Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2010, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (6): 15-21.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2010.06.015cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2010.06.015

• Marine hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Expansion of the Pearl River diluted water in 2006 and its ecological response

YANG Yang, MENG Qiang, XIA Hua-yong, LI Rui-xiang, ZHU Peng-li   

  1. South China Sea Engineering Surveying Center, State Ocean Administration, Guangzhou 510300, China
  • Received:2010-05-24 Revised:2010-07-02 Online:2010-12-15 Published:2010-12-15
  • About author:杨阳(1976—), 湖南省衡阳市人, 工程师, 当前主要从事海洋水文气象研究工作。E-mail: yyang0213@scsio.ac.cn
  • Supported by:

    国家908项目(908-02-01-03)

Abstract:

Expansion of Pearl River diluted water is studied based on measurements in the Pearl River Estuary and surround-ing sea areas in the summer of 2006. The results show that the Pearl River diluted water mainly expands westward, which can expand to the eastern side of Hailing Island. Sometimes it expands eastward to the middle of the Honghai Bay. It expands to the open sea to 21.2°N aided by Ekman flow during southwestern monsoon period. The plume front of the Pearl River diluted water is very obvious, which is located at waters above 10 m. Isolated low salinity water is found in the southeast sea area of the Gaolan Islands and Lema Islands, respectively. On the continental shelf, the distribution of suspended sediment concentra-tion, chlorophyll-a, and dissolved oxygen are influenced by the Pearl River diluted water, which present double-peak. The suspended sediment carried by the Pearl River diluted water is the main source of the sediment on the continental shelf. The high concentration of chlorophyll-a corresponds to high concentration of dissolved oxygen, which is located in the sea area of Shangxiachuan Islands and Wanshan Islands.

Key words: Pearl River Estuary, diluted water, plume front, dissolved oxygen