Seasonal variation of sedimentary processes in a semi-enclosed bay: Hampyong bay, Korea

Multi-annual sedimentological observations on tidal-flat sediments were carried out in Hampyong Bay, southeastern Yellow Sea, to infer the budget of modern muddy sediments in the bay. Sedimentation rates over a four-year period show contrasting types of seasonal sedimentary cycles occurring in the tidal flats within the elongated bay. Both sides of the bay are largely sheltered from winter waves, resulting in surface mud deposition during winter and erosion during summer. In contrast, tidal flats along the head of the bay are influenced by winter waves, resulting in a reversed trend where erosion occurs during winter and deposition during summer. Tidal flats near the bay-mouth, however, show a sedimentary cycle disrupted by the construction of sea walls undergoing consistent erosion throughout the observational period. The shoreline artificially straightened seems to cause tidal currents to bypass the tidal flat and hence to be much stronger. These differences in sedimentary cycles suggest the critical importance of the orientation of tidal flats relative to the propagating direction (from N–NW) of the monsoon winter-storm waves on the tidal-flat sedimentation in the eastern coastal area of the Yellow Sea. The preliminary budget estimation for the tidal-flat mud suggests that the tidal flats in Hampyong Bay are subject to the slight but consistent erosion as a whole.