Large and very large subaqueous dunes on the continental shelf off southern Vietnam, South China Sea

In the course of two regional side-scan sonar surveys on the continental shelf off southern Vietnam after the winter monsoon seasons of 2003 and 2004, and covering a total distance of over 1,000 km, the widespread occurrence of large and very large subaqueous dunes was discovered. On the basis of their size, shape, depth of occurrence and orientation, the dunes were grouped into five spatially distinct regions. In each case, a different height/wavelength relationship is observed. With the exception of region no. 3 where dune dimensions follow the mean global trend, the dimensions in the other regions lie below the mean global trend. The most plausible explanation for this is sediment starvation and/or insufficient time for the larger dunes to fully adjust to changing flow conditions. A good correlation is observed between average dune height in each region and water depth, although this is not the case for dune length. The orientation of the dunes corresponds to the direction of the current pattern induced by the regional winter monsoon winds (NE to SW and S). The generally well-developed asymmetrical shapes and the large size of the dunes suggest that the wind-induced currents are strong enough to reactivate most of the dunes during the winter monsoon season, a conclusion supported also by theoretical calculations of critical current velocities. The largest dunes, which seem to have reached their maximum sizes for the local water depths, may not be reactivated regularly but rather only by exceptionally strong episodic flows.     

水下沙丘形态演化的数值模拟实验

水下沙丘在海洋、湖泊、河流等浅水砂质沉积区广泛分布。基于过程的数值实验方法探讨了沙丘形态演化问题,试图解释在沙丘形成过程中各因素的作用及它们之间的关系。模拟中考虑了以下的变量:水深、沉积物粒度、沉积层厚度以及台风作用。模拟结果显示,沙丘的空间分布控制了空间流场的参数k₂,沙丘波高受水深、沉积物粒度以及沉积层厚度等因素的影响,沉积层厚度决定了沙丘的形态是否饱满。在台风作用中,沙丘波峰的沉积物被侵蚀,高程降低,波高渐小;台风作用后,沉积物被重新输运至波峰,沙丘高度逐渐恢复。因此,沙丘的高度取决于台风作用的时间以及2次台风作用之间的间隔。沙丘形态和尺度在台风作用前后变化较小,但沙丘演化的速度却有所提高。根据台湾浅滩和北海南部地貌系统数据的验证,模拟具有较好的效果。     

水下沙丘形态演化的数值模拟实验

水下沙丘在海洋、湖泊、河流等浅水砂质沉积区广泛分布。基于过程的数值实验方法探讨了沙丘形态演化问题,试图解释在沙丘形成过程中各因素的作用及它们之间的关系。模拟中考虑了以下的变量:水深、沉积物粒度、沉积层厚度以及台风作用。模拟结果显示,沙丘的空间分布控制了空间流场的参数k₂,沙丘波高受水深、沉积物粒度以及沉积层厚度等因素的影响,沉积层厚度决定了沙丘的形态是否饱满。在台风作用中,沙丘波峰的沉积物被侵蚀,高程降低,波高渐小;台风作用后,沉积物被重新输运至波峰,沙丘高度逐渐恢复。因此,沙丘的高度取决于台风作用的时间以及2次台风作用之间的间隔。沙丘形态和尺度在台风作用前后变化较小,但沙丘演化的速度却有所提高。根据台湾浅滩和北海南部地貌系统数据的验证,模拟具有较好的效果。     

西地中海陆架砂质底形

西地中海加的斯湾、埃布罗湾、巴塞罗那岸外和利翁湾等外陆架和陆坡上部分布大片的砂质水下沙丘、沙带、沙脊以及沙席等砂质底形。沙丘长为150～760m,最长为3km;高一般为0.1～5.0m,最高为20m。背流坡指向SW,丘长与丘高相关斜率为H=0.934L0.006 3,低于1978年世界标准的F氏斜率线;沙脊长为4～24km,宽为1～2.3km,高出海底10～30m。砂层厚约12～30m,其成因与冰消期古岸线相关。以水深350m的直布罗陀海峡为中心,大西洋低盐水团和地中海高盐水团相交换而形成的地中海环流是导致海底砂质底形发育的主要动力,陆架外侧普遍分布的垂岸沟谷及顺谷流也起一定作用。据14C年代测定,大型沙丘沙脊形成于距今13～11ka的冰消期,当时海面波动式趋稳。现代洋流只能在暴风浪期间、底流速较大时才能带动泥沙运动且进行局部修饰、破坏和蚀低原砂质底形。     

Morphological characteristics and sand volumes of different coastal dune types in Essaouira Province, Atlantic Morocco

Altogether three coastal dune fields, one located north and two south of the city of Essaouira, Atlantic Morocco, have been investigated to establish the distribution and overall sand volumes of various dune types. The purpose of the study was to characterize and classify the aeolian landforms of the coastal dune belt, to estimate their sand volumes and to assess the effectiveness of coastal dune stabilization measures. The northern dune field is 9 km long and lined by a wide artificial foredune complex fixed by vegetation, fences and branches forming a rectangular grid. Active and ephemeral aklé dunes border the inner backshore, while some intrusive dunes have crossed the foredune belt and are migrating farther inland. The total sand volume of the northern dune belt amounts 13,910,255 m³. The central coastal sector comprises a much smaller dune field located just south of the city. It is only 1.2 km long and, with the exception of intrusive dunes, shows all other dune types. The overall sand volume of the central dune field amounts to about 172,463 m³. The southern dune field is characterized by a narrower foredune belt and overall lower dunes that, in addition, become progressively smaller towards the south. In this sector, embryonic dunes (coppice, shadow dunes), tongue-like and tabular dunes, and sand sheets intrude from the beach, the profile of which has a stepped appearance controlled by irregular outcrops of old aeolianite and beach rock. The total volume of the southern dune field amounts 1,446,389 m³. For the whole study area, i.e. for all three dune fields combined, a sand volume of about 15,529,389 m³ has been estimated. The sand of the dune fields is derived from coastal erosion and especially the Tensift River, which enters the sea at Souira Qedima some 70 km north of Essaouira. After entering the sea, the sand is transported southwards by littoral drift driven by the mainly north-westerly swell climate and the Trade Winds blowing from the NNE. This sand feeds the beaches along the coast, from where it is blown obliquely onshore to generate the dune fields. The maximum sand input occurs in the north, from where it gradually decreases southwards, this being also reflected in the grain size and dune typologies. The study shows that dune stabilization measures have been reasonably effective along most of the coast, with the exception of a large area immediately north of Essaouira where the almost complete destruction of the plant cover has reactivated sand mobility—this may in the future threaten the city.     

Invasive plants on disturbed Korean sand dunes

The sand dunes in coastal regions of South Korea are important ecosystems because of their small size, the rare species found in this habitat, and the beautiful landscapes they create. This study investigated the current vegetative status of sand dunes on three representative coasts of the Korean peninsula, and on the coasts of Cheju Island, and assessed the conditions caused by invasive plants. The relationships between the degree of invasion and 14 environmental variables were studied. Plots of sand dunes along line transects perpendicular to the coastal lines were established to estimate vegetative species coverage. TWINSPAN (Two-Way Indicator Species Analysis), CCA (Canonical Correspondence Analysis), and DCCA (Detrended Canonical Correspondence Analysis) were performed to classify communities on sand dunes and assess species composition variation. Carex kobomugi, Elymus mollis, and Vitex rotundifolia were found to be the dominant species plotted on the east, the west, and the peripheral coasts of Cheju Island, respectively. Vegetation on the south coast was totally extinct. The 19 communities, including representative C. kobomugi, C. kobomugi–Ixeris repens, C. kobomugi–Oenothera biennis, E. mollis, Lolium multiflorum–Calystegia soldanella, and V. rotundifolia–C. kobomugi, were all classified according to TWINSPAN. Oenothera biennis and L. multiflorum were exotics observed within these native communities. CCA showed that invasive native and exotic species distribution was segregated significantly, according to disturbance level, exotic species number, gravel, sand and silt contents, as well as vegetation size. It further revealed that human disturbance can strongly favor the settlement of invasive and exotic species. Restoration options to reduce exotic plants in the South Korean sand dune areas were found to be the introduction of native plant species from one sand dune into other sand dune areas, prohibition of building and the introduction of exotic soils, and conservation of surrounding sand dune areas.     

Can beach dune ridges of the Texas Gulf Coast preserve climate signals?

A study of the evolution of North Padre Island (southern Texas Gulf Coast) dunes was carried out using LIDAR topographic data, dune vibracores through the center of the dunes, and grab samples of shoreface sand at four locations along a cross-shore profile. Grain-size analyses of the vibracores show vertical variations in shoreface sand deposition over decimeter depth intervals. A dune ridge growth model is introduced that describes the dune vertical accretion rate as a function of island progradation and freshwater lens expansion. This model allows indirect dating of the dune core samples based on a known island progradation rate (1?m/year), and height and spacing of the dunes calculated from the topographic data. A sand provenance model is also proposed that links the sand deposition in the dunes with sand sourced from various depths along the shoreface profile, depending on storm activity. We present evidence linking the changes in storm-sand deposition in the dune cores with yearly climatic fluctuations in the Gulf of Mexico associated with landfalling tropical storm activity in the period from 1942?C1965. This record of storm-induced sand variability is negatively correlated with El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (Pacific) sea surface temperature variability, and positively correlated with North Atlantic decadal sea surface temperature variability.     

Shifting sands? Coastal protection by sand banks,beaches and dunes

In a closely integrated system, (sub-) littoral sandy sediments, sandy beaches, and sand dunes offer natural coastal protection for a host of environmentally and economically important areas and activities inland. Flooding and coastal erosion pose a serious threat to these environments, a situation likely to be exacerbated by factors associated with climate change. Despite their importance, these sandy ‘soft’ defences have been lost from many European coasts through the proliferation of coastal development and associated hard-engineering and face further losses due to sea-level rise, subsidence, storm surge events, and coastal squeeze. As part of the EU-funded THESEUS project we investigated the critical drivers that determine the persistence and maintenance of sandy coastal habitats around Europe's coastline, taking particular interest in their close link with the biological communities that inhabit them. The successful management of sandy beaches to restore and sustain sand budgets (e.g. via nourishment), depends on the kind of mitigation undertaken, local beach characteristics, and on the source of ‘borrowed’ sediment. We found that inter-tidal invertebrates were good indicators of changes linked to different mitigation options. For sand dunes, field observations and manipulative experiments investigated different approaches to create new dune systems, in addition to measures employed to improve dune stabilisation. THESEUS provides a ‘toolbox’ of management strategies to aid the management, restoration, and creation of sandy habitats along our coastlines, but we note that future management must consider the connectivity of sub-littoral and supra-littoral sandy habitats in order to use this natural shoreline defence more effectively.     

Ephemeral sand waves in the hurricane surf zone

Airborne bathymetric LIDAR observations along the Florida panhandle after Hurricane Dennis (2005) show the first unequivocal observations of surf-zone sand wave trains.

These are found in depths of 5m along the trough of the hurricane bar, where hindcasts show strong longshore currents only during severe storms. The waves extend over tens of kilometers of coast after Dennis but are absent from the same area in four other datasets. Observed wavelength to water depth ratios are comparable to river dunes and tidal sand waves but height to depth ratios are smaller, with the largest wave heights around 0.1 times the water depth. The sand wave generation mechanism is hypothesized to be from wind-and-wave-induced longshore currents, which were hindcast to be large during Dennis, with destruction from water wave orbital velocities.     

Quantification of dune dynamics during a tidal cycle in an inlet channel of the Danish Wadden Sea

High-resolution swath bathymetry measurements at centimetre-scale precision conducted during a tidal cycle in the Grådyb tidal inlet channel in the Danish Wadden Sea reveal the short-term dynamics of a large, ebb-directed compound dune with superimposed small to medium dunes, all composed of medium sand. Dune dynamics were related to simultaneous measurements of flow using an acoustic Doppler current profiler. Spatially, dune crests displayed greater mobility than did dune troughs, due to higher flow velocities at the crests than in the troughs. Temporally, superimposed lower lee-side dunes migrated more during the flood than the ebb tide, due to higher near-bed trough flow velocities during the flood phase, resulting in varying exposure to flow. Net dune migration was flood-directed over the tidal cycle, despite annual net migration being ebb-directed. Hence, extrapolation of short-term migration rates is not possible in this case. The superimposed dunes reversed direction during each half tidal cycle whereas the compound dune only developed a flood cap during flood tide, i.e. the time required for complete reversal of the compound dune was much longer than that available in a half tidal cycle. Over the tidal cycle, the bed level was stable but significant erosion and accretion occurred during the tidal phases. During the ebb tide, bed material was brought into suspension with accelerating flow and settled with decelerating flow, resulting in an average erosion and accretion of the bed of ~7 cm in each case. During the flood tide, the bed of the compound dune was overall stable, although bed material was eroded from the exposed lower lee side, being partly transported to the crest in bedload and partly brought into suspension. In general, dune height fluctuated during the tidal cycle whereas dune length remained stable. The height of the compound dune responded to changes in water depth, which acts as a limiting factor to dune growth. By contrast, the height of the stoss-side dunes responded to flow velocity, i.e. the stoss-side dunes were water depth-independent.     

Bedforms produced by the Kuroshio Current passing over the northern Izu Ridge

Current-generated bedforms were found on sandy seafloor at water depths of 200–400 m on the northern Izu Ridge, where the Kuroshio Current encounters and passes over the ridge. The observed bedforms include large dunes and sand ribbons and are interpreted to be products of present-day oceanographic conditions and to indicate intensive flow activity controlled by local topography. A comparison between the surface flow velocity estimated from empirical relationships for dune formation and the observed flow velocity suggests that the dunes are generated when the main axis of the meandering Kuroshio Current passes through this area, and that subsequent current velocities are sufficiently high to maintain the dunes up to the next event.     

东海陆架中北部沉积物粒度特征及其沉积环境

通过对东海陆架表层沉积物粒级组成、粒度参数、14C年龄和微体古生物组合的综合分析,绘制了东海陆架的沉积物类型分布图;运用Folk等(1970)沉积物分类方法将东海表层沉积物分成砂、粉砂、粉砂质砂、砂质粉砂、砂质泥5种类型,其中粉砂质砂分布最广,砂质泥分布最少;沉积物由陆向海粒度变粗,反映沉积过程中的物源和沉积动力控制作用。根据沉积环境及成因分析,可将东海陆架沉积分为3类:分别是长江口外席状砂沉积区、现代泥质沉积区和陆架中部砂质沉积区。长江口外砂质沉积是全新世冰消期晚期潮流作用及风暴潮流共同作用的产物,是高海平面以来太平洋潮波系统作用下的潮流沙沉积,沙波地貌仍在发生变化。现代泥质沉积区包括长江前三角洲沉积、浙闽沿岸流沉积和济州岛西南泥质沉积三个区域,不同沉积区的成因机制不同。陆架中部砂质沉积是末次冰盛期之后海侵作用下发育的砂质沉积物,在海侵的不同阶段中沉积物被冲刷改造,具有不等时性特征,沉积环境与现代陆架海洋环流的动力特征不一致,现代沉积作用较弱,仅接受悬浮体细粒沉积。     

An evaluation of flora from coastal sand dunes of India: Rationale for conservation and management

A key component that guarantees stability of coastal sand dunes (CSDs) is vegetation. In this study, the floristic composition and distribution from CSDs of India is reviewed. Analysis revealed a total 338 species of CSD flora, of which 92 species are found to be common to the west and east coasts. The west coast showed a greater diversity than the east coast, accounting for 267 and 163 species respectively. Fabaceae members dominated the flora and 62% of dune species exhibited an herbaceous habit. The non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (nMDS) resulted in three groups at 20% similarity. The CSD vegetation appeared to be more influenced by the geological setting and climatology of the region. The higher number of coastal dune species along the west coast is attributed to larger and extensive sandy areas. The CSD flora of India is under constant anthropogenic pressure due to rapid elimination of sand dunes and its associated vegetation. The prevailing Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification does not guarantee the health of sand dune flora. A coastal vegetation conservation policy that ensures a succession of species in the form of a three layered biozone is proposed as a long term sustainable option to maintain biodiversity of coastal flora.     

Large-scale dune erosion tests to study the influence of wave periods

Large-scale physical model tests were performed to quantify the effects of the wave period on dune erosion. Attention was focussed on 2D cross-shore effects in a situation with sandy dunes and extreme water levels and wave conditions. Besides profile measurements, detailed measurements in time and space of water pressure, flow velocities and sediment concentrations were performed in the near near-shore area. It was concluded that a longer wave period leads to a larger dune erosion volume and to a larger landward retreat of the dune face. Tests with double-peaked wave spectra showed that the influence of the spectral shape on dune erosion was best represented by the T_m − 1,0 spectral mean wave period, better than the peak wave period, T_p. The effect of the wave period on dune erosion was implemented in a dune erosion prediction method that estimates erosion volumes during normative storm conditions for the Dutch coast. More details of the measurements and additional analyses of physical processes are described in an accompanying paper by Van Thiel de Vries et al. [Van Thiel de Vries, J.S.M., van Gent, M.R.A., Reniers, A.J.H.M. and Walstra, D.J.R., submitted for publication. Analysis of dune erosion processes in large scale flume experiments, In this volume of Coastal Engineering.].     

系统聚类和主成分分析在现代沉积环境划分中的应用-以海南新村港潟湖为例

An understanding of the sedimentary environment in relation to its controlling factors is of great importance in coastal geomorphology,ecology,tourism and aquaculture studies.We attempt to deal with this issue,using a case study from the Xincun Lagoon,Hainan Island in southern China.For the study,surficial sediment samples were collected,together with hydrodynamic and bathymetric surveys,during August 2013.Numerical simulation was carried out to obtain high-spatial resolution tidal current data.The sediment samples were analyzed to derive mean grain size,sorting coefficient,skewness and kurtosis,together with the sand,silt and clay contents.The modern sedimentary environments were classified using system cluster and principal component analyses.Grain size analysis reveals that the sediments are characterized by extremely slightly sandy silty mud(ESSSM) and slightly silty sand(SSS),which are distributed in the central lagoon and near-shore shallow water areas,respectively.Mean grain size varies from 0 to 8.0Ф,with an average of 4.6Ф.The silt content is the highest,i.e.,52% on average,with the average contents of sand and clay being 43% and 5%,respectively.There exists a significant correlation between mean size and water depth,suggesting that the surficial sediments become finer with increasing water depth.Cluster analyses reveals two groups of samples.The first group is characterized by mean grain size of more than 5.5Ф,whilst the second group has mean grain size of below 3.5Ф.Further,these groups also have different correlations between mean grain size and the other grain size parameters.In terms of the tidal current,the average values of the root mean square velocity(RMSV) are 7.5 cm/s and 6.9 cm/s on springs and neaps,respectively.For the RMSVs that are higher than 4 cm/s,a significant positive correlation is found between the content of the 63–125 μm fraction and the RMSV,suggesting that the RMSV determines the variability of the very fine sand fraction.Based on system cluster and principal component analyses(PCA),the modern sedimentary environments are classified into three types according to the grain size parameters,RMSVs and water depth data.The results suggest the importance of grain size parameters and high-spatial resolution hydrodynamic data in differentiating the coastal sedimentary environments.     

Heavy Minerals and Rare Earth Elements in Coastal and Inland Dune Sands of El Vizcaino Desert,Baja California Peninsula,Mexico

A heavy mineral (HM) study and light and heavy rare earth elements (LREE and HREE) analysis were performed in coastal and inland dune sands, El Vizcaino Desert, Central Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Our study shows high abundances of hornblende and apatite in the El Vizcaino dune sands, suggesting a dominance of granodiorites/intermediate plutonic rocks and marine authigenic phosphorite in the dune sands. There is a relationship between unstable heavy minerals like hornblende, pyroxenes, and sphene, and heavy rare earth elements (HREE) that suggests that unstable heavy minerals are potential carriers of HREE in the dune fields. However, there is a slight depletion of HREE in relation to LREE, especially in one locality of the inland dunes probably associated with the wind regime and weathering of unstable heavy minerals in the sands. Inland, transitional, and coastal dune fields can be observed as different dune provinces by means of grouping HM and REE data in two separate dendograms. It seems that HREE are correlated with fine-grained sand sizes and correlated with high CIA values linked to slightly weathered sands.     

In situ tensile fracture toughness of surficial cohesive marine sediments

This study reports the first in situ measurements of tensile fracture toughness, K _IC, of soft, surficial, cohesive marine sediments. A newly developed probe continuously measures the stress required to cause tensile failure in sediments to depths of up to 1 m. Probe measurements are in agreement with standard laboratory methods of K _IC measurements in both potter’s clay and natural sediments. The data comprise in situ depth profiles from three field sites in Nova Scotia, Canada. Measured K _IC at two muddy sites (median grain size of 23–50 μm) range from near zero at the sediment surface to >1,800 Pa m^1/2 at 0.2 m depth. These profiles also appear to identify the bioturbated/mixed depth. K _IC for a sandy site (>90% sand) is an order of magnitude lower than for the muddy sediments, and reflects the lack of cohesion/adhesion. A comparison of K _IC, median grain size, and porosity in muddy sediments indicates that consolidation increases fracture strength, whereas inclusion of sand causes weakening; thus, sand-bearing layers can be easily identified in K _IC profiles. K _IC and vane-measured shear strength correlate strongly, which suggests that the vane measurements should perhaps be interpreted as shear fracture toughness, rather than shear strength. Comparison of in situ probe-measured values with K _IC of soils and gelatin shows that sediments have a K _IC range intermediate between denser compacted soils and softer, elastic gelatin.     

Development of indices for the evaluation of dune recovery techniques

Two effectiveness indices are proposed in this paper for evaluating dune recovery techniques: nourishment effectiveness (N_e) and sand fence effectiveness (F_e). Both indices were designed to be applied during monitoring programmes and were tested for Cacela Peninsula, Portugal. On this peninsula, a total volume of 480,000 m³ of sediments were dredged from the inner backbarrier channel and used for replenishment during the winter of 1996/1997. A 32% loss of material to the sea occurred due to superficial drainage during the spreading process. During the subsequent 25 months, 33% of the deposited material was eroded (50% due to wave action, 45% related to inlet displacement and 5% to lagoon processes).The determined nourishment life-time, based on monitoring data, was about 11 to 15 years, as compared to the designed life-time of 15 to 20 years. These values could be used as a guide for other re-nourishment projects. The value for the nourishment effectiveness index (N_e) obtained was about 75% to 76%, which corresponds to a reasonably effective protective scheme for this coastal dune.A set of fences was also installed and were effective sand traps in areas where the seaward nourishment bluff was small or absent. The sand fence effectiveness index (F_e) gave values increasing eastwards from 6% to 77%, corresponding to the longshore accumulation gradient related to the bluff height. This demonstrates that sand trap efficiency is very small when they are erected on top of obstacles (natural or artificial) to aeolian transport.For adequate dune recovery, in which the morphological, sedimentary and ecological characteristics are maintained, a combination of dune and upper beach nourishment and sand fencing is recommended. The effectiveness indices proposed here have the potential to be useful management tools but their use must be validated with the analysis of other monitored dune recovery cases.     

Rip currents, mega-cusps, and eroding dunes

Dune erosion is shown to occur at the embayment of beach mega-cusps O(200 m alongshore) that are associated with rip currents. The beach is the narrowest at the embayment of the mega-cusps allowing the swash of large storm waves coincident with high tides to reach the toe of the dune, to undercut the dune and to cause dune erosion. Field measurements of dune, beach, and rip current morphology are acquired along an 18 km shoreline in southern Monterey Bay, California. This section of the bay consists of a sandy shoreline backed by extensive dunes, rising to heights exceeding 40 m. There is a large increase in wave height going from small wave heights in the shadow of a headland, to the center of the bay where convergence of waves owing to refraction over the Monterey Bay submarine canyon results in larger wave heights. The large alongshore gradient in wave height results in a concomitant alongshore gradient in morphodynamic scale. The strongly refracted waves and narrow bay aperture result in near normal wave incidence, resulting in well-developed, persistent rip currents along the entire shoreline.

The alongshore variations of the cuspate shoreline are found significantly correlated with the alongshore variations in rip spacing at 95% confidence. The alongshore variations of the volume of dune erosion are found significantly correlated with alongshore variations of the cuspate shoreline at 95% confidence. Therefore, it is concluded the mega-cusps are associated with rip currents and that the location of dune erosion is associated with the embayment of the mega-cusp.     

潮流场对渤、黄、东海陆架底质分布的控制作用

运用二维潮流数学模型，模拟了渤、黄、东海陆架的M2潮汐、潮流。结果表明，渤、黄、东海陆架的潮流有强弱之分以及往复流和旋转汉之别。在此基础上，计算了8种粒径沙的湖平均悬移输沙率、潮平均推移输沙以及相应的输沙率散度。根据输沙率散度的正负，划分了海底冲刷区与淤积区。根据不同粒径泥沙输沙率散度的相对大小，确定出海底的主要底质类型为砂质沉积、粉砂质泥沉积和以粉砂为主的混合沉积。计算结果表明，海底3种主要底负类型的分布格局与海底的冲淤格局以及与输沙率矢量的发散和聚合状况基本一致。在渤、黄、东海陆架，沙脊主要在强往复流区形成，沙席主要在强或较强的旋转流区形成，泥质沉积主要在弱潮流区形成。砂质沉积、泥质沉积以及混合沉积这3种主要底质类型并非孤立存在，而是受渤、黄、东海陆架潮流场控制而形成的一个完整的潮流沉积体系。渤、黄、东海陆架的砂质沉积与泥质沉积并非残留沉积，而是潮流沉积。在没有冷涡的情况下，黄、东海陆架的典型泥质沉积在弱潮流环境中同样可以形成，因此，认为冷涡并非黄、东海陆架典型泥质沉积形成的必要条件。