Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
www.elsevier.com/locate/ecss
Plume front and suspended sediment dispersal off the Yangtze
(Changjiang) River mouth, China during non-flood season
Zhanghua Wang a,*, Luqian Li b, Dechao Chen c, Kaiqin Xu d, Taoyuan Wei e, Jianhua Gao f,
Yiwen Zhao g, Zhongyuan Chen a, Watanabe Masabate d
a
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
b
Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119260, Singapore
c
Urban and Environment Department, University of Science and Technology of Suzhou, Suzhou 215011, Jiangsu Province, China
d
National Institute for Environment Studies, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan
e
Department of Geography, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
f
Key Laboratory of Coast & Island Development, Ministry of Education, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
g
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, UK
Received 9 August 2006; accepted 10 August 2006
Available online 28 September 2006
Abstract
A sea survey was conducted in May 2001 using CTD together with direct-reading current meter and water sampling to investigate the
sediment dynamics off the Yangtze River mouth. Data obtained from five observational sites reveal density flows characterized by the halocline,
thermocline and associated sharp current velocity gradients that prevail in the study area, especially at the freshwater plume front. The interaction of the Yangtze freshwater plume, littoral current and tidal current has generated these density flows. Particularly, the anomalous high
speed (>140 cm s1) current recorded at the freshwater plume front during the early flood stage leads to the resuspension of the sediment
(SSC reaching 0.5 g l1) off the river mouth during that time period. The suspended sediment flux measured at B2, the ideal site for recording
frontal processes in the estuary, indicates the main trend of southward transport of fine-grained sediment up to 60 kg m2 s1 at early flood stage
and 1.32 kg m2 s1 as net flux during two tidal periods. It is inferred that the density flow at the plume front plays key roles in dispersing the
Yangtze fine suspended sediments southward during the non-flood season.
Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: density flow; resuspension; sediment flux
1. Introduction
Suspended sediment dispersal patterns in the estuary-shelf
area of several large rivers of the world have been intensively
studied in the recent decades, since it is closely associated
with the distribution of the geo-biochemical particulates on
the coast and offshore (Wang et al., 1990; Nittrouer and Kuehl,
1995; Liu et al., 2003; Tsunogai et al., 2003). Suspended sediment from river to sea is the major carrier of C, N and other
substances, whose flux, storage and circulation have largely
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Z. Wang).
0272-7714/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2006.08.009
affected the global climate change (Natural Environment Research Council, 1994; Tappin et al., 2003). Therefore, it is vital
to understand the suspended sediment budget and the transport
mechanism in the river mouth areas.
Various dispersal patterns of suspended sediment occur in
the river mouth areas in relation to their unique hydrodynamic
conditions (Wolanski et al., 1996; Castaing et al., 1999; Islam
et al., 2002). The China’s Yangtze estuary provides a distinct
example as it is characterized by monsoon setting, huge sediment load, mesotidal range, and strong oceanic currents in
the wide continental shelf of the East China Sea (Fig. 1).
Many research works have been carried out in and off the estuary since the early 1980s and the relevant results include Acta
Oceanologica Sinica (1983); Milliman and Jin (1985); Chen
Z. Wang et al. / Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
121º
122º
61
124º E
32º N
123º
N
Jiangsu
Ya
C5
ng
tze
C4
Riv
er
C3
120º
Shanghai
124º
128ºE
C1
TM
38º
N
34º
Legend
10 Bathymetric contour (m)
East
China
Sea
Sheng-si
Archipelago
10
30º
TW
C
Turbidity Maximum
zone
26º
50 km
50
200
Yangtze
River
estuary
Measuring site
0
Yellow
Sea
0
B2
31º
B3
CC
B1
YS
A2
o
hi
os
r
Ku
00
10
Fig. 1. Geographical location of observation sites in and off the Yangtze River mouth area. Inset denotes major oceanic currents in the East China Sea and Yellow
Sea (after Qin et al., 1987). YSCC represents the Yellow Sea Coastal Current. TWC represents the Taiwan Warm Current.
et al. (1988); Wang et al. (1990); Shen et al. (1993); Chen et al.
(1999); Shen and Pan (2001); Shen et al. (2003); Shi (2004),
etc. It is now recognized that the suspended sediment is
deposited in the estuary mainly during the flood season and
is resuspended and transported primarily southward during
the dry season (Chen et al., 1988). Noteworthy are some recent
studies on the suspended sediment route extending from the
Yangtze river mouth to the Okinawa Trough via the coast of
Zhejiang and Fujian Province of southeast China, regarding
the material flux from source to sink (Fig. 1; Liu et al., 2003;
Tsunogai et al., 2003; Chen et al., 2004; Liu et al., 2005).
It is reported that the Yangtze freshwater plume forms a
salinity front near 31 000 N, 122 300 E during the non-flood
season (Shen et al., 2003). The plume front migrates to northeast even beyond 123 000 E during flood season. This boundary
largely prohibits further eastward dispersal of the riverine suspended sediment. Besides, the sea bottom topography off the
Yangtze estuary between 122 300 E and 123 000 E longitudes
is characterized by sharp gradient (Fig. 1). However, the relevant knowledge on the hydrodynamics at the Yangtze plume
front, especially the high-velocity current caused by the frontal
processes is still quite limited (cf. Wang et al., 2004). Furthermore, the relationship between plume front processes and the
southward transport of the Yangtze suspended sediment has
not been reported to date. The main objective of the present
study, which is based on the on-site hydrological and sedimentological measurements, intends to examine the nature of the
strong interactions among various water masses around the
freshwater plume front for a better understanding of the anomalous high-velocity density flow, the resuspension and the
strengthened southward transport of the fine-grained sediment
off the Yangtze estuary during the non-flood season.
2. Physical background
The Yangtze estuary is fluvio-tidally dominated with
the influx of w924 billion m3 yr1 of freshwater and w486
million ton yr1 of suspended sediment load during the past
several decades. The mean tidal range is 2.70 m with a maximum of 4.62 m during the astronomical season (cf. Chen et al.,
1985, 1988). About 87% of the mean annual sediment discharge is transported into the estuary in the flood season
from June to September, when there is a high concentration
of suspended sediment (>3.0e4.0 kg m3) in the estuary
(Shen and Pan, 2001). In contrast, an extremely low sediment
load with low suspended sediment concentration (SSC;
<0.5 kg m3) occurs during the non-flood season.
Semi-diurnal tides rotate clockwise off the Yangtze estuary,
whilst irregular semi-diurnal ones subject to the changed topography of the river mouth appear in the nearshore zone
(Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 1983; Chen et al., 1988). The tidal
current is characterized by its remarkably maximum ebb and
flood velocities that exceed 2.0 m s1 and 1.5 m s1 in the
spring tide; and 1.5 m s1 and 1.0 m s1 in the neap tide,
respectively (cf. Chen et al., 1988; Shen and Pan, 2001).
Z. Wang et al. / Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
The Taiwan Warm Current varying its distance seasonally
to the Yangtze coast moves constantly northward from the
lower latitude of the West Pacific Ocean and prevent further
transport of the suspended sediment eastward (Fig. 1; Qin
et al., 1987; Chen et al., 1988; Liu et al., 2003). The Yellow
Sea Coastal Current flows southward along the Jiangsu coast
to off the Yangtze River mouth (Fig. 1), where it is also called
as Subei Longshore Current. This current brings in a large
quantity of eroded sediment from the abandoned Yellow River
mouth area located north of the Jiangsu coast (Zhang et al.,
1998). Also, there has been a prominent Yangtze River longshore current extending from the Yangtze offshore to the
southeast Zhejiang and Fujian coasts (Fig. 1).
3. Methods of study
During 21e26 May 2001, a marine investigation was conducted off the Yangtze River mouth where the water depth varies
from 10 m to 50 m (122 000 e123 150 E, 31 000 e31 500 N;
Fig. 1). This survey coincided with the lunar spring tide. Eight
sites (A2eC5, spanning over >150 km; Fig. 1) were selected
for the measurement of the tidal currents and suspended sediment transport. The site B2 (122 300 E, 31 N) was investigated
at hourly intervals for 25 h (between 06:00 h, 25 May and
06:00 h, 26 May 2001), including concurrently: (1) tidal current
speed/direction by the direct-reading current meter (SLC-9) at
the water depth intervals of 0.5 m; (2) CTD (Chlorotech nephelometer, ACL208-RS@, salinity, temperature, and turbidity) at
every 0.1 m from 06:00 h to 21:00 h, on 25 May 2001 and
then discontinued due to instrument problem; and (3) water
B2
B3
C1
0
C3
Water depth (m)
The tidal current speed generally decreases from B2 offshore (Fig. 2a). Highest speed exceeding 100 cm s1 occurs
at the middle and upper water columns at B2 and B3. Seaward
of C1, the current speed of the water column is generally
B2
Speed
(cms-1)
40
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Accelerated
speed
80
60
40
-20
4.1. Spatial distribution of tidal current
speed and CTD value
B3
C1
C3
C5
0
40
60
80
4. Observations
C5
40
100
sampling of bottom layer (1200 ml for each sampling; 1.0 m
above the seafloor).
At the other sites the tidal current speed/direction and CTD
were measured simultaneously only once along the water column at the middle of the ebb tide (at sites B1, B3, C1, C3 and
C5), and at the low tide (at sites A2 and C4). CTD measurement failed at site B1 due to instrument problem.
Water samples from the bottom layer of B2 were measured
for both SSC and grain size. Six hundred (600) ml of each water sample was filtered through pre-weighted 0.45 mm Nucleopore filters (polycarbonate), and then, the filters with adhered
particulates were dried in the oven at 40 C and were weighed
for the calculation of SSC. About 600 ml of water from each
sample was deposited for w3 days in the laboratory to allow
settling of the suspended sediment. After the clear water was
removed, Calgon was added to the concentrated sediment
samples to disaggregate the particulates. After immersing in
the ultrasonic bath for w15 min, the samples were tested
with the laser grain-size analyzer (Malvern Mastersizer 2002
laser diffractometer, UK).
60
60
24 26
28
Water depth (m)
62
28
Plume front
26
24
22
Salinity
Halocline
30
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
32
-20
40
a
-40
B3
C1
C3
20.0
C5
Thermocline
20.0
Water depth (m)
19.0
-20
18.5
-40
B3
C1
C3
C5
5
Temperature
( )
19.5
18.0
B2
0
18.0
17.0
16.0
cc
20.0
19.5
19.0
18.5
18.0
17.5
17.0
16.5
16.0
Water depth (m)
B2
0
b
-40
10
5
20
-20
140
100
60
10
Turbidity
(ppm)
5
10
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Turbidity(ppm)
-40
d
Fig. 2. Spatial distributions of tidal current speed and CTD (Salinity, Temperature and Turbidity) measured at the middle of the ebb tide off the Yangtze River
mouth; a-tidal current speed; b-salinity; c-temperature; d-turbidity (sites referring Fig. 1).
Z. Wang et al. / Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
<50 cm s1, being the lowest along the profile. It increases
again further seaward of C3 and C5, especially being high
values of 70e90 cm s1 at the middle water column of the
water depth 5e15 m.
The spatial distribution of the salinity exhibits a sharp gradient from w18 to 27 increasing from the upper water column
of B2 both downward to sea bottom and seaward to B3
(Fig. 2b). Salinity reaches 27e28 in the lower water column
of B2 and 27e30 in the whole water column of B3. At C1,
a weaker halocline occurs at the water depth of w10e12 m,
characterized by salinity changing from 29 to 32. The salinity
decreases again from 28 to 20 obviously seaward from the sea
surface of C3 to C5. Meanwhile, a halocline featured by the
remarkable increase in salinity from 22 to 30 downward occurs within the water depth of 5e8 m. Below this halocline,
the salinity increases slightly to >31.
Generally, the temperature at all the sites throughout the
profile is higher than 20 C at the sea surface, and deceases
downward to the sea bottom (to w16 C; Fig. 2c). The temperature at the sea bottom also decreases from w19 C to
16 C from B2 offshore. Notably, a thermocline marked by
the temperature decrease from 20 C to 16 C occurs at the
water depth of 5e8 m at the farthest seaward C5.
High turbidity (>140 ppm) occurs near the sea floor at B2
and B3 (Fig. 2d). Turbidity decreases remarkably to 5e10 ppm
seaward at C3 and C5, where a small increment of turbidity
appears near the sea floor of C5. Also, a slightly turbid water
layer is observable at the upper water column from B2 to C1.
4.2. Temporal distribution of tidal current at B2
The tides move clockwise at B2 as shown by the measured
velocity (Fig. 3a). Both ebb and flood begin from the sea bottom to the sea surface as represented by the northward and
southward current directions. Two unequal tidal cycles are
observed at B2 during the investigation. Low and high waters
occur at 06:00 h (water depth 12.8 m) and 11:00 h (15.1 m),
respectively. Lower low water and higher high water appear
at 18:00 h (12.0 m) and 24:00 h (15.8 m) in the following cycle. Maximum ebbs and floods with highest speed ranging
from 100 cm s1 to 140 cm s1 occur generally one to two
hours before the tides changing between ebb and flood
(Fig. 3b). Lowest current speed is often associated with the
transition time between the flood and ebb tides, i.e., when
the current is directed either southward or northward. But
the southward-directed current at the sea bottom lasts from
17:00 to 18:00 h, and the speed increases remarkably to
>140 cm s1 at 18:00 h (Figs. 3a,b). This extraordinary high
speed migrates to the middle water layers from 18:00 to
19:00 h, following the flooding current. The average water column current speed shows an extended period of high current
speed lasting from 15:00 to 23:00 h (Fig. 3c).
4.3. Temporal distribution of CTD at B2
During a tidal period from 08:00 to 20:00 h, higher salinity
(20e30) and lower temperature (19e21 C) prevail from
63
08:00 to 14:00 h when the tidal currents are primarily
originated from south (Figs. 3a and 4a,b). The following
half period is characterized by lower salinity (12e24) and
higher temperature (19.5e21.5 C) as the tidal currents are
mainly from the north. Lower turbidity values (mostly
<90 ppm) appear in the upper water column during the first
half of the period (Fig. 4c). The sea bottom turbidity shows
a low-high-low pattern, corresponding to the speed of the tidal
current. By contrast, turbid water prevails during the second
half of the tidal period. Turbidity is mostly >90 ppm in the upper part of the water column, and >210 ppm near the sea floor.
4.4. Temporal distribution of grain size and SSC at B2
Water samples collected from near the sea floor at B2 show
temporal variation in the distribution of grain size of the suspended sediment (Fig. 5). Sediment proportion (sand, silt and
clay) and mean grain size indicate coarser (w8e12 mm) material with more sand portion recorded from 07:00 to 16:00 h and
also from 22:00 to 06:00 h (the next day), while finer sediment
(w6.5e7.5 mm) with little sand composition was observed
from 17:00 to 21:00 h (Fig. 3). Coincidently, SSC showed
higher values (0.1e0.5 kg m3) at 17:00e21:00 h, immediately followed by distinctly lower values (0.03e0.05 kg m3)
at 22:00e23:00 h (Fig. 5).
4.5. Suspended sediment flux at B2
Suspended sediment flux was estimated through multiplying current velocity by SSC measured near the sea floor at
B2 within w2 tidal cycles (Fig. 6). There are two main subdivided sediment fluxes that include E-W, and N-S components.
The maximal sediment flux (w60 kg m2 s1) occurs southwardly along N-S trend at 18:00 h and secondary maximal
sediment fluxes (w21 kg m2 s1; w14 kg m2 s1) appear
westerly along E-W trend at 20:00 h and 24:00 h. The net suspended sediment flux of about 0.49 kg m2 s1 disperses
westward, while the southward transport accounts for
1.32 kg m2 s1 during the 2 tidal cycles (Fig. 6).
5. Discussion and conclusions
The spatial distribution of salinity and temperature demonstrates two brackish water masses, an inner one at B2eB3 and
an outer one at the sea surface of C3eC5, off the Yangtze
River mouth (Fig. 2). These two water masses were separated
by saline water around C1 that we believe was being influenced by the Taiwan Warm Current, which is intruding
through the V-shaped valley in the vicinity of the Yangtze subaqueous delta (Fig. 1; cf. Milliman and Jin, 1985; Chen et al.,
1988; Shen and Pan, 2001; Shen et al., 2003).
The outer brackish water mass featured by decreasing salinity and increasing turbidity seaward (Fig. 2) was underlain by
cold saline water of the continental shelf. We suggest it to be
the Subei Longshore Current water (Zhu and Chang, 2000).
It is implied that the remarkable density gradient caused
by sharp salinity and temperature changes at water depth of
Z. Wang et al. / Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
64
2001/05/25
6:00
8:00
10:00
12:00
14:00
16:00
18:00
20:00
22:00
2001/05/26
24:00
2:00
4:00
6:00
-2
Water depth (m)
-4
-6
-8
-10
-12
-14
a
-2
100
80
60
-4
120
100
100
100
120
100
-6
80
60
140
140
80
-8
60
-10
60
80
40
60
-12
20
Anomalous
current
40
-1
Current speed (cms )
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
-14
b
350
current direction (º)
300
140
120
250
100
200
80
150
50
6:00
8:00
2001/05/25
60
current speed
current direction
100
10:00
12:00
14:00
16:00
18:00
20:00
22:00
current speed (cms-1)
Water depth (m)
80
100
c
24:00
2:00
2001/05/26
4:00
40
6:00
Fig. 3. (a) Simulated distribution of tidal current velocity at B2 from 06:00 h, 25 May to 06:00 h, 26 May 2001; (b) temporal distribution of current speed at B2.
Anomalous current is recorded at 18:00e19:00 h. Shaded area refers flooding; and (c) vertical averaged current speed and direction at B2.
5e8 m at C3eC5 produced a velocity gradient northeastward.
This accelerated greatly the ebbing current, as evidenced by the
highest values of ebb speed in the halocline/thermocline during
the investigation (cf. Reeves and Duck, 2001).
The inner brackish and turbid water mass belongs to the
Yangtze diluted water and is transported primarily eastward
and southward by the clockwise rotating tides during ebbing
(Figs. 3 and 4; Shen and Pan, 2001). However, due to the
blockage of Taiwan Warm Current, the eastward dispersal
was confined greatly in the estuarine area as shown by the turbidity distribution (Fig. 2d). A halocline was therefore formed
at B2eB3, reflecting the occurrence of Yangtze plume front
(Fig. 2). Previous studies also reported the plume front featured by salinity boundary of w25 occurring at 122 200 Ee
122 350 E off the river mouth during non-flood season (Wang
et al., 1990; Hu et al., 1993; Chen et al., 1999).
Z. Wang et al. / Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
6:00
8:00
10:00
12:00
14:00
16:00
18:00
-2
65
20:00
16
Water depth (m)
-4
20
-6
-8
24
-10
-12
28
Salinity
14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
-14
(m)
a
6:00
8:00
10:00
-2
12:00
14:00
16:00
18:00
20:00
21.0
20.5
Water depth (m)
-4
20.0
-6
-8
19.5
-10
-12
Temperature (ºC)
21.0 20.5 20.0 19.5
-14
(m)
b
6:00
8:00
10:00
12:00
14:00
16:00
18:00
20:00
-2
120
Water depth (m)
-4
-6
30
60
-8
90
120
-10
150
-12
180
210
-14
(m)
Turbidity (ppm)
30 60 90 120 150 180 210
c
Fig. 4. Temporal variations of salinity, temperature, and turbidity from 06:00 to 21:00 h, 25 May 2001 at B2. Shaded area refers flooding.
Z. Wang et al. / Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
100
Flood
14
Flood
Ebb
0.60
Ebb
0.50
10
60
8
clay
silt
sand
Mean grain size ( m)
SSC (kgm-3)
40
6
4
Mean grain size ( m)
Sediment proportion ( )
12
80
0.40
0.30
0.20
20
0
7:00
9:00
2001/05/25
11:00
13:00
15:00
17:00
19:00
21:00
23:00
1:00
3:00
2001/05/26
5:00
SSC (kgm-3)
66
2
0.10
0
0.00
Fig. 5. Variations (25-h) of sediment proportion, mean grain size, and concentration of the suspended particulates near the sea floor at B2.
25/05/2001
E 6:00
8:00
10:00
12:00
14:00
16:00
18:00
sediment flux shows that a major portion of suspended materials (w60 kg m2 s1 at 18:00 h) was transported southward,
while the rest of it moved westward (21 kg m2 s1 at 20:00 h)
during the investigation (Fig. 6). Therefore, the fine-grained
sediment forms most of the resuspended particulates and transported southward by the anomalous current.
In conclusion, it may be stated that the interaction between
the Yangtze freshwater plume and the Taiwan Warm Current
water via tidal fluctuation formed the southward-directed density flow at the plume front during the early flood stage. This
anomalous high-speed density flow plays a major role in the
sediment dynamics for the dispersal of the fine-grained Yangtze fluvial sediment southward during the non-flood season.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to Mr. H.S. Yao for his painstaking
assistance in sampling during the sea investigation. Thanks are
due to Drs. V. Ramaswamy and H. Cheng for their critical
revision and constructive comments and to Dr. K.N. Rao for
the improvement of the English. The Shanghai No. 1 Marine
Geological Team conducted the sea cruise. This study was
20:00
22:00
26/05/2001
24:00
2:00
4:00
10
W-E ss flux (kg m-2 s-1)
5
Flood
Ebb
Flood
Ebb
0
-20
-30
-15
W
10
-10
-10
-25
N
20
0
-5
-20
6:00
Net suspended sediment flux:
westward: 0.49 kgm-2 s-1
southward: 1.32 kgm-2 s-1
-40
Eastward/westward
N-S ss flux (kg m-2 s-1)
It is suggested that the density flow that is mainly directed
southward was extremely strong around 18:00 h when the salinity of the diluted water being the lowest to produce significant gradient between the Taiwan Warm Current and the
plume water (Figs. 3 and 4a). This density flow is believed
to form the extraordinary high-speed current (anomalous current, referring Wang et al., 2004) during the early flood stage
recorded at B2 (Fig. 3; cf. Hu et al., 1993; Sanders and
Garvine, 1996; Reeves and Duck, 2001; Zhu et al., 2001).
The turbidity measured at B2 is closely associated with tidal
cycles before 17:00 h, while extremely high turbidity appears
during 18:00e21:00 h (Fig. 4c). We reason that this extremely
high turbidity is caused by the strong resuspension due to the
anomalous high speed of density flow (>140 cm s1). The
highest SSC (0.5 kg m3) measured at B2 at 18:00 h strongly
supports this resuspension (Fig. 5). It is also notable that the
particle size of the suspended sediment was finest during
17:00e21:00 h. High-speed current lasted about 9 h (between
15:00 and 23:00 h) may deplete the highly concentrated finegrained sediment on and/or near the sea floor, as evidenced
by the lowest SSC and coarsest grain size (about 12 mm) during
22:00e23:00 h (Fig. 5). The present calculation of subdivided
-50
Northward/southward
-60
S
Fig. 6. Temporal variations of subdivided suspended sediment flux near the sea floor at B2 on the basis of 2 tidal cycles. Note the maximal value (60 kg m2 s1)
heading southward.
Z. Wang et al. / Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 71 (2007) 60e67
supported by the State Key Plan of Fundamental Study, China
Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No.
2002CB412505), and the Global Environment Research
Fund of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.
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