Geotechnical properties of surface and near-surface deposits in the East China Sea

Shelf deposits in the East China Sea are primarily relict sands with overlying fine-grained cohesive deposits occurring along the innermost shelf and as a more or less isolated deposit on the midshelf. Considering these surface and near-surface (0 to 1.5 m) cohesive deposits as a unit, the innermost shelf sediments are slightly coarser (more silt) than those of the midshelf which commonly contain more clay-size material. The inner shelf sediments also display higher mean wet bulk densities (1.48 to 1.88 mg m −3) and shear strengths (4.0 to 9.8 kPa), but lower water contents (64 to 81%) and porosities (62 to 66%) than those found associated with the midshelf deposits. Available data indicate that the midshelf mud deposit is primarily derived from the reworking of Huanghe (Yellow River) coastal deposits that were laid down at a time when the river debouched into the Yellow Sea to the north of the Changjiang. Some portion of the midshelf mud may be derived from the Changjiang. These midshelf ‘fines’ apparently are caught up in a large circulation gyre over the shelf which accounts for their isolated nature. Strong bottom and near-bottom currents, as well as winter storm wave activity, are primary mechanisms resulting in both suspended sediment and bedload transport on the shelf of the East China Sea.