Sediment remobilization over subaqueous sand waves: Insights from in-situ observation in the northern South China Sea

Abstract

Subaqueous sand waves are widely observed in the world′s oceans, but few in-situ observations have been performed to understand the dynamic processes of how they form and migrate. Large-amplitude subaqueous sand waves, 1.5 to 20 m in height and 55 to 510 m in length, are found on upper continental slope of the northern South China Sea, at water depths of ~ 150 to 800 m. Herein, high-resolution tripod observations were conducted in this sandwave field to understand the dynamic mechanism how sandy sediments are remobilized by oceanic dynamic processes, in particular internal solitary waves and internal tides. Our results indicate that near-critical reflection of diurnal internal tides at the continental slope can cause high suspended sediment concentration within the bottom water at a narrow belt further upslope to the observation site downslope locations. These sediments are transported downslope by the ebb tides to the observation site, forming the daily-recurring high suspended sediment concentration. The passage of episodic extreme internal solitary waves can result in much denser high sediment clouds with a thickness of up to ~ 40–50 m above the seafloor. These high suspended sediment concentration events are caused by in-situ resuspension of sediments from the seabed and upward transport of these sediments out of the boundary layer in response to passing of internal solitary waves. The two sub-processes of sediment resuspension are regulated by distinct dynamic mechanisms: incipient sediment resuspension from seafloor is controlled by current-induced strong bed shear stress, while the upward transport of sediments out of the bottom boundary layer is driven by the upwelling convergent currents at the rear of the internal solitary waves. Such results provide new insights into understanding the dynamic mechanism of the so-called ‘resuspension’ process in marine sedimentology. Our results also highlight the importance of internal solitary waves and internal tides in modulating sediment remobilization over subaqueous sandwave fields.