Advances in Earth Science ›› 2011, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (2): 145-156. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2011.02.0145

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Characteristics of the Western Coastal Current of the Yellow Sea and Its Impacts on Material Transportation

Wei Qinsheng 1,2,3,Yu Zhigang 1,Ran Xiangbin 2,3,Zang Jiaye 2,3   

  1. 1.Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology,Ministry of Education,Ocean University of China,Qingdao266100,China; 
    2.First Institute of Oceanography,State Oceanic Administration,Qingdao266061,China;
    3.Key Lab of Science and Engineering for Marine Ecological Environment,State Oceanic Administration,Qingdao266061,China
  • Received:2010-06-07 Revised:2010-09-10 Online:2011-02-10 Published:2011-02-10

Wei Qinsheng1,2,3,Yu Zhigang1,Ran Xiangbin2,3,Zang Jiaye2,3. Characteristics of the Western Coastal Current of the Yellow Sea and Its Impacts on Material Transportation[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2011, 26(2): 145-156.

The Western Coast of the Yellow Sea (WCYS) is greatly influenced by the human activities,and the interaction between land and ocean in this sea area is very intense because of its special terrain and unique geographical location.The circulation is quite complex and changeable in the WCYS,and water masses,continental shelf front and the frontal region of the Yangtze Estuary compose  the unique current system in the western Yellow Sea,which play an important role in the material transportation and diffusion,sea water movement,marine biogeochemical process and so on.Based on the summary of the previous research progress,this paper analyzes systematically the arrangement and characteristics of the coastal currents(or water masses)in the WCYS,as well as the relationship between the coastal water masses and the main body of the Western Coastal Current of the Yellow Sea(WCCYS),obtaining some new understanding about the current configuration in Lunan Coast and the northward current in Subei Coast in summer,expounding the material transportation effects of the coastal currents. Due  to the lack of the quantitative research in the WCCYS,it is pointed out that the research on the division method of the coastal currents and on determining the dependency of the continental shelf front and the coastal currents should be carried out.Additionally,the evaluation methods of the material transportation effects of the WCCYS should be also be established,which can not only provide the quantitative evaluation of the impacts on the marine environment and the role in material budgets of the material transportation of the coastal currents,and reveal the relationship between the purification ability of the coastal waters and the material transportation of the coastal currents,but also offer the scientific basis for the regional marine ecological environment protection.It is necessary to build coastal current observing system,develop new technological means and investigation method,analyze the surveyed data and the satellite remote sensing data using data mining skills,extract the environmental elements feature values of the water masses and shelf fronts,and establish the accuratenumerical model for the material transportation of the coastal currents in the future,which may provides valuable ideas for the above scientific problems.

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