Suspended sediment fluxes in the radial sand ridge field of South Yellow Sea

Abstract

Zhang C. K., Yang Y. Z., Tao, J. F., Chen, Y. P., Yao, P., Su. M., 2013. Suspended sediment fluxes in the radial sand ridge field of South Yellow Sea.The radial sand ridge at the South Yellow Sea is one of unique geomorphic units in the world. It is famous of its radial current pattern and high suspended sediment concentration, forming abundant tidal flat resources which could be reclaimed for the land use. In order to make a scientific plan for the land reclamation, it is necessary to quantitatively understand the distribution of suspended sediment fluxes in this field. In this study, a 2D tidal current and suspended sediment transport model is developed and validated by the hydrologic survey data measured in 2006. The suspended sediment fluxes are calculated by the period-averaged multification of the simulated tidal current and sediment concentration in two consecutive tidal periods. The numerical results show that, in either winter or summer season, there has a positive sediment flux comes from the north and the south boundaries, indicating a net gain of sediment for the sand ridge field from both boundaries. The numerical results also show that a clockwise sediment flux system exists in the middle of the sand ridge field, but a small portion of sediment leaves the sand ridge area at the north wing. The overall gain of the sediment in this field is positive, implying that the radial sand ridge is still in the growing process.