ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Physical Oceanography
Spring-neap variation of total suspended solids over the Changjiang Bank in winter based on GOCI
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanghai Institute of Hypertension, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- 2Second Institute of Oceanography Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
- 3Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Natural Resources, Zhoushan, China
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Total suspended solids concentration (TSS) over the Changjiang Bank exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity and distinct rhythmic variations at spring-neap and quarter-diurnal timescales. However, limited spatial coverage of observations restricts large-area TSS mapping, while insufficient temporal resolution introduces frequency aliasing that obscures spring-neap TSS signatures. Here, we applied spatiotemporal Kriging interpolation to hourly TSS data from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) to enhance spatial coverage. Subsequently, the daily mean (TSSdaily) and daily range (∆TSS) of TSS were derived to quantitatively analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of TSS over a spring-neap cycle. Results show that both TSSdaily and ∆TSS present a tongue-shaped distribution decreasing southeastward, which can be classified into high-, medium-, and low-turbidity & diurnal-variability zones offshore (denoted as H-, M-, and L-Zones). Notably, the H-Zone displays a stepped pattern aligned with three latitudinal sand dunes near the 40-m isobath. Over the spring-neap cycle, TSSdaily and ΔTSS generally co-varied with tidal currents. The H-Zone contracted and gradually lost its stepped pattern as tidal currents weakened, then expanded and reestablished this stepped pattern as tidal currents strengthened. Mechanistic analysis reveals that the spatiotemporal variations in TSSdaily and ∆TSS are primarily governed by tide-induced mixing, modulated by water depth and tidal currents velocity. Specifically, water depth determines their distribution patterns, while variations in tidal current velocity drive their spring-neap evolution.
Keywords: Changjiang Bank, Total suspended solids (TSS), Spring-neap variations, Quarter-diurnal variations, Tide-induced mixing
Received: 02 Oct 2025; Accepted: 20 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Xuan and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jiliang Xuan, xuanjl@sio.org.cn
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