Tidal Responses to Future Sea Level Trends on the Yellow Sea Shelf

Abstract

Quantifying how tides evolve with coupling between future sea level rise (SLR) and different coastline configurations is imperative for proposing appropriate coastal defense strategies. By using numerical models, we investigated tidal changes and determined a realistic trend of SLR on the Jiangsu coastal area and adjacent sea on the Yellow Sea shelf. A notable decrease in tidal range occurs in the northern shelf, and the tide increases mainly in the southern shelf. Tidal changes are of both signs, while the increase in sea level is unidirectional. Thus, the SLR effect on tide is not additive in all locations. We also explored the nonlinearity and spatial similarity in tidal range in response to the SLR considering uniform SLR scenarios with multiple levels and allowing inundation of the natural coastline. The patterns of change in tide evolution on the study domain remain linear until the SLR exceeds 2.0 m. Simulations and comparisons are further conducted between the responses of hardened and natural shoreline configurations to SLR. Hardened shoreline introduces both local and remote spatial variability in tidal responses. On the regional scale, SLR induces a shift in the tidal system in the offshore region, which controls the net energy flux into the embayment upon the coast. On the local scale, tidal dynamics are mainly a competition between net energy flux and tidal dissipation and are plausibly influenced by tidal reflection, which depends on whether a basin is tidally reflective.

The Tides They Are A‐Changin': A Comprehensive Review of Past and Future Nonastronomical Changes in Tides, Their Driving Mechanisms, and Future Implications

“…They found large amplitude changes in the Arafura Sea and within embayments along Australia's northwest coast, and the generation of new amphidromic systems within the Gulf of Carpentaria and south of Papua, once water depth across the domain is increased by 3 and 7 m, respectively. Recently, Feng et al () investigated tidal changes in the Yellow Sea. They found a notable decrease in tidal range occurs in the northern shelf, and the tide increases mainly in the southern shelf, with MSL rise.…”

“…Reviews of Geophysics respectively. Recently, Feng et al (2019) investigated tidal changes in the Yellow Sea. They found a notable decrease in tidal range occurs in the northern shelf, and the tide increases mainly in the southern shelf, with MSL rise.…”

On the Role of Anthropogenic Activity and Sea‐Level‐Rise in Tidal Distortion on the Open Coast of the Yellow Sea Shelf

“…The inner shelf of the western YS is a macrotidal regime. A counterclockwise Kelvin wave at the center of the YS meets a Poincare wave from the south (Feng et al., 2019; Xing et al., 2012) (refer to Figure 1c). The M 2 tide is dominant on the inner shelf of the YS, followed by the S 2 tide.…”

“…The dynamics are vulnerable to either climate change‐induced sea‐level‐rise (SLR) or changes in topography and morphology with regard to anthropogenic activities (Feng et al., 2019; Haigh et al., 2019; Holleman & Stacey, 2014; Pelling et al., 2013; Pickering et al., 2012, 2017; Talke & Jay, 2020). According to previous studies (e.g., Aubrey & Speer, 1985), tidal asymmetry is sensitive to two morphological factors: (i) the amplitude of the tide relative to the mean water depth () and (ii) the ratio of the intertidal water storage in tidal flats and marshes to the volume of water in the channels () at mean‐sea‐level (MSL).…”

Effects of sea-level rise on tides and sediment dynamics in a Dutch tidal bay

“…Sea-level rise (SLR) poses an increasing flood risk on global shorelines (FitzGerald et al, 2008;Haigh et al, 2014). In addition to the direct increment in water levels (Church et al, 2013;Oppenheimer et al, 2019), SLR induces changes in global and regional tidal regimes (Pelling et al, 2013b;Devlin et al, 2017;Pickering et al, 2017).…”