Long-term evolution in the location, propagation, and magnitude of the tidal shear front off the Yellow River Mouth

Characteristics and formation of the tidal shear front off the Yellow River Mouth had been previously studied based on observations and models. However, its long-term variability and thus related mechanisms have not been investigated. In this study, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was used to examine the long-term evolution on the location, propagation, and magnitude (length, duration, and shear strength) of the tidal shear front from 1976 to 1996. Over the 20 years, a peninsula of about 27 km long and 7 km wide (above the high water line) was formed off the new river mouth, while the coastline retreated by 5-10 km, and the water depths increased by about 2 m in the north (the abandoned river mouth). Results also show that for the period of each flood and ebb tidal cycle, the tidal shear front originated in the north of the delta, then propagated southeastwards and finally disappeared at the south of the river mouth. During the two decades, the front had an obvious shoreward movement, and its duration within a tidal cycle increased slightly. Furthermore, the length of the front decreased, while the shear strength of the front increased. The propagation of the front was determined by flood and ebb process in the delta, where both of them were from north to south due to tidal phase distribution. Long-term characteristic variations of the front were mainly caused by morphology change, which had a significant influence on the tidal current gradient and the location of maximum bottom stress gradient area. The morphology change also had a slight impact on the tidal current phase in the front area, which may have caused the slight duration variation of the front.