Program  
 
Physics of estuaries and coastal seas
 

 
 
1030
Multiple timescale suspended sediment concentration variations in the East China Seas indicated by satellite observations
Tuesday 8th @ 1030-1050, Conference Hall
Changwei Bian* , Ocean University of China
Zhou Zhou, Ocean University of China
Presenter Email: bianchangwei@ouc.edu.cn

Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in the East China Seas (ECSs) is modulated by a host of physical processes such as wind waves, tides and circulations on different timescales, which in turn leads to SSC variations on corresponding timescales. SSC variations have attracted enormous interest in the ECSs community owing to its profound impact on biogeochemical processes. However, the SSC variations and its modulation mechanisms remains limited understood. The aim of present study is to quantify the SSC variations on multiple timescales (intra-tidal, seasonal and long-term timescales) and their modulation mechanisms using high spatial-temporal resolution satellite remote sensing data from MODIS and GOCI. The results indicate that in the ECSs (area of 13.01×105 Km2), the monsoon winds play the most important role in modulating SSC, causing strong SSC variation (> 30 mg/L) in 8.1% area (1.07×105 Km2), and medium SSC variation (5−30 mg/L) in 29.5% area (3.89×105 Km2). The tidal currents have significant influence on SSC variation, causing strong SSC variation in 0.7% area (0.10×105 Km2), and medium SSC variation in 26.2% area (3.41×105 Km2). The SSC variations on the long-term timescales (10 years) are not significant, as strong SSC variations are only observed in the Bohai Sea with an area of 0.008×105 Km2. The SSC datasets of this study provide the research community of the ECSs an important data source for a better understanding of SSC spatial-temporal variability and its modulation mechanisms in the ECSs.

 
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