Non-flood season neap tides in the Yangtze estuary offshore: Flow mixing processes and its potential impacts on adjacent wetlands

How flow mixing process influences the wetlands of the Yangtze Estuary is still poorly understood. Hydrological fieldwork was conducted on five vessel-anchored sites (S1-S2; M1-M2-M3) near the major wetlands of the Yangtze Estuary offshore (121°57′-122°30′E, 30°50′-31°23′N) on May 8-11 2004, to examine the dynamics of neap tides in the non-flood season of the Yangtze (∼24, 700 m3s-1 at Datong) and their impacts on adjacent wetlands. Based on the measurement of the acoustic Doppler current profiler (aDcp), direct-reading current meter and optical backscattering sensor (OBS-3A), two flow patterns were revealed: 1) well mixing flow pattern caused by the turbulent tidal currents, and 2) weak mixing flow pattern resulted by the estuarine circulation in the North Port of the estuary. The characteristics of such different flow patterns were analyzed and resultant sediment dispersals were discussed in relation to the adjacent wetlands. It is suggested that the estuarine circulation might be the important process to nourish the eastern wetland of the Yangtze Estuary which has been neglected before.