Turbidity maximum formation in a well-mixed macrotidal estuary: The role of tidal pumping

Abstract

Traditionally, vertical circulation (induced by gravity circulation and tidal straining), tidal pumping, and resuspension are suggested as the major processes for the formation and maintenance of the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM). Due to strong mixing, tidal pumping is considered as the dominating process in macrotidal estuaries. To analyze field observation data, the classical empirical decomposition method is commonly suggested, but the tidal pumping flux (TPF) based on this method may lead to erroneous conclusions about the mechanisms of ETM formation because the effects of advection induced by the horizontal SSC gradient and fine bed sediment supply are ignored. If these effects are included, the TPF clearly reproduces the convergence patterns and thus demonstrates its role in the formation of the ETM. By a simplified analytical solution, the TPF is the result of the competition between the downstream flux induced by the river current together with the lag in sediment response and the upstream flux induced by tidal asymmetry and the lag. Field observations in the well-mixed macrotidal Yalu River estuary (located between China and North Korea) were analyzed. Tidal pumping is identified as the dominant mechanism of its ETM formation, and the position of the ETM for different river discharges and sediment settling velocities can be predicted by the concept of tidal pumping by numerical and analytical procedures. The present study provides a typical example of how to evaluate the tidal pumping contributions on ETM formation using the combined information provided by field data, numerical modeling results, and analytical solutions.