Long-term morpho-dyn amics in special type of estuary

Abstract

Thousands of rocky hills and islands scattered in the Pearl River delta plain and the adjacent coastal waters in South China have been or will be acted as deposition nucleus during the evolution process of the delta. The Huangmaohai estuarine complex consists of two of the eight major outlets of the Pearl River estuarine system. Since sea level reached the present level approximately 6000 years ago, especially in the last 250 years, the Huangmaohai estuarine complex has progressed to the sea by filling up the sea inlets formed between these rocky islands and between mainland and islands. This ‘filling up’ process left deep imprints on the long-term morpho-dynamic equilibrium in the estuaries. The present paper reveals that the long-term morpho-dynamic relation originating from this ‘filling up’ process in the Huangmaohai estuarine complex is different from that in many coastal plain estuaries in several aspects: (1) longitudinal variation of estuary width, (2) longitudinal variation of tidal range, (3) unique combination of small-scale dynamic structures, (4) bidirectional jet systems, and (5) velocity field and turbidity maximum.