Evolution of suspended sediment patterns in the East China and Yellow Seas

Abstract

The evolution of intricate and striking patterns of suspended sediments (SS), which are created by certain physical dynamics in the East China and Yellow Seas, has been investigated using satellite ocean color imageries and vertical profiles of particle attenuation and backscattering coefficients. The structure of these patterns can reveal a great deal about the process underlying their formation. Sea surface temperature (SST) analyzed from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) thermal infrared data were used to elucidate the physical factors responsible for the evolution of suspended sediment patterns in the East China Sea. The concomitant patterns of suspended sediments were tracked from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color data. The detailed examination about these patterns gave birth to the definition of the evolution of suspended sediments (SS) into four stages: (1) Youth or Infant stage, (2) Younger stage, (3) Mature stage, and (4) Old stage. We describe about the three directional forces of the tidal currents, ocean warm currents and estuarine circulations that lead to occurrence of various stages of the evolution of suspended sediments that increase turbidity at high levels through out the water column of the inner and outer shelf areas during September to April. The occurrence of these four stages could be repeatedly observed. In contrast, vertical profiles of the particle attenuation (cp) and backscattering (bbp) coefficients displayed obvious patterns of the propagation of suspended sediment plume from the southwestern coastal sea that leads to eventual collision with the massive sediment plume originating from the Yangtze banks of the East China Sea.