Migrating sandwaves riding on relict dunes of Taiwan shoal, northern South China Sea

Yang，Yuping1; Liu，Meng1; Xu，Jingping1,2; Xu，Weikun3

2022-09-09

10.3389/feart.2022.975220

Frontiers in Earth Science   Impact Factor & Quartile

2296-6463

Sandwaves, a ubiquitous bedform commonly found in most coastal seas and sometimes in deep waters of continental slopes and submarine canyons, are often the subject of marine hazard studies because their frequent migration can pose potential threats to pipelines or other engineering structures in the ocean. Analyses of high-resolution bathymetric data collected along a 136-km multibeam bathymetric survey line demonstrate the co-existence of three different sizes of sandwaves: giant, primary dunes (∼10-15 m in height, up to 2,000 m in length); small, secondary sandwaves (∼1 m in height, ∼50 m in length) riding on the stoss side of the primary dunes; and mid-size dunes (∼5-10 m in height, ∼100-500 m in length) found in the trough of primary dunes. While the tidal current-driven, secondary sandwaves are migrating, the primary and mid-size dunes are immobile. Empirical model results suggest that the primary dunes are relict dunes that were most likely formed in geologic past when sea level was higher or the seabed elevation was lower, but water depth is probably not the only factor in limiting the formation of the primary dunes.

migration relict dunes sandwaves south China sea Taiwan shoal

SCI

English

First ; Corresponding

[GML2019ZD0210] ; [41720104001]

Geology

Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

WOS:000861626800001

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA

2-s2.0-85138774686

Scopus

1.Department of Ocean Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,China
2.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou),Guangzhou,China
3.National Deep Sea Center,Qingdao,China

Yang，Yuping,Liu，Meng,Xu，Jingping,et al. Migrating sandwaves riding on relict dunes of Taiwan shoal, northern South China Sea[J]. Frontiers in Earth Science,2022,10.

Yang，Yuping,Liu，Meng,Xu，Jingping,&Xu，Weikun.(2022).Migrating sandwaves riding on relict dunes of Taiwan shoal, northern South China Sea.Frontiers in Earth Science,10.

Yang，Yuping,et al."Migrating sandwaves riding on relict dunes of Taiwan shoal, northern South China Sea".Frontiers in Earth Science 10(2022).