The erosion threshold, beyond which bed sediments start to move, is a key parameter describing sediment transport processes. For silt-dominated mixtures, in which the grain size is between sand and clay, existing experimental studies exhibit contradictory observations. That is, the erosion was either sand-like or clay-like, suggesting transitional erosion behavior. To explore the underlying mechanism of the transitional erosion behavior of silt-sized sediment, we revisited the topic of the erosion threshold of sand-silt mixtures by carrying out a series of erosion experiments for different bed compositions. The results suggest that there exists a critical silt content of approximately 35%, separating two domains. Below this critical value, the critical bed shear stress follows the Shields criterion, whereas above this value, the erosion threshold of a mixed bed increases abruptly and remains relatively constant with a further increase in silt content. By combining with existing data, we found that the proposed critical silt content acts as a tipping point, beyond which the mixed bed shifts from a sand-dominated to a silt-dominated domain. For the silt-dominated domain, a stable silt skeleton can be formed by attraction forces that resist erosion. However, the attraction forces are too weak to form a stable silt skeleton when the silt content is too small. Based on this finding, a modified critical bed shear stress formula is proposed for silt-dominated mixtures, which results in a better agreement with experimental data (an averaged bias of 10%), performing better than existing formulas (larger than 30%).

The fast economic development of the People's Republic of China has created an increasing demand for usable land, resulting in large-scale land reclamations along the coastal zone. One of these regions is Tongzhou Bay (Jiangsu coast), a region characterized by large intertidal mudflats and deep tidal channels with potential for the development of agri-aquaculture and the construction of a deep-sea port. However, these intertidal mudflats also provide vital ecosystem services and support many wildlife species, including several endangered migratory shorebirds within the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. With increasing realization of the importance of maintaining such ecological values, a more integrated coastal development strategy is needed. This study aims to develop a sustainable integrated design for the Tongzhou Bay port, following a "Building with Nature" approach. We use a morphodynamic model to compute habitat suitability for two shorebird species (Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris and Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica). Several port configurations were developed on the basis of three design criteria: (1) create area for future port development, whilst (2) preserving existing high-value ecotopes for shorebirds and (3) enhance the natural accretion rate of such ecotopes. Simulation results showed a clear difference in siltation patterns, preservation and enhancement of preferred ecotopes. This work therefore demonstrates the potential and importance of morphological and habitat suitability modelling when designing large-scale reclamations and port constructions, especially in dynamic areas such as Tongzhou Bay.

China's continuous and rapid economic growth has led to the reclamation of large sections of the intertidal mud coast in combination with port construction, such as that of the proposed Tongzhou Bay port on the Jiangsu coast. These reclamations threaten the local ecosystem services. An ecotope distribution map was created and a hydrodynamic numerical model of Tongzhou Bay was set up to quantify the impacts of reclamation on the ecosystem. Based on the field data and model results, several abiotic features were classified into 11 ecotopes and visualized in an ecotope map of the Tongzhou Bay ecosystem. Validation with spatial distributions of two threatened shorebird species (bar-tailed godwit and great knot) showed confirmation with the mid-range and low-range littoral zones (inundated from 40% to 100% of a tidal cycle), indicating the importance of the areas with these conditions to these populations. Overlaying the ecotope map with recent and proposed land reclamation schemes revealed a loss of ecotopes, composed of the high-range (42%), mid-range (48%), and low-range (38%) littoral habitats, corresponding to a 44%–45% loss of the most important ecotopes for bar-tailed godwit and great knot (mid-range and low-range littoral zones). These results confirm the applicability of the novel ecotope assessment approach in practice.

Tidal currents belong to the main driving forces shaping the bathymetry of marginal seas. A globally unique radial sand ridge field exists in the South Yellow Sea off the central Jiangsu coast, China. Its formation is related to the distinctive “radial tidal current” pattern at that location. A generally accepted hypothesis is that the “radial tidal current” is a consequence of the interference between the northern amphidromic tidal wave system and the southern incoming tidal wave. In this study, a schematized numerical tidal model was designed to investigate the tidal current system and the factors of influence in the South Yellow Sea. Concepts of the tidal current amphidromic point (CAP) and the tidal current inclination angle are utilized to analyze the inherent structure of the tidal current system. By conducting a series of numerical experiments, it is found that the Poincaré modes are necessary for the existence of “radial tidal current,” and the e-folding decay length should be smaller than the basin length. In the Yellow Sea, cross-basin phase differences due to lateral depth differences as well as open boundary conditions favor the emergence of the “radial tidal current.” Further analyses indicate that the CAP system (i.e., the co-inclination lines, the CAPs, and the tidal ellipticity) deepens the understanding on the dynamic structure of a tidal current system, and therefore, it deserves more attention in future studies.