A Numerical Model to Simulate the Movement of Suspended Sediment off the Huanghe River (Yellow River) Delta

The Huanghe River is known as a river with an extraordinary enormous sediment (about 14x108 ton/a) being carried out into its estuary. The enormous sediment has frequently caused the deposition, extension and avulsion of the tail of the Huanghe River since 1855. From 1855 to 1984, the area of the Huanghe River Delta had increased by 2530.4 km₂ due to the deposition, extension and avulsion, which have not only made the lower reaches suffered from disasters, but also had significant influence on the ecosystem in the coastal water region. To bring the development of the channel of its estuary under control, it is necessary to predict the distribution and evolution of the sediment transport off the river mouth quantitatively. This paper presents a 2D numerical model to simulate the movement of suspended sediments off the mouth. The hindcast results of the model reproduce the main observed features of the sediment distribution.