Modeling Morphodynamic Response to Intensive Land Reclamation along the Coast of Bohai Sea

Intensive land reclamation activities driven by economic expansion have occurred along the coast of the Bohai Sea in Nothern China in the last decades and might cause dramatic coastal morphological change and subsequently impact the health of estuarine ecosystem. In this study, morphodynamics of the Bohai Sea have been investigated using historical data and numerical modeling. Bathymetry changes along the coast of Bohai Sea are characterized using digitized nautical charts and field observations and the coastline changes are quantified using Landsat satellite images. A coupled morphodynamic model is constructed and calibrated to investigate the large scale land reclamation activities on sediment transport and morphology of the coastal sea. A range of scenarios are explored to identify feasible measures to mitigate the negative impact of shoreline change induced by land reclamation.