盐沼前缘陡坎韵律性形态特征及其形成过程与机理

盐沼前缘陡坎是潮滩环境中盐沼与粉砂—淤泥质光滩交界处的独特地貌形态，研究其形成过程与机理有助于理解盐沼湿地对潮滩发育及其稳定性的影响。根据江苏中部海岸盐城自然保护区核心岸段互花米草盐沼前缘陡坎形态参数（凹槽长度、凹槽宽度和陡坎高度）的分析，发现不同的形态参数组合对应于不同的陡坎演化阶段。根据陡坎形态特征差异，可将盐沼前缘陡坎韵律性形态发育过程分为三个阶段，而这三阶段的交替旋回过程与近岸波向的季节性变化有关。陡坎处的地貌特征与前缘光滩的沉积物特征表明陡坎形态特征形成与波浪作用有关，且显著的陡坎韵律性形态能够部分地应用边缘波理论来解释。

Characteristics and formation mechanisms of the rhythmic morphology of salt-marsh edge cliffs

Marsh-edge cliffs represent a unique geomorphological unit at the border of marsh vegetation and the intertidal mud flat. Research on the processes and mechanisms for the formation of salt-marsh marginal cliffs will improve our understanding of the influence of salt marshes on tidal flat growth and stability. Based on the results obtained from the measurements and analyses of morphological parameters of salt-marsh cliffs in the Yancheng Nature Reserve, central Jiangsu coasts, during December 2013, the development of the rhythmic morphology associated with the marsh cliff may be divided into three stages. These stages of long-term evolution present cyclical patterns and are related to seasonal changes in wave conditions. Furthermore, the formation of significantly rhythmic features of salt-marsh marginal cliffs may be explained partly by the theory of standing edge waves. In the future, numerical modeling can be applied to investigate the formation mechanisms of marsh-edge cliffs associated with such rhythmic features, in combination with in situ measurements for wave climates and sediment dynamics.