Distribution Patterns of Suspended Sediment in Radial Sand Ridges Area, South Yellow Sea, China

Radial sand ridges area is located in south Yellow Sea, China, which is a valuable area for tidal flat reclamation and port construction. To rationally develop and protect this resource, the spatial distribution of tidal current velocity, grain size and suspended sediment concentration was studied based on measured data in August 2006. Result shows that the velocity in study area has a decreasing tendency with the Tiaozini water area being centered towards surrounding areas. The grain sizes near shore are smaller than ones offshore. At the same time ,the spatial distribution of grain size appears Λ pattern from north to south. The high value of mean sediment concentration appears in near shore area as well as the center of radial sand ridges.