Characteristics of Suspended Sediment Dynamics and Transport Pattern in Changjiang River Estuary

The acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) is wildly used to measure current velocities in recent years. In this contribution, the high-frequency velocity data are measured by using the 600Hz ADCP at three stations in the Changjiang estuary. Subsequently the tidal variations of suspended sediment concentration, velocity and salinity of different stations are analyzed, and the suspended sediment transport rate and mechanism are also calculated. As the three stations are situated in different parts of Changjiang estuary, and are subjected to different hydrodynamics, their sediment transport, salinity vertical mixing, vertical current speed, and net suspended sediment transport direction in tidal cycle show an obvious regional difference. The suspended sediment transport in the estuary is dominated by river flow, the storks drift, tidal dispersion also play an important role in the suspended sediment transport. Furthermore, such transport directions, which were directed towards west and north downstream of bar shoal and out of Changjiang estuary, and east and south upstream of the bar shoal, play a more important role in the forming of turbidity maximum of Changjiang estuary.