| Abstract: | Winter and summer oceanographic conditions in the Yellow Sea produce distinctly different distributions and compositions of suspended particles within the water column. During the winter, strong northwest winds cool and mix the local water column and generate surface waves which resuspend bottom sediment in the north Yellow Sea and in the shoal regions of the western Yellow Sea near Jiangsu Province, and transport it southwards. Wintertime suspended particle concentrations in nearbottom waters can exceed 500 mg/l in nearshore areas and 20 mg/l in offshore waters.During the summer, light southerly winds and a strongly stratified water column localize the distribution of resuspended sediments. Nearbottom concentrations of suspended particulates are generally less than 10 mg/l. Nearsurface concentrations generally are not dissimilar from those seen during the winter, but the particles are primarily biogenic rather than resuspended mineral grains. |
