TY - JOUR
T1 - Sediment exchange between southern yellow sea and Yangtze river Estuary in response to storm events
AU - Xu, Yao
AU - Xing, Fei
AU - Cheng, Jun
AU - Zhang, Fan
AU - He, Hailun
AU - Zhang, Jicai
AU - Jia, Jianjun
AU - Wang, Ya Ping
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2023/10/31
Y1 - 2023/10/31
N2 - The pattern of sediment exchange between the Yangtze River Estuary and the southern Yellow Sea constitutes a crucial yet contentious line of scientific inquiry. This conundrum hampers our comprehensive understanding to predict the future morphological evolution of the radial sand ridges and Jiangsu tidal flats. This study investigates various processes, including tides, wind and waves, to identify the dominant factor controlling sediment exchange between the southern Yellow Sea and the Yangtze River Estuary under storm conditions, using a validated numerical model. Our results show that tide is the dominant force controlling hydrodynamics and sediment transport between the two systems. Tidally induced residual currents and sediment fluxes exhibit a consistent northwesterly trajectory, from the Yangtze River Estuary to the southern Yellow Sea. Conversely, the contributions of wind and wave-induced currents under normal wind conditions (Beaufort Scale 3, 3.4 m s−1) adjust net sediment flux by less than 10 and 46–68%, respectively. In particular, the influence of wind and waves on sediment transport varies significantly with wind direction. While southerly or southeasterly winds amplify the tide-induced northwestward sediment transport, northerly or northeasterly winds curtail it. Under strong winter storm conditions, however, the perturbation caused by northerly winds and waves supersedes the influence of tides in controlling sediment transport, leading to a net residual current and sediment flux oriented southeastwards.
AB - The pattern of sediment exchange between the Yangtze River Estuary and the southern Yellow Sea constitutes a crucial yet contentious line of scientific inquiry. This conundrum hampers our comprehensive understanding to predict the future morphological evolution of the radial sand ridges and Jiangsu tidal flats. This study investigates various processes, including tides, wind and waves, to identify the dominant factor controlling sediment exchange between the southern Yellow Sea and the Yangtze River Estuary under storm conditions, using a validated numerical model. Our results show that tide is the dominant force controlling hydrodynamics and sediment transport between the two systems. Tidally induced residual currents and sediment fluxes exhibit a consistent northwesterly trajectory, from the Yangtze River Estuary to the southern Yellow Sea. Conversely, the contributions of wind and wave-induced currents under normal wind conditions (Beaufort Scale 3, 3.4 m s−1) adjust net sediment flux by less than 10 and 46–68%, respectively. In particular, the influence of wind and waves on sediment transport varies significantly with wind direction. While southerly or southeasterly winds amplify the tide-induced northwestward sediment transport, northerly or northeasterly winds curtail it. Under strong winter storm conditions, however, the perturbation caused by northerly winds and waves supersedes the influence of tides in controlling sediment transport, leading to a net residual current and sediment flux oriented southeastwards.
KW - Numerical modeling
KW - Sediment exchange
KW - Southern yellow sea
KW - Wind and waves
KW - Yangtze river Estuary
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173543568&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108508
DO - 10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108508
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173543568
SN - 0272-7714
VL - 293
JO - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
JF - Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
M1 - 108508
ER -