Summertime Suspended Sediment Transport Patterns in the Partially-mixed Changjiang Estuary

Sediment deposition in the Northern Passage of the Changjiang Estuary, where the Deepwater Navigation Channel (DNC) is located, has been a major concern in the past decades. To understand the sediment transport patterns and sediment sources in the navigational channel, field data on tidal flow and suspended sediment concentration are collected and analyzed in this study. It is shown that sediment transport processes are dominated by ebb currents. As a result, the total sediment flux is generally toward the ocean and the maximum value is found to be in the middle of the passage. At the mouth of the estuary, the total sediment flux is toward the river in the lower layer of the water column confirming a two-layer tide-averaged flow pattern in this region. The effects of sediment on stratification and mixing in the northern passage is examined by calculating eddy viscosity. Results show that strong mixing occurs during ebb in the upper reach of the passage where river discharge has high influence on the estuary. Suspended sediment can dampen turbulence and reduce mixing in the water column. To reveal the major suspended sediment sources, bed shear stresses over the entire passage are calculated. It is found that, during ebb, the bed shear stress is generally larger than the critical value for sediment suspension. Sediment in the water column is suspended from the bed. During flood, the suspended sediment in the northern passage are likely coming from a neighboring shoal, where the water depth is shallow and bed shear stress is large.