Exchange Mechanism of the Suspended Sediment at the Mouth of Hangzhou Bay under Coastline Changes

¹ Institute of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China
² State Key Laboratory of SatelliteOcean Environmental Dynamics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

^* Corresponding author: lilizju@zju.edu.cn

Abstract

Based on FVCOM hydrodynamic numerical model and coastline topographic data in 2013, a three-dimensional numerical model of fine sediment transport in Hangzhou Bay has been established to explore the water and sediment exchange mechanism between Hangzhou Bay and the open sea at different typical sections. The results of validation with measured and satellite retrieved data show that the model can well simulate the process of water and sediment movement in Hangzhou Bay. Compared with the calculation results of the coastline topographic data of Hangzhou Bay in 1974 and 2020, the influence mechanism of shoreline change on the water and sediment exchange mechanism between Hangzhou Bay and the open sea has been studied. The results show that the sediment transport inside and outside the Hangzhou Bay is generally in the pattern of north-inflow and south-discharge. Compared with the coastline in 1974, the sediment transport from Yangshan port in the north of Hangzhou Bay and Zhoushan Islands in the middle of Hangzhou Bay increases when the coastline is pushed into the bay in 2020, while the outward sediment transport from Jintang Channel in the South decreases. The overall trend features that the sediment transport into the bay increases, with the bay mouth silting. In the three sections extending from Hangzhou Bay to the open sea, the inflowing water and sediment of the horizontal section on the north side is decreasing, while the discharged sediment from the south side and the inflowing water and discharged sediment from the vertical section at the east side are increasing.