Tracking and monitoring of suspended sediment diffusion generated during the trenching of submarine pipeline in Northern Beibu Gulf

• Published in: Ships and offshore structures Vol. 18; no. 11; pp. 1528 - 1534
• Main Authors: Zhang, Wenhu, Ran, Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Taylor & Francis 02.11.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Average velocity; Diffusion; Environmental monitoring; hydrodynamic power; Monitoring; Ocean currents; Seawater; Sediment; submarine pipeline; Surface layers; Suspended sediment diffusion; Suspended sediments; Tracking; tracking and monitoring; Trenching; Underwater pipelines; Underwater structures
• ISSN: 1744-5302; 1754-212X
• DOI: 10.1080/17445302.2022.2126154

To figure out the law of diffusion of suspended sediment in water, researchers have tracked and monitored the diffusion of suspended sediment during thetrenching of submarine pipeline in Beibu Gulf based on the actual analytical results on ocean currents adjacent to the project area. Research findings indicate that during the procedures of tracking and monitoring, the average velocity of ocean current amounted to 19 cm/s, 30 cm/s and 22 cm/s, respectively, whereas the average direction of ocean current amounted to 228°, 226°and 231° respectively. In addition, the average content of suspended sediment of seawater in the surface layer, middle layer and bottom layer amounted to 1.8mg/L and 3.7 mg/L, 5.9 mg/L, respectively. In the ascending order, the relationship of the content of suspended sediment was: surface layer seawater < middle layer seawater < bottom layer seawater.