Ren, Z.; Han, S.; Li, K., and Han, J., 2020. A study of pollutant transport characteristics in Yangtze River Estuary based on the Lagrange's method. In: Liu, X. and Zhao, L. (eds.), Today's Modern Coastal Society: Technical and Sociological Aspects of Coastal Research. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 111, pp. 26–33. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

The accumulation of pollutants leads to diminished water quality. To understand the pollutant transport characteristics in offshore areas, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic mathematical model of the Yangtze River estuary (YRE) and its offshore area was established. On this basis, Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) in the study waters were extracted and analyzed using FTLE, and the effects of LCSs on pollutant transport in the YRE were investigated using the Lagrangian residual currents and the particle-tracking method. The study results exhibited that finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) ridges representing LCSs separated the body of water into water masses with different transport characteristics. Using LCSs, the circulation structures in the body of water could be revealed, facilitating an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of pollutant accumulation and diffusion in the study waters. This provides an effective basis for marine environmental management.