AnAcousticDopplerCurrentProfiler(ADCP)observationsitewassetupintheWesternSouthYellowSeafrom2012to2013tostudythelocalsuspendedparticlematters(SPM)distributionpattern.TheSPMconcentrationcouldbesemi-quantitativelyrepresentedbybackscatterintensity(Sv),convertedbytheechointensity(EI)ofADCP.ResultsshowtwotypesofSPMinthewatercolumn:thequasi-biologicalSPMandquasi-mineralSPM.Thequasi-biologicalSPMmainlyexistsinsummerhalfyearandisconcentratedabovethethermocline.Ithasperiodicallydiurnalvariationswithhighconcentrationatnightandlowconcentrationinthedaytime.Thequasi-mineralSPMislocatedinlowerpartofthewatercolumn,withsimilarrelationtomonthlytidalcurrentvariationallyearround.However,thedailyquasi-mineralSPMdistributionpatternsvarybetweensummerandwinterhalfyear.Thesunlightisthoughttobetheoriginfactorleadingtothediurnallyverticalmotionofthebiologicalfeatures,whichmightcausethediurnalSvvariation.UnlikeinwinterhalfyearwhentidalcurrentisrelativelysingledrivingforceofthemonthlySPMpattern,thehighspeedcurrentnearthethermoclineisalsoresponsiblefortheconcentrationofquasi-mineralSPMinsummerhalfyear.Thesedimentinputdifferencebetweensummerandwinterhalfyearcontributetothevarieddailyvariationofquasi-mineralSPMwithre-suspendedSPMinwinterandsedimentsfromYellowSeaMudArea(YSMA)insummer.Theseasonalvariationsinhydrodynamics,waterstructureandheavy-windincidentsaretheprimaryfactorsinfluencingthedifferentialseasonalSPMdistributionpatterns.
