Impacts of human interventions on the seasonal and nodal dynamics of the M_(2)and K_(1)tidal constituents in Lingdingyang Bay of the Zhujiang River Delta,China

Natural and human-induced changes may exert considerable impacts on the seasonal and nodal dynamics of M2 and K1 tidal constituents.Therefore,quantifying the influences of these factors on tidal regime changes is essential for sustainable water resources management in coastal environments.In this study,the enhanced harmonic analysis was applied to extract the seasonal variability of the M2 and K1 tidal amplitudes and phases at three gauging stations along Lingdingyang Bay of the Zhujiang River Delta.The seasonal dynamics in terms of tidal wave celerity and amplification/damping rate were used to quantify the impacts of human-induced estuarine morphological alterations on M2 and K1 tidal hydrodynamics in inner and outer Lingdingyang Bay.The results show that both tidal amplification/damping rate and wave celerity were considerably increased from the pre-anthropogenic activity period(Pre-AAP)to the post-anthropogenic activity period(Post-AAP)excepting the tidal amplification/damping rate in outer Lingdingyang Bay,and the variations in outer Lingdingyang Bay was larger than those in inner Lingdingyang Bay.The alterations in these two parameters were more significant in flood season than in dry season in both inner and outer Lingdingyang Bay.The seasonal variability of M2 and K1 tidal amplitudes were further quantified using a regression model accounting for the 18.61-year lunar nodal modulation,where this study observes a considerable alteration in M2 constituent owing to human interventions.During the Post-AAP,the M2 amplitudes at the downstream station were larger than those that would have occurred in the absence of strong human interventions,whereas the opposite was true for the upstream station,leading to a substantial decrease in tidal amplification in outer Lingdingyang Bay.However,it is opposite in inner Lingdingyang Bay.The underlying mechanism can be primarily attributed to channel deepening and narrowing caused by human interventions,that resulted in substantial enlargement of the bay volume and reduced the effective bottom friction,leading to faster wave celerity and stronger amplified waves.

The influence of runoff and wind on the dispersion patterns of suspended sediment in the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary based on MODIS data

Cloud-free moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS) images of the Zhujiang(Pearl) River Estuary(ZRE) taken between 2002 and 2012 are retrieved and used to study the spatial and temporal patterns of suspended sediment concentrations(SSCs) across the estuary under runoff, wind, and tropical storm conditions.Five typical dispersal patterns of suspended sediments in the estuary are defined: Case I shows generally low SSCs under low dynamics; Case Ⅱ shows a river-dominant dispersal pattern of suspended sediments from the outlets,particularly from Modaomen, Jiaomen, Hengmen, and others; Case Ⅲ shows wind-dominant dispersal of high SSCs derived from the west shoal and southwesterly transport under a strong NE wind; Case IV is the combination of relatively large runoff and wind; and Case V is caused by a strong tropical storm with high river discharge and wind, which is characterized by the high SSCs across the entire estuary that are transported eastward by winddriven and buoyancy currents outside the estuary. Runoff is a dominant factor that controls seasonal and annual SSC variations in the ZRE, with the area of high SSCs being largest in the summer and smallest in the spring. The correlation coefficients between the monthly averaged river-suspended sediment discharge and the area of the high SSCs are approximately 0.6. The wind power over the west shoal increases with a wind speed, which induces more sediment resuspension and shows a close relationship between the wind speed and high SSC area.