Long-Term Geomorphological Evolution of the Mouth Bar in the Modaomen Estuary of the Pearl River over the Last 55 Years (1964–2019)

Abstract

Based on mass bathymetric data and remote sensing data in the Modaomen Estuary, this study explored the long-term evolutionary characteristics of the mouth bar in the Modaomen Estuary of the Pearl River from 1964 to 2019. In the past 55 years, due to the impact of human activities, such as shoal reclamation and estuarine regulation in the Modaomen Estuary, the river mouth moved out of the shallow sea covered by several islands and faced the South China Sea directly. Therefore, the mouth bay became a siltation center in the estuarine region and expanded outwards, gradually evolving a geomorphic pattern with three shallow shoals and two distributary branches; a west branch as the main branch accompanied by a small east branch. Over the past decade, high-intensity sand dredging activities in the mouth bar have led to a considerable deepening of the water depth and a significant refinement of bed sediments, forming a discharge pattern of a wide and shallow channel flowing into the sea. Therefore, the evolutionary characteristics of the mouth bar have become abnormal in recent years, so additional field bathymetric data and hydrological data are required for further research regarding the subsequent evolution of the mouth bar, against the background of a significant reduction of sediment discharge and high-intensity human activities.