The Influence of the Sediment and Water Transported by the Yellow River on the Subaqueous Delta Without Water and Sediment Regulation

Globally, sediment transport from rivers and the morphological evolution of deltas are strongly shaped by human activities. The Yellow River Delta is a typical representative of this. In this paper, Delft 3D v4.01.00 software was used to simulate the sediment diffusion in the subaqueous delta of the Yellow River in 2017 so as to explore the influence of the sediment and water transported by the Yellow River on the subaqueous delta without water and sediment regulation. The results reveal the occurrence of a low–high–low suspended sediment concentration distribution from the coastlines to the far shore. The main accumulation areas shifted from the coasts of Bohai Bay and Laizhou Bay in the dry season to the estuary in the wet season. The sediments entering the sea formed deposition zones along the coastline, and erosion zones were formed outside these deposition zones, with a maximum depth of about 5 m. In 2017, the impact of the sediment inflow into the Yellow River on its subaqueous delta generally resulted in the erosion being greater than the sedimentation, and the erosion/deposition volume in 2017 was −1.28 × 108 m3, and the estimated critical value of the sediment inflow balance was 2.13 × 108 tons.