrusion in the ZRE.Though the southwest wind was unfavorable to saltwater intrusion during spring tide,it could increase stratification and saltwater intrusion during neap tide.     

Numerical Simulation and Dynamical Analysis for Low Salinity Water Lens in the Expansion Area of the Changjiang Diluted Water

The low salinity water lenses(LSWLes) in the expansion area of the Changjiang diluted water(CDW) exist in a certain period of time in some years. The impact of realistic river runoff, ocean currents and weather conditions need to be taken into account in the dynamical analysis of LSWL, which is in need of research. In this paper, the POM-σ-z model is used to set up the numerical model for the expansion of the CDW. Then LSWL in summer 1977 is simulated, and its dynamic mechanism driven by wind, tide, river runoff and the Taiwan Warm Current is also analyzed. The simulated results indicate that the isolated LSWL detaches itself from the CDW near the river mouth, and then moves towards the northeast region outside the Changjiang Estuary. Its maintaining period is from July 26 to August 11. Its formation and development is mainly driven by two factors. One is the strong southeasterly wind lasting for ten days. The other is the vertical tidal mixing during the transition from neap tide to spring tide.     

The black water around the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary in the spring of 2003

The Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary is located in the East China Sea shelf with shallow water. Affected by the tide mixing and the runoff of the Changjiang River and the Qiantang River, the turbidity is very high. Generally, the water-leaving radiance is high in the turbid water because of the large particle scattering. Based on the in-situ data and ocean color remote sensing data of SeaWiFS, it was found that there was a black water region with the normalized water-leaving radiances less than 0.5 mW/(cm2·μm2·...     

A 2D Mathematical Model for Sediment Transport by Waves and Tidal Currents

In this study, the combined actions of waves and tidal currents in estuarine and coastal areas are considered and a 2D mathematical model for sediment transport by waves and tidal currents has been established in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates. Non-equilibrium transport equations of suspended load and bed load are used in the model. The concept of background concentration is introduced, and the formula of sediment transport capacity of tidal currents for the Oujiang River estuary is obtained. The Dou Guoren formula is employed for the sediment transport capacity of waves. Sediment transport capacity in the form of mud and the intensity of back silting are calculated by use of Luo Zaosen＇ s formula. The calculated tidal stages are in good agreement with the field data, and the calculated velocities and flow directions of 46 vertical lines for 8 cross sections are also in good agreement with the measured data. On such a basis, simulations of back silting after excavation of the waterway with a sand bar under complicated boundary conditions in the navigation channel induced by suspended load, bed load and mud by waves and tidal currents are discussed.     

Delineating suspended sediment concentration patterns in surface waters of the Changjiang Estuary by remote sensing analysis

Three Landsat TM imageries (taken on 18 May 1987, 4 August 1998 and 28 July 2007) were used as the data source to identify the spatial and temporal variations of the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in surface waters of the Changjiang Estuary. Atmospheric correction was carried out to determine the water-leaving reflectance using the FLAASH module. A regression equation between surveyed SSC and suspended sediment index was chosen to retrieve the SSC from the Landsat TM images. In addition, tidal harmonic analysis was performed to calculate tidal conditions corresponding to the acquisition time of satellite images. The results show that the SSC spatial patterns are similar to the in situ observation results, which show the highest SSC in the region of turbidity maximum zone in the Changjiang Estuary. For the period of 1987 to 2007, the SSC pattern is controlled mainly by tidal dynamic conditions and wind speeds, rather than sediment discharges from the river.     

Numerical Model of Total Sediment Transport in the Yangtze Estuary

Based on the non-equilibrium suspended load transport equation,bed load transport equationand sediment transport capacity formulas derived by Dou et al.,a 2-D numerical model of total sedimenttransport in the Yangtze Estuary is presented.In the model,the actions of tidal currents and wind waves andthe effect of salinity on sediment transport are considered.An automatically generated boundary-fitted grid isused to fit the boundaries of the estuary and the boundaries of engineering projects.The verification of calcu-lations shows that the sediment concentration,the deformation of riverbed and siltation in the channels causedby typhoons can be successfully simulated.     

A three-dimensional coupled physical-biological model study in the spring of 1993 in the Bohai Sea of China

A three-dimensional (3-D) coupled physical and biological model was used to investigate the physical processes and their influence on the ecosystem dynamics of the Bohai Sea of China. The physical processes include M2 tide, time-varying wind forcing and river discharge. Wind records from 1 to 31 May in 1993 were selected to force the model. The biological model is based on a simple, nitrate and phosphate limited, lower trophic food web system. The simulated results showed that variation of residual currents forced by M2 tide, river discharge and time-varying wind had great impact on the distribution of phytoplankton biomass in the Laizhou Bay. High phytoplankton biomass appeared in the upwelling region. Numerical experiments based on the barotropic model and baroclinic model with no wind and water discharge were also conducted. Differences in the results by the baroclinic model and the barotropic model were significant: more patches appeared in the baroclinic model comparing with the barotropic model. And in the baroclinic model, the subsurface maximum phytoplankton biomass patches formed in the stratified water.     

Hydrodynamic characteristics and sediment transport of a tidal river under influence of wading engineering groups

By taking the Yong River for example in this paper, based on the multiple measured data during 1957 to 2009, the change process of runoff, tide feature, tidal wave, tidal influx and sediment transport are analyzed. Then a mathematical model is used to reveal the influence mechanism on hydrodynamic characteristics and sediment transport of the wading engineering groups such as a tide gate, a breakwater, reservoirs, bridges and wharves, which were built in different periods. The results showed the hydrodynamic characteristics and sediment transport of the Yong River changed obviously due to the wading engineering groups. The tide gate induced deformation of the tidal wave, obvious reduction of the tidal influx and weakness of the tidal dynamic, decrease of the sediment yield of flood and ebb tide and channel deposition. The breakwater blocked estuarine entrances, resulting in the change of the tidal current and the reduction of the tidal influx in the estuarine area. The large-scale reservoirs gradually made the decrease of the Yong River runoff. The bridge and wharf groups took up cross-section areas, the cumulative affection of which caused the increase of tidal level in the tidal river.     

Sedimentary records of eutrophication in the Changjiang Estuary upwelling area over last 100 a

The upwelling area in the Changjiang Estuary was selected to collect the core, where the red tide occurred frequently and hypoxic existed. The total organic carbon （TOC）, total nitrogen （TN）, biogenic silica （BSi） and stable organic carbon isotopic ratios（δ13 Corg） were determined on the 210pb-dated sediment core. The concentrations of TOC, TN, BSi as well as their sedimentation fluxes have in- creased to some extent since the 1970s. TOC and TN fluxes increased about 45%, 36% respectively. The average δ13 Coorg value in the core was -23.67 ×10^-3 which remained nearly constant before the 20 century. The δ13 Corg values increased after the 1900s, two marked increases were observed from the 1950s and the 1970s. A simple δ13 Cors model was used to estimate the contribution of terrigenous and marine organic matter inputs for the sediment, which indicated the increase in accumulation since the 1970s has been almost exclusively marine. The increasing of marine organic matter accumulation （TOC, TN and BSi） was corresponding with the increasing of fertilizer consumption and the NO3-N budgets from the Changjiang River. The riverine runoff of fertilizers and nutrients stimulated the algae blooming. Enhanced primary production resulted in an enrichment of organic matter in the sediment. These data support the hypothesis that anthropogenic nutrient loading has been a significant factor on the eutrophication in the Changjiang Estuary.