Natural and human-induced effects on grain size of surface sediments along the Lianyungang muddy coast, China

To examine spatial variations of grain-size characteristics caused by both natural and human-induced processes along the Lianyungang muddy coast, China, 129 samples were collected and measured using standard sieving and sedimentation techniques. Results show that sediment diameter tends to increase with increasing water depth from nearshore to offshore. Size-frequency distributions indicate a gradual mixing process of coarse and fine diameter material. Grain size trend analysis indicates that a man-made structure, the West Breakwater, along with Liandao Island itself, has resulted in severe siltation in Haizhou Bay and the Lianyungang port area, where sediment quality is also poor. Results demonstrate that grain size can be used as a natural tracer to infer how sediments respond to the effects caused by both natural and human-induced processes.