Abstract. A combination of a three-dimensional Eulerian ocean circulation model (POM) and a Lagrangian particle-tracking model (STRiPE) is used to study the fate of fine river sediments discharged by the Peinan River at the north-eastern coast of the Taiwan Island. The composite model is verified against in situ measurements and applied to simulate primary sediment deposition under freshet and typhoon discharge conditions of the Peinan River. It is shown that local wind plays the crucial role in sediment transport and settling at the coastal area through its influence on the river plume dynamics and turbulent mixing in the upper layer. Wind forcing conditions generally determine the location of the sediment deposit area, while its final pattern is defined by coastal circulation with respect to coastal geometry and local bathymetry. In the study region river-born sediments are deposited to the sea floor mainly in the shallow shelf areas. A significant portion of discharged fine sediments is moved offshore to the deeper ocean where it is spread and dissipated by the strong coastal circulation governed by the Kuroshio Current. The performed numerical experiments showed that sediment accumulation rate under typhoon conditions is about two orders greater comparing to freshet condition. The simulation results were used to identify potential zones of formation of submarine landslides caused by elevated sediment deposition at the steep sea floor during and shortly after the typhoon events. Basing on these results we detected the areas of the continental shelf and continental slope which have high risk of being incised and eroded by autosuspending sediment gravity flows.
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