Tidal Effects on Changjiang Plume Dispersal in the East China Sea

We incorporated tidal currents into a previously validated three-dimensional subtidal circulation model, and used it to assess the manner in which tides affect the Changjiang plume dispersal. The coupled model results show that competition in both tidal and wind-driven currents occurs during the winter season. However, the northeasterly winds are predominant in the competition because they transport large amounts of brackish water to the south along the southeastern China coast. In general, the summer tidal currents disperse Changjiang plume more southward and seaward rather than northward for the case without tides; however, the winter tidal currents seem to reduce their effects. In winter, the tidal currents may cause strong turbulent tidal mixing with their ambient water, particularly close to the coastal boundaries. Thus, results more closely aligned with observations of Changjiang River plumes were obtained from the tide-circulated coupling model than from the general circulation model.

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