This study focuses on dynamic mechanism behind the formation of the freshwater zone around the Meimao Sandbank by use of 3D numerical simulation.The Meimao Sandbank is located along the southern bank of the South Passage in the Changjiang(Yangtze River) estuary,which is considered as a freshwater resource for Shanghai City.Interaction between runoff and tide is the main mechanism of the freshwater zone formation.However,the freshwater zone often suffers from saltwater intrusion in dry season.Tidal oscillation is stronger during spring tides,able to carry freshwater farther seaward.Therefore,it is more likely to occur during the ebb of a spring tide in dry seasons.In addition,the water zone is sensitive to runoff:when runoff decreases,it disappears,and vice versa.The northerly winds favor the formation of the freshwater zone.
The observation at the Chongxi gauging station indicated the salinity of saltwater spilling over from the North Branch to the South Branch increased abnormally from November 10 to 12 in 2009 (during neap tide) and from February 11 to 12 in 2010 (during moderate tide).We found for the first time that the strong northerly wind was responsible for the above abnormal salinity increase.Previous studies indicated that the saltwater intrusion in the Yangtze Estuary is influenced mainly by the river discharge,the tide,and the wind stress,but the impacts of variations of wind speed and direction on it have not been investigated.In this study the impacts of wind stress on the saltwater intrusion were numerically simulated and the associated mechanisms were analyzed.The model results were consistent with the observed data obtained at six gauging stations during February and March in 2007 and four gauging stations in March 2008,and the abnormal salinity risings were well captured.Meanwhile,if the wind speed is reduced by half,the salinity there will be significantly decreased.Driven by the monthly mean river discharge of 11000 m 3 /s and northerly wind of 5 m/s from January to February,the model simulated the temporal and spatial variation of saltwater intrusion.The wind-driven circulation,as well as the net water and salt fluxes from the North Branch into the South Branch,was calculated and analyzed in the cases of different wind speeds and directions.The results indicated that the intensity of the saltwater intrusion in the Yangtze Estuary is significantly influenced by the wind speeds and directions.
We studied the flood, ebb and tidal averaged along (net) water diversion ratio (WDR) during dry season in the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary, China, along with the effects of northerly wind, river discharge, tide and their interactions on WDR using the improved version of three-dimensional numerical model ECOM. Using data for annual mean wind speed and river discharge during January, we determined that the flood, ebb, net WDR values in the North Branch of the estuary were 3.48%, 1.68%,-4.06% during spring tide, and 4.82%, 2.34%,-2.79% during neap tide, respectively. Negative net WDR values denote the transport of water from the North Branch into the South Branch. Using the same data, the corresponding ratios were 50.09%, 50.92%, 54.97%, and 52.33%, 50.15%, 43.86% in the North Channel and 38.56%, 44.78%, 103.96%, and 36.92%, 43.17%, 60.97% in the North Passage, respectively. When northerly wind speed increased, landward Ekman transport was enhanced in the North Branch, increasing the flood WDR, while the ebb WDR declined and the net WDR exhibited a significant decrease. Similarly, in the North Channel, the flood WDR is increased, the ebb WDR reduced, and the net WDR showed a marked decrease. In the North Passage, the flood WDR also increased while the ebb and net WDR declined. As the river discharge increased, the flood and ebb WDR of the North Branch increased slightly and the net WDR increased markedly. In the North Channel the flood and ebb WDR changed very slightly, while the net WDR declined during spring tides and increased during neap tides. The WDR in the North Passage changed slightly during flood and ebb tides while the net WDR showed a marked increase. The WDR values of different bifurcations and the responses to northerly wind, river discharge, and tide are discussed in comparison with variations in river topography, horizontal wind-induced circulation, and tidal-induced residual current.
