Morphology, Hydrodynamics and Sediment Characteristics of the Changyun Sand Ridge offshore Western Taiwan

Abstract

TAO, Vol. 16, No. 3, August 2005 622 Mainly medium to coarse-grained sands have accumulated on the Changyun Ridge to form sand banks. At the northern outlet of the Penghu Channel, the shoaling topography of the Changyun Ridge has caused a decrease in tidal current velocity and the subsequent deposition of sands, forming the present Changyun sand ridge. The formation of the eastern and western Changyun sand ridges is probably affected mostly by the tidal current patterns in the areas north of the Penghu Channel.

Using zircon U–Pb ages to constrain the provenance and transport of heavy minerals within the northwestern shelf of the South China Sea

“…Examples include the continental shelf of the East China Sea (Liu, 1997;Milliman et al, 1985) and the Taiwan Strait (Huh et al, 2011;Liao et al, 2005;Liu J.P. et al, 2008). However, until now there has been no specialized research on the origin and sources of the sandy sediments in the outer shelf of the northern SCS, meaning their classification as relict sediments could not be challenged.…”

Sediment Characteristics over Asymmetrical Tidal Sand Waves in the Dutch North Sea

“…They typically range from 100 to 1000 m in wavelength (distance from crest to crest) and have heights up to 5 m [1,[5][6][7]. However, giant, 10-m high sand waves have also been observed in other locations outside the North Sea [8][9][10][11][12]. One prominent feature of sand waves is their ability to migrate as a result of the residual current or tide asymmetry [13][14][15].…”

Morphology and sedimentation of sand bodies in the tidal shelf sea of eastern Taiwan Strait

“…Combined results of both studies of Huang and Yu (2003) and Wang et al (2004) infer the Penghu Channel to be a scour channel mainly formed by erosion by north-flowing tidal currents. Later, Liao and Yu (2005) began to investigate the Changyun Ridge immediately north of the Penghu Channel to determine whether or not the Changyun Ridge is a tidal sand ridge coupled with the tidal scour furrows to the south. The topographic high, confined by the 40-m isobath north of the Penghu Channel, was named as the Changyun Sand Ridge by Wang and Chern (1989), physical oceanographers at the Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University (Fig.…”

“…They emphasized the topographic effects of the Changyun Sand Ridge on the flow patterns of the currents in the Taiwan Strait, but provided no information on sediment characteristics and morphology. Later, Liao and Yu (2005) studied cored sediment samples and analyzed bathymetric data in more detail and concluded that the Changyun Ridge is a tide-dominated sand body.…”