Sediment Transport Induced by the Advection of a Moving Salt Wedge in the Changjiang Estuary

This study focused on the intratidal variations of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and residual sediment transport near a moving salt wedge in the Changjiang Estuary. The stratification was controlled by the advection of the salt wedge and was strengthened during the flood tide and weakened during the ebb tide. This phenomenon is the opposite of systems that are dominated by tidal straining of salinity, which diminishes the stratification during the flood tide and enhances it during the ebb tide. The enhanced stratification during the flood tide restricts turbulent mixing; hence, the resuspended sediment is concentrated below the pycnocline. Because of the stronger turbulent mixing during the ebb tide, the suspended sediment can be elevated to the surface, decreasing the near-bottom SSC. Such tidal asymmetries of mixing and near-bottom SSC cause the net sediment flux to be directed landward in the lower layers after a tidal cycle.