Behaviour of fine suspended sediment at the North passage of the Changjiang Estuary, China

Current velocity, salinity and suspended sediment concentration were measured at spring, moderate and neap tides at two ends (landward and seaward) of the North Passage of the Changjiang Estuary. A turbidity maximum was consistently observed during spring and moderate tides. The data were analyzed for intratidal, spring/neap and seasonal variations in fine suspended sediment transport processes within the turbidity maximum there. The dominant mechanisms responsible for the formation of the turbidity maximum are (1) tidal asymmetry at the landward end of the North Passage, (2) near-bed periodic tidal resuspension and (3) turbulence suppression by suspension/salinity stratifications at the North Passage. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.