Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2): 9-20.doi: 10.11978/2022106CSTR: 32234.14.2022106

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Geomorphological changes and dynamic responses of the Huangmaohai Estuary in the Pearl River Delta

YAN Jing1(), WEI Xing1,2()   

  1. 1. South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    2. Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
  • Received:2022-05-10 Revised:2022-06-10 Online:2023-03-10 Published:2022-06-13
  • Contact: WEI Xing. email: wes@scsio.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41890851); Key Special Projects for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou)(GML2019ZD0303); Project of State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography(LTOZZ2202)

Abstract:

The Huangmaohai Estuary (HE) is a horn-shaped estuary in the southwest of the Pearl River Delta. In the last few decades, the morphology of the HE has undergone tremendous changes under the combined action of natural processes and human activities. Based on the historical charts and satellite remote sensing images from 1972 to 2016, this paper quantitatively analyzes the changes of the coastline and underwater topography, and constructs a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model to discuss the dynamic response to the topographic changes. The results showed that land reclamation caused the mouth and coastline of the outlet to extend sharply to the sea, and the water area was greatly reduced. As a result, the tidal volume of the estuary decreased from 1.113 billion cubic meters in 1972 to 895 million cubic meters in 2016, a decrease of nearly 19.61%. At the same time, the narrowing of the estuary also causes changes in the hydrological dynamics, such as the rise of the water level, the enhancement of the runoff power, the reduction of the tidal range, the shortening of the high tide duration, and the extension of the ebb tide duration. In the future, with the silting and filling of the estuary, the tidal power of the estuary will be further weakened.

Key words: Huangmaohai Estuary, Morphological changes, Dynamic response, Numerical modeling