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Cross-front transport is a vital process in the offshore transport of terrestrial materials. The factors influencing cross-front transport are multifaceted and exhibit regional variability. As important factors regulating material transport patterns in the shelf seas of eastern China, the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) and Kuroshio current (including its branches) vary on multiple time scales, yet their role in controlling offshore transport is not fully understood. In this paper, cross-front offshore transport in the North Yellow Sea is chosen to investigate the aforementioned issue using numerical simulation. By excluding other potential processes for offshore transport, frontal instability is identified as the primary mechanism for offshore transport, which is triggered by winter storms (bursts of the EAWM); hence, the intensity of offshore transport is highly associated with the strength of winter storms on synoptic scales. However, on the inter-annual scale, the intensity of offshore transport is more likely regulated by the strength of the Kuroshio current, and a warming Kuroshio facilitates offshore transport. Although the role of each factor in controlling the intensity of offshore transport is delineated, the interactive effects of the EAWM and Kuroshio current on offshore transport are quite intricate, and how to quantitatively estimate their roles on multiple time scales remains a challenge using modelling. The results obtained from this study can be applied to analyse cross-front transport throughout the eastern China seas and bear significant implications for future studies on pollutant diffusion, nutrient distribution, and sediment transport in the coastal area. • Cross-front transport around the Shandong Peninsula was revealed using a numerical model. • EAWM and Kuroshio affect the strength of cross-front transport on different time scales. • With global warming, the temperature of Kuroshio might gradually become the primary control of cross-front transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Yellow Sea (SYS) is strongly influenced by large amounts of sediment input from surrounding rivers, but the dispersal patterns of these sediments, especially how they accumulate in the central Yellow Sea mud (CYSM) region, have not been well illustrated. Here, we present a detailed temporal variation record of the clay mineral compositions from core YSC-10 of the northern SYS near the western margin of the CYSM, trying to investigate sediment provenance and to discuss transport processes occurring during the Holocene. The clay mineral assemblages of core YSC-10 mainly consist predominantly of illite (68 ± 3%), followed by chlorite (15 ± 2%) and kaolinite (10 ± 2%), with scarce amounts of smectite (6 ± 3%). Combined with published data, our results suggest that the fine sediments of core YSC-10 are most likely a mixing product of the Huanghe (Yellow River), Changjiang (Yangtze River) and Korean Peninsula small river sediments, with notable temporal changes. During 8.4–6.4 ka, the Huanghe sediments from the Bohai Sea flowed directly into the SYS and played major roles in the sedimentation therein. In addition, as the modern ocean circulation pattern was formed ∼6 ka, the ocean front developed along the Shandong Peninsula coastal area of the SYS, which would have prevented the dispersal of the Huanghe sediments to the CYSM. The Changjiang sediments delivered by the diluted water replaced those from the Huanghe as the main source of the CYSM during the period of 6.4–4.2 ka. After 4.2 ka, the coastal shear front weakened and moved seawards due to the weakening and eastward shift of the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) in winter and the weakening and shrinking of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM) in summer. The Huanghe sediments seem to have increased and fluctuated frequently to core YSC-10 since then. Our study thus highlights that the coastal shear front may have played an important role in the source-to-sink processes of the SYS. • Clay mineral assemblages of core YSC-10 which near the western margin of the CYSM since the Holocene. • The source and transport mechanism of clay minerals of core YSC-10 in different time periods since Holocene. • The oceanic front played critical role in the source to sink processes of the SYS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-distance transport of Yellow River sediments has formed an omega-shaped ('Ω') distal muddy deposit in the Yellow Sea. Numerous studies have investigated the sediment dynamics and sedimentary evolution of the deposit, but several key questions remain unanswered due to insufficient observations. To reveal the mechanisms of sediment dynamics and quantify sediment transport and deposition processes, this study collected field datasets in the depocenter of the muddy deposit off the Shandong Peninsula. Bottom mounted tripods were deployed from August 18 to 27, 2017, and from February 23 to March 2, 2018, during which two strong wind events with speeds of over 10.8 m/s occurred. The results showed that near-bed suspended sediment concentration responded directly to varying hydrodynamic conditions, and significant differences in suspended sediment concentration between two wind events could be ascribed to a number of factors (e.g., tidal current, wave periods, wind stress, turbulence). The harmonic analysis demonstrated that suspended sediment variations during the spring tide were directed mainly by resuspension, while resuspension and advection contributed equally at neap tide. The variations in background suspended sediment concentration can be ascribed to the residual current. Furthermore, the sediment transport pattern is similar to the pattern of water circulation. Generally, the along-shore suspended sediment flux is about one order of magnitude higher than the cross-shore flux. In summer, the suspended sediment was transported mainly downcoast. In winter, sediment was transported downcoast during wavy periods and upcoast during calm periods. Advection dominated sediment flux in most cases, except during wavy periods when local resuspension increased significantly, and the contribution of resuspension term to along-shore flux was up to 87%. Meanwhile, cross-shore flux also increased significantly under strong winds, which was simultaneously modulated by downcoast and offshore winds. After statistical analysis, we found that offshore winds controlled the cross-shore sediment transport in winter. Using parameterized calculation and statistical analysis, the average accumulation rate of the study site was estimated to be 0.6 cm/yr. During calm periods, lower background sediment concentration in summer led to lower deposition rates than in winter. In addition, the frequent strong wind events in winter cause extremely high erosion rates. This study provides new perspectives on quantitative variations in suspended sediment transport and regional erosion/deposition from synoptic to seasonal variations in the distal mud deposit. • In-situ observations at the bottom boundary layer were conducted in summer and winter on the muddy deposit off the Shandong Peninsula. • The advection dominates sediment flux in most cases, except for during wind gusts when local resuspension increases significantly. • Combining parameterized method and observational data, the accumulation rate is estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]