Suspended sediment transport patterns in the tidal channels in the southwestern Yellow Sea

Based on the measured current velocities and suspended sediment concentration data for the tidal channels between the radial sand ridges in the southwestern Yellow Sea,this study analyzed the mechanism of suspended sediment transport in the channels. The flow in the study area was rectilinear,and the suspended sediment concentration was relatively high. The decomposition of sediment fluxes suggested that the Eulerian effect and tidal trapping were the main factors affecting suspended sediment transport. In the Chenjiawu and Xiyang tidal channels,tidal trapping was a dominant mean for suspended sediment transport,and sediments were entrained from the channels by tides,which indicated the existence of the process of seabed scour. In contrast,the main controlling factor for suspended sediment transport in the Kushuiyang channel was the Eulerian effect,and the resuspended sediments were transported towards onshore by the strong tide flow and then piled up at Jiangjiasha and over shoal or intertidal areas on the western coast of Xiyang. Thus,under the circumstances for reducing terrigenous material input,sediments in the radial sand ridges became a new source of material supply and played an important role on the continued accretion of the sand ridges and the adjacent tidal flats.