Abstract
The suspension and hydrodynamic characteristics of the Yellow River Delta during storms were analyzed based on suspended samples obtained using automatic samplers during a storm event in the Yellow River Delta. Synchronous data for winds, waves, and tides were also collected from a nearby station. The results show that under wind speeds of 5–15 m/s and wave heights of 50–150 cm, the suspended content reached 5.7–49.6 kg/m3, which is 10–100 times higher than that under normal weather conditions. The medium diameter of suspended particles was 1.2–2.1 μm (8.9–9.7 Φ), which was approximately 1–2 Φ finer than that under normal weather conditions. During the early stages of the measurements, the sea level had risen by 50 cm owing to the storm, which was in addition to the tidal sea level change. We suggest that during the storms, the waves strengthened and the storm-induced sea level change, which was combined with tidal currents moving in the same direction, produced high-speed currents. This overcame the cohesive forces among the fine sediment particles and suspended a large amount of sediment. As a result, the suspended content increased markedly and the suspended particle size became finer. This explains the intense siltation and erosion of the Yellow River Delta during storms.
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Acknowledgements
This paper is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation with a fund No. 41276084. And the suspension data of the five stations in normal weather in June, 2004, was obtained by the project—Measurement study on the strong eroded coast of the Yellow River Delta. Yongde Jin, Yupeng Song, WanQing Chi, CongBo Xiong, and Yongqiang Zhang took part in the discussion of field observation plan, and Jingchuan Wang, RongBao Zhang, and Yongzheng Quan took part in the field observation. They are all greatly appreciated.
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Bian, S., Hu, Z., Liu, J. et al. Sediment suspension and the dynamic mechanism during storms in the Yellow River Delta. Environ Monit Assess 189, 3 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5688-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5688-2