Abstract: This is to study the characteristics and variation trends of suspended sediment distribution in the
offshore area of the Yangtze estuary (122°E-123°E), with methods of data analysis and on the basis of a
long-term data series of flow and sediment concentration observations in this estuary during recent 50 years.
The results show that in this area there exist one or even two high-concentration centers of suspended
sediment—under control of the river runoff, they always occur outside the south estuary passage whether in
flood or dry season and in spring or neap tide. The second high-concentration center appears when the runoff
control effect is relatively weak and one portion of the sediment load in the estuary mouth moves in NNE
direction. In recent years, its location tends to shift southward, largely as a result of the change in both the
flow and sediment transport ratios of the south and north branches of the estuary.