Analytical study of the sediment transport in the South Channel of Yangtze Estuary, China

An analytical model was developed to analysis the hydrodynamics and sediment transport in the South Channel of Yangtze Estuary, China. The tidal dynamics in the South Channel is controlled by semi-diurnal tide. The dominated driven factors of residual flow are river discharge and nonlinear advection terms due to tidal flow. The suspended sediment concentration over the northern channel is much higher than that over the southern channel. The essential features of the observed flow field and sediment distribution are reproduced by the model results. Closer inspection of the sediment entrapment with sediment transport function indicates that, the residual transport and tidal transport dominates, and both of them point northward (to the north deep channel). The diffusive transport points southward, since it always transports sediment from high concentration area to low concentration area.