Xia, Z.; Jia, P.; Ma, S.; Liang, K.; Shi, Y., and Waniek, J.J., 2013. Sedimentation in the Lingdingyang Bay, Pearl River Estuary, Southern China. In: Harff, J., Leipe, T., Waniek, J.J., and Zhou, D. (eds.), Depositional Environments and Multiple Forcing Factors at the South China Sea's Northern Shelf, Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 66, pp. 12–24. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

The Lingdingyang Bay is the biggest outlet of the Pearl River Estuary surrounded by several large cities undergoing rapid economic development. It is a sensitive land-ocean interaction zone and therefore of international interest. This study analyzes the sedimentary characteristics of the Lingdingyang Bay based on the data from the marine geo-environment and geo-hazards surveys in the bay in 2003–2004 carried out by Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS). In the area six types of sediments, two strata groups since late Pleistocene, with rock and bedrock below them were identified. In the Lingdingyang Bay grain size and the sediment types of the surficial sediments vary regionally, and the grain size declines continuously from north of the Lingdingyang Bay towards the south, with some local exceptions, in close connection to the hydrodynamics especially river runoff and the tidal regime leading into a subdivision of the Lingdingyang Bay into four different sedimentary regions. Our study demonstrates that the central part of the Lingdingyang Bay is not strongly affected by erosion which contradicts the results of Heise et al. (2010). Additionally, multibeam and selected satellite images of the PRE provide the evidence for sand mining with consequent re-deposition of the fine fraction of the sediments. The human related activities are thought to be the causes for the observed changes in topography leading to the conclusion that anthropogenic impact is increasing in the Lingdingyang Bay over the recent years, especially at the western coast and in the channels.