Spatio-temporal change of coastal current around Shandong Peninsula and transport characteristics of suspended matter

Based on NOAA/AVHRR remote sensing data from 2014 to 2018, six sections were selected in the sea area around Shandong Peninsula, East China. Combined with the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of sea surface temperature and concentration of surface suspension matter, the annual periodic variation and movement path of the coastal current at the six sections were studied. Results show that the annual periodic variation of the coastal current along Shandong Peninsula could be divided into four stages. The first is the growth stage (October to December), during which coastal currents are originated near the Yellow River estuary and move eastward along the southern Laizhou Bay. The second is the mature stage (January to March of the next year), during which the coastal currents are fully formed, and had the widest diffusion zone reaching near 38°N in the north and 123°E in the east. Two branches from northeast to southwest near 35°～36°N could be recognized. The main part reached the eastern sea area of Jiaozhou Bay, and the residual current turned southwest. The third is the decline stage (April to June), during which the intensity of coastal currents weakened but showing only a small range in the north and east of Shandong Peninsula. The fourth is the extinction stage (July to September), and they largely disappeared. In winter, Shandong Peninsula coastal current had a strong driving effect on the diffusion of surface suspension, by which two high-concentration areas in the patterns of "arc" and "strip" distribution were formed in the south of the Yellow River Estuary, and in the area between the north shore of Shandong Peninsula and the east of Chengshantou, respectively.