Sediment Characteristics and Intertidal Beach Slopes along the Jiangsu Coast, China

Tidal flats play an important role in promoting coastal biodiversity, defense against flooding, land reclamation and recreation. Many tidal flats, especially the tide-dominant ones, are muddy. However, number of studies on profile shape surficial sediment distribution muddy is small compared to sandy beaches. Based high spatial-resolution measurements along Jiangsu Coast, China, we analyzed morphology characteristics unvegetated intertidal Coast. The Coast can be divided into eroding northern part (north coast) accreting southern (south coast). beach slope north coast shows a southward flattening trend, apart from some outliers related rocky parts coastline. We found alternating very fine coarse (depending local clay content) for different locations coast, which explained consolidation armoring-induced erosion resistance. In south gradual coarsening bed surface slopes south. This seemingly unexpected pattern by flood-dominant current causing landward transport, larger range part, sheltering effect Radial Sand Ridges, contribution sources, viz. Abandoned Yellow River Delta Ridges. cross-shore direction, grain size decreases landward. Waves only secondary importance dynamics at