Partitioning of grain-size components of estuarine sediments and implications for sediment transport in southwestern Laizhou Bay, China

Sediment transport in estuarine systems has been of increasing interest for scientists during the past few decades. However, the mechanisms for sediment redistribution remain unclear. We characterized in detail sediment transport in the Xiaoqing River estuary using the mathematical Weibull function to partition grain-size components of surface sediments in the southwestern Laizhou Bay, Northeast China. Four partitioned components: finer than 4,4.6-12.5, 23.4-63.3, and 67.1-132.6 μm were interpreted in terms of hydrodynamic conditions. During sediment transport, silt grains were suspended and moved seaward from three depositional centers, whereas fine-grained sands moved generally landward. Overall, sediments are transported clockwise in a generally NNE direction near shore and then turn eastward offshore. The mathematical partitioning method showed a great potential for future estuarine environmental studies.

Nutrient concentrations and fluxes in the Changjiang Estuary during summer

In June 2003 and 2006 concentrations of nutrient were determined in the Changjiang Estuary. The data indicated that phosphate and nitrate did not behave conservatively in the estuary, but silicate behaved conservatively. An important mobilization of phosphate and nitrate was observed from the river up to halfway in the estuary. Both input flux （from river to estuary） and output flux （from estuary to coastal zone） of phosphate, silicate and nitrate were calculated from statistical interpretations of the salinity profiles. There was a large discrepancy between input and output fluxes of phosphate and nitrate. The river fluxes of silicate, phosphate and nitrate （fr） are augmented 5.3%, 28.9% and 36.6% in June 2003 and 1.0%, 62.5%, 31.7% in June 2006 by internal inputs （fi）.The phosphate and nitrate fluxes are enhanced through the estuarine process, while silicate flux is unaltered. The authors present some long-term data for nutrient concentrations and the ratios of silicon to nitrogen to phosphorus in the Changjiang Estuary. Silicate level falled in the last two decades, while concentration of nitrate increased. Phosphate concentration had no significant change.

Evaluation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen eliminating capability of the sediment in the tidal wetland of the Yangtze Estuary

Estuarine wetlands serve as a natural barrier to remove the land-generated pollutants and attenuate the pollutant load from the land to the sea. As one of the most important estuarine wetlands, the Yangtze estuarine wetlands have attracted particular interests in the biogeochemical studies of nutrients. The objectives of this study were to characterize the seasonal and spatial distribution of dissolved inorganic nitrogen （DIN） fluxes across the sediment-water interface; to calculate the total DIN fluxes in a year and different seasons; and to evaluate the DIN removing capability of the sediment in the tidal wetlands of the Yangtze Estuary. The spatial distribution of DIN fluxes shows complicated seasonal variations and spatial differences. The annual DIN fluxes range from -22.22 mmol N m^-2 h^-1 to 19.54 mmol N m^-2 h^-1, with an average of -1.48±1.34 mmol N mm^-2 h^-1. The tidal wetlands in the Yangtze Estuary behave as a source of water DIN in spring when DIN is released from sediment into overlying water, and the released amount of DIN is 1.33×10^4 tons of nitrogen （T N）. In summer, autumn and winter, the sediment absorbs the DIN from the overlying water, and the absorbed amounts of DIN are 4.36×10^4 T N, 6.81×10^4 T N and 2.24×10^4 T N, respectively. The average amount of DIN in overlying water of the Yangtze Estuary is 52.6×10^4 T N yr^-1, and the perennial average amount of DIN absorbed from the overlying water by the sediment is 12.1 × 10^4 T N yr^-1. The annual DIN elimination rate of the tidal wetlands was 23.0%.

A Review of Studies on the Interaction Between Waves and Muddy Bottom

This paper presents a brief review of the results on the interaction between waves and muddy bottom obtained during the last decade including the results obtained by the author at the Coastal Engineering Laboratory of Tianjin University.