The Suspended Sediment Flux in Winter in the South of Chengshantou, between the North and South Yellow Sea

Abstract

Due to the regional differences between the North and South Yellow Sea, and under the influence of winter winds, the relative changes in the coastal current and the Yellow Sea warm current will lead to the instability of the front, which will lead to the cross-front transport of sediment. Therefore, the study of sediment exchange between the North and South Yellow Sea has become an indispensable part of the study of the Yellow Sea environment. In this study, the current field and sediment concentration in the southern part of Chengshantou, a representative area of the Yellow Sea, were observed in winter in order to analyze the sediment exchange process between the North Yellow Sea and the South Yellow Sea in winter. The observation results show that in the southern sea area of Chengshantou, in winter, the current velocity does not change with the water depth when it exceeds 15 m, and the tides are regular semi-diurnal tides. When the water depth is less than 15 m, the current direction changes clockwise with the increase in the water depth. The turbidity increases rapidly when the wind direction is offshore and the bottom residual current is onshore, which may cause the sediment transported offshore under the action of wind and ocean current to settle under the obstruction of the Yellow Sea warm current, resulting in the rise of bottom turbidity. This also indicates that the change in residual current direction at different water depths may also lead to an increase in suspended sediment concentration. Based on this, in the estuarine area, the relative change in the current direction between the wind current and the coastal current may also be the cause of the change in the maximum turbidity zone.