Dynamics of the Changjiang River Plume

Abstract

The extension of the Changjiang River plume is one of the fundamental processes in the Yellow and East China Seas, which is responsible not only for the physical properties of seawater but also for the numerous physical, biogeochemical, and sedimentary processes in this region. The studies of the Changjiang River plume dated back to 1960s, followed by generations, and are still attracting numerous focuses nowadays. Here in this chapter, we will review the past studies on the Changjiang River plume and present some latest studies on this massive river plume. The latest research progresses on the Changjiang River plume are mainly related to the tidal modulation mechanisms. It is found that the tide shifts the Changjiang Rive plume to the northeast outside the river mouth, bifurcates the plume at the head of submarine canyon, and arrests the unreal up-shelf plume intrusion that occurred frequently in previous model studies. It is also found that the tidal residual current transports part of the Changjiang River plume to the Subei Coastal Water. These tidal modulation effects can answer the questions on the dynamics of Changjiang River plume that puzzled the research community for decades.