Sediment Transport and Dispersal Pattern from the Bohai Sea to the Yellow Sea

Abstract

Suspended sediment flux, dispersal patterns and its possible mechanisms in the Bohai Sea were investigated based on the observational data in May and November, 2012, data retrieved from MODIS imageries and the ocean current data from HYCOM. The sediment dispersal pattern and the annual net sediment flux presented evident seasonal variability. During wintertime, the prevailing strong northerly winds and the related high wave heights resuspended the sediment along the coast of the Huanghe Delta that was transported into the Laizhou Bay along its western coast and exported to the Bohai Strait through the eastern Laizhou Bay as enhanced by the coastal current. The wintertime contributed approximately 4.84 Mt of suspended sediment flux to the Yellow Sea, as higher than the flux in summertime by one order. In summertime, the less energetic environment together with the stratified water column was unfavorable to the sediment export to the Yellow Sea. As a result, the sediment delivered by the Huanghe to the sea in summertime mostly accumulated within the subaqueous delta, which acted as a primary source of sediment export to the Yellow Sea in wintertime.