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

  • Geology
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Abstract

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 partitiongrain-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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China

    Guangquan Chen  (陈广泉) & Shenliang Chen  (陈沈良)

  2. Key Laboratory of Marine Sedimentology and Environmental Geology, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Guangquan Chen  (陈广泉)

  3. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Liang Yi  (易亮)

  4. Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Haijun Huang  (黄海军) & Yanxia Liu  (刘艳霞)

  5. Open Laboratory of Ocean & Coast Environmental Geology, Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Yonghang Xu  (徐勇航)

  6. College of Environment and Planning, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252059, China

    Jianrong Cao  (曹建荣)

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  1. Guangquan Chen  (陈广泉)
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Correspondence to Liang Yi  (易亮).

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Supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2012M520369), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40906047, 41076031, 40925012), the State Oceanic Research Project for Public Benefit of China (No. 201105020), and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (Nos. 2010CB951201, 2012CB821900)

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Chen, G., Yi, L., Chen, S. et al. Partitioning of grain-size components of estuarine sediments and implications for sediment transport in southwestern Laizhou Bay, China. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 31, 895–906 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-013-2304-y

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