Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai Strait

The exchange of water through the Bohai Strait, located between the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, plays a crucial role in controlling physical-biogeochemical conditions in the coastal seas off northern and eastern China. We investigated the characteristics of the water exchange through the strait us...

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Main Authors: Danning Wu, Xiaojie Yu, Xinyu Guo, Yucheng Wang, Huiwang Gao, Tao Zou, Jianhui Tang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1512318/full
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author Danning Wu
Danning Wu
Xiaojie Yu
Xiaojie Yu
Xinyu Guo
Yucheng Wang
Huiwang Gao
Huiwang Gao
Tao Zou
Jianhui Tang
author_facet Danning Wu
Danning Wu
Xiaojie Yu
Xiaojie Yu
Xinyu Guo
Yucheng Wang
Huiwang Gao
Huiwang Gao
Tao Zou
Jianhui Tang
author_sort Danning Wu
collection DOAJ
description The exchange of water through the Bohai Strait, located between the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, plays a crucial role in controlling physical-biogeochemical conditions in the coastal seas off northern and eastern China. We investigated the characteristics of the water exchange through the strait using a numerical model. Our results showed that the residual current was featured with inflow in the northern part and outflow in the southern part of the strait, consistent with previous studies. A two-layer structure, i.e. outflow in the surface layer and inflow in the bottom layer, was newly found in the southern part of the strait. Through a series of numerical experiments, we found that the two-layer structure was induced by density-driven currents and was strongest in summer. Furthermore, the seasonal variation of net water flux through the strait showed correspondence to that of the Yellow River discharge. We investigated the effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through Bohai Strait by additional experiments. Results showed that the response of net water flux through the strait was nearly synchronous with the variation in the Yellow River discharge; however, the response of inflow/outflow flux was a combination of synchronous and delayed responses to the Yellow River discharge. Compared with the maximum Yellow River discharge in July, the largest increase in outflow volume through the strait occurred in next March. The synchronous response is induced by the barotropic effect, while the asynchronous response is due to the baroclinic effect of the Yellow River discharge. Meanwhile, tracers released from the Yellow River mouth at the end of June were detected at the southern strait in next January. Therefore, the Yellow River discharge likely has a delay effect on the Bohai Strait water exchange with an approximate lag of 7–9 months.
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series Frontiers in Marine Science
spelling doaj-art-fa2683966ab04850a463bd356311d8a22025-08-20T03:53:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-04-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15123181512318Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai StraitDanning Wu0Danning Wu1Xiaojie Yu2Xiaojie Yu3Xinyu Guo4Yucheng Wang5Huiwang Gao6Huiwang Gao7Tao Zou8Jianhui Tang9Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Ministry of Education, Qingdao, ChinaLaboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, ChinaKey Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Ministry of Education, Qingdao, ChinaLaboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, ChinaCenter for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Matsuyama, JapanLaoshan Laboratory, Qingdao, ChinaKey Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Ministry of Education, Qingdao, ChinaLaboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, ChinaKey Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, ChinaKey Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, ChinaThe exchange of water through the Bohai Strait, located between the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, plays a crucial role in controlling physical-biogeochemical conditions in the coastal seas off northern and eastern China. We investigated the characteristics of the water exchange through the strait using a numerical model. Our results showed that the residual current was featured with inflow in the northern part and outflow in the southern part of the strait, consistent with previous studies. A two-layer structure, i.e. outflow in the surface layer and inflow in the bottom layer, was newly found in the southern part of the strait. Through a series of numerical experiments, we found that the two-layer structure was induced by density-driven currents and was strongest in summer. Furthermore, the seasonal variation of net water flux through the strait showed correspondence to that of the Yellow River discharge. We investigated the effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through Bohai Strait by additional experiments. Results showed that the response of net water flux through the strait was nearly synchronous with the variation in the Yellow River discharge; however, the response of inflow/outflow flux was a combination of synchronous and delayed responses to the Yellow River discharge. Compared with the maximum Yellow River discharge in July, the largest increase in outflow volume through the strait occurred in next March. The synchronous response is induced by the barotropic effect, while the asynchronous response is due to the baroclinic effect of the Yellow River discharge. Meanwhile, tracers released from the Yellow River mouth at the end of June were detected at the southern strait in next January. Therefore, the Yellow River discharge likely has a delay effect on the Bohai Strait water exchange with an approximate lag of 7–9 months.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1512318/fulltime lagwater exchangeYellow River dischargeBohai Straitnumerical modeling
spellingShingle Danning Wu
Danning Wu
Xiaojie Yu
Xiaojie Yu
Xinyu Guo
Yucheng Wang
Huiwang Gao
Huiwang Gao
Tao Zou
Jianhui Tang
Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai Strait
Frontiers in Marine Science
time lag
water exchange
Yellow River discharge
Bohai Strait
numerical modeling
title Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai Strait
title_full Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai Strait
title_fullStr Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai Strait
title_full_unstemmed Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai Strait
title_short Delay effect of Yellow River discharge on the water exchange through the Bohai Strait
title_sort delay effect of yellow river discharge on the water exchange through the bohai strait
topic time lag
water exchange
Yellow River discharge
Bohai Strait
numerical modeling
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1512318/full
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