Periodic Oscillation of Sediment Transport Influenced by Winter Synoptic Events, Bohai Strait, China

Haiqin Duan,Jingping Xu,Zhiqiang Liu,Chenghao Wang,Houjie Wang,Xiao Wu

doi:10.3390/w12040986

Abstract

Instruments on two bottom-mount platforms deployed in the Bohai Strait during a cruise from January 6–13, 2018 recorded an intense northerly wind event. The responses of hydrodynamic and hydrographical characteristics in Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea to the wind event were analyzed aided by the wind, wave, sea surface suspended sediment concentration and sea surface height datasets from open sources. It is shown that the strong wind event had a significant impact on the redistribution of sea surface height, regional wave conditions, regional circulations and the accompanying sediment transport pattern. Specifically, the sediment transport through the Bohai Strait may be divided into two chronological phases related to the wind event: (1) the enhanced sediment transport phase during the buildup and peak of the wind event when both the Northern Shandong Coastal Current and regional suspended sediment concentration were sharply increased; and (2) the relaxation phase when the northerly wind subsided or even reversed, accompanied by the enhanced Yellow Sea Warm Current with lowered suspended sediment concentration. Such results at synoptic scale would improve our capability of quantifying sediment exchange between the Bohai and Yellow sea, through the Bohai Strait and provide valuable reference for the study of other similar environments worldwide.

Highlights

A strait is a natural channel that connects two large bodies of waters between which water and particle material are exchanged
Our observation showed that both the sediment carriers (NSCC and Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC)) and sediment themselves were sensitive to the intense northerly wind and the sediment transport processes through Bohai Strait (BHS) were of mean climatology conditions
The distribution of sea surface height (SSH) in Bohai Sea (BH) and YS was sensitive to the synoptic events

Summary

Introduction

A strait is a natural channel that connects two large bodies of waters between which water and particle material are exchanged. Such exchanges of material (water, nutrients, sediment, etc.) and energy (heat) play a critical role in redistribution of heat, salt, pollutants and sediments—as well as regionally biogeochemical cycles [1,2,3]. The Bohai Strait (BHS) between Shandong and Liaodong peninsula is the only pathway connecting two epeiric the anorthern. Sea (NYS)well (Figure energy seas (heat)inplay critical role in redistribution of heat, sediments—as as 1). BHS is the shallowest regionally biogeochemical cycles [1,2,3]. BHS is the shallowest regionally biogeochemical cycles [1,2,3]. in the southern end, growing deeper northward with a Bohai

Results

Discussion

Conclusion