Impact of Reduced Fluvial Sediment Supply on Saltwater Intrusion in the Yangtze Estuary

A decline of the fluvial sediment supply leads to coastal erosion and land loss. However, the fluvial sediment load may influence not only coastal morphodynamics but also estuarine hydrodynamics and associated saltwater intrusion. Previous studies revealed that suspended sediments influence estuarine hydrodynamics through various flow...

Seasonal variation of floc population influenced by the presence of algae in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary

The variation of the floc population in the Changjiang Estuary has been studied for both winter and summer season as a function of the presence of living (micro)algae. The influence of algae has been characterized through the use of the chlorophyll-a concentration to suspended sediment concentration (CC/SSC) ratio. Two whole tidal cycle...

Decadal morphological evolution of the mouth zone of the Yangtze Estuary in response to human interventions

The morphology of the Yangtze Estuary has changed substantially at decadal time scales in response to natural processes, local human interference and reduced sediment supply. Due to its high sediment load, the morphodynamic response time of the estuary is short, providing a valuable semi-natural system to evaluate large-scale estuarine...

The role of algae in fine sediment flocculation: In-situ and laboratory measurements

The precise interactions between organic and inorganic particles in the context of flocculation is an on-going topic of research. The suspended particulate matter (SPM) found in estuaries is composed of both organic and inorganic particles with specific particle size distributions (PSD's). These PSD's are a function of the hydrodynamic...