Seabed deposition and erosion change and influence factors in the Yangshan Deepwater Port over the years

The seabed scouring and silting are very important to the construction of port and waterway engineering. Seabed deposition and erosion change is complicated due to the influence of sediment supply, human activities and other factors. The Yangshan Deepwater Port is the new deep water harbor, which is an important part of the Shanghai International Shipping Service Center. Its construction has received much attention. At present, the water depth from the 1st to the 3rd harbor district is currently suitable under regular dredging and tidal current action. The fourth harbor district will be built in the world’s largest fully-automated deep water wharf. In the study, bathymetry change of the entire sea area of the Yangshan Deepwater Port and the 4th harbor district (i.e., Phase IV project) waters were analyzed quantitatively using multiyear bathymetric, hydrological and sediment data. The results show that from 1998 to 2010, seabed changes are characterized by large volumes of erosion and sedimentation, which the southern part was deposited and the northern part was eroded in the inner harbor waters, but the seabed of the Kezhushan inlet was eroded. Seabed changes of Phase IV project waters generally show a scour tendency in recent few years with the annual scour rate about 0.7 m. Among the many factors, the existence of Kezhushan inlet and its influence of the western water flow play an important positive role in water depth changes under the ebb tide action.