Wave-current bottom shear stresses and sediment re-suspension in the mouth bar of the Modaomen Estuary during the dry season

On the basis of the measurement data pertaining to waves, current, and sediment in February 2012 in the mouth bar of the Modaomen Estuary, the Soulsby formulae with an iterative method are applied to calculating bottom shear stresses （BSS） and their effect on a sediment resuspension. Swell induced BSS have been found to be the most important part of the BSS. In this study, the correlation coefficient between a wavecurrent shear stress and SSC is 0.86, and that between current shear stresses and SSC is only 0.40. The peaks of the SSC are consistent with the height and the BSS of the swell. The swell is the main mechanism for the sediment re-suspension, and the tidal current effect on sediment re-suspension is small. The peaks of the SSC are centered on the high tidal level, and the flood tide enhances the wave shear stresses and the SSC near the bottom. The critical shear stress for sediment re-suspension at the observation station is between 0.20 and 0.30 N/m2. Tidal currents are too weak to stir up the bottom sediment into the flow, but a WCI （wave-current interaction） is strong enough to re-suspend the coarse sediment.

Holocene delta evolution and sequence stratigraphy of the Pearl River Delta in South China

We analyzed the sedimentary characteristics and chronostratigraphy of the Pearl River Delta in South China, and discussed the Holocene stratigraphic characteristics and the filling process since the Holocene, based on 90 boreholes. Our results showed that the maximum transgressive surface of the Pearl River Delta was located in the soft marine silt horizons, whereas it was shown as an erosion surface in areas with tidal scour. From bottom to top, Holocene sedimentary sequences were fluvial facies, floodplain-estuary facies, and estuary-delta facies in the paleo-valley, while the paleo-interfluve sequences were described as littoral facies, estuary facies, and delta facies. Vertical accumulation sequences of Holocene sediments were shown primarily as positive tapering-shaped sequences with no typical foreset, topset, or other sedimentary sequences of the Gilbert Delta. The paleo-Pearl River estuary had different evolution models in the highstand systems tract (HST) compared with other large deltas worldwide, in that it is dominated by a unique and complex geomorphologic boundary, and that it is a multi-sourced delta compounded by the independent and parallel development of fluvial sedimentary bodies with different scales. A huge estuary was formed in the present Pearl River Delta area when the post-glacial transgression reached maximum at about 6 ka BP. The estuary was divided into two parts by obstruction of a series of islands, an upper part composed of the semi-enclosed inner paleo-bay connected to rivers and a lower part consisting of the outer paleo-bay connected to the ocean. Both of these areas were interlinked by only a few narrows, in which the fluvial sediments are accumulated primarily in the inner paleo-bay. During 6-2 ka BP, the sedimentation in various regions of the inner paleo-bay occurred simultaneously with independent development under the remodeling and transformation effect of complex boundaries on river and ocean dynamics. After 2 ka BP, the evolution of the delta is no longer a simple natural process, but rather a common remodeling process accomplished by nature and humans.

Dynamic structures and their sedimentation effects of the Yamen Inlet,Huangmaohai Estuary

One of eight gates of the Pearl River Estuary,the Yamen Inlet is a bedrock channel mouth connecting the Huangmao Sea and Yamen Channel.The wider water surfaces of the upper and lower reaches of the entrance produce a unique bidirectional asymmetrical jet system.Using observed hydrology and historical charts,the ECOMSED model was applied in morphodynamic analysis of the dynamic structures and dynamic equilibrium of the Yamen jet system and its effect on sedimentation.It was found that (1) the nonlinear interaction of Yamen dynamic structures could not be ignored,as while the Coriolis force and friction force were generally of the same order of magnitude,the effect of friction force was greater;(2) the bidirectional asymmetrical jet system was flood preferential flow to the north of the channel mouth and ebb preferential flow to the south;and (3) the bidirectional asymmetrical jet system was the dominant factor in the long term stability of the Yamen deep trough.