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In situ observations of wave pumping of sediments in the Yellow River Delta with a newly developed benthic chamber

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Abstract

A specially designed benthic chamber for the field observation of sediment resuspension that is caused by the wave-induced oscillatory seepage effect (i.e., the wave pumping of sediments) is newly developed. Observational results from the first sea trial prove that the geometry design and skillful instrumentation of the chamber well realize the goal of monitoring the wave pumping of sediments (WPS) continuously. Based on this field dataset, the quantitative contribution of the WPS to the total sediment resuspension is estimated to be 20–60% merely under the continuous action of normal waves (Hs ≤ 1.5 m) in the subaqueous Yellow River Delta (YRD). Such a large contribution invalidates a commonly held opinion that sediments are purely eroded from the seabed surface by the horizontal “shearing effect” from the wave orbital or current velocities. In fact, a considerable amount of sediments could originate from the shallow subsurface of seabed driven by the vertical “pumping effect” of the wave-generated seepage flows during wavy periods. According to the new findings, an improved conceptual model for the resuspension mechanisms of silty sediments under various hydrodynamics is proposed for the first time.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41372287), the NSFC-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (U1606401), the Open Fund of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (QNLM2016ORP0110) and the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong province, China (2016ZDJS09A03). The authors thank our field crews for their excellent work at sea: postgraduates Zhenhao Wang, Bowen Li, Mingzheng Wen, Kai Cui, Bowen Zhang, Zhicong Shen, Dr. Changwei Bian and Nan Wang. Discussion with Prof. Jingping Xu and Engineer Minsheng Zhang were highly valuable and appreciated. We also acknowledge the insightful comments from the editor and reviewers.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Shandong Province for Marine Environment and Geological Engineering, Ocean University of China (College of Environmental Science and Engineering), Qingdao, 266100, China

    Shaotong Zhang, Yonggang Jia, Xiaolei Liu & Hongxian Shan

  2. Functional Laboratory for Marine Geology and Environment, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Shaotong Zhang, Yonggang Jia, Xiaolei Liu & Hongxian Shan

  3. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, Ocean University of China (College of Marine Geosciences), Qingdao, 266100, China

    Yaqi Zhang

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  1. Shaotong Zhang
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Correspondence to Yonggang Jia.

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Zhang, S., Jia, Y., Zhang, Y. et al. In situ observations of wave pumping of sediments in the Yellow River Delta with a newly developed benthic chamber. Mar Geophys Res 39, 463–474 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-018-9344-9

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