SEASONAL VARIATION OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT IN THE BOHAI AND YELLOW SEA AND THE PATHWAY OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT

Based on the observed data of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and hydrographical data in the Bohai and Yellow Sea in different seasons of 2010 and 2012, in combination with the MODIS data, this paper presented the seasonal distribution of suspended sediment in the Bohai and Yellow Sea. The correlation between the observed surface SSC and the reflectance obtained from MODIS presented the seasonal distributions of regional surface SSC. The results indicated that the high SSC mostly distributed in areas around the Yellow River Delta, the coastal area of the Shandong Peninsula and the Jiangsu Province. The regional distribution of SSC presented strong seasonal variability as high SSC was found in wintertime while low SSC in summertime, corresponding to the seasonal variation of hydrodynamics. In wintertime, the resuspended sediment from the subaqueous Yellow River Delta was exported to the northern Yellow Sea through the souther Bohai Strait and was transported along the coast of Shandong Peninsula by the monsoon-enhanced coastal currents, as the sediment flux increased along the pathway. At the headland of Shandong Peninsula, the sediment was transported southwards to the southern Yellow Sea together with decreasing sediment flux, which indicated that the suspended sediment mostly accumulated the muddy area of central Yellow Sea. The mixing front identified in the winter-spring season around the Shandong Peninsula constrained the sediment transport within the shallow coastal area, which might play a important role in dominating the sediment transport pathway.