Ascientifichypothesisisproposedandpreliminarilyverifiedinthispaper:underthedrivingofseepageflows,theremightbeaverticalmigrationoffine-grainedsoilparticlesfrominteriortosurfaceofseabed,whichisdefinedas‘sub-bottomsedimentpumpaction’inthispaper.FieldexperimentswereperformedtwiceontheintertidalflatoftheYellowRiverdeltatostudythisprocessviabothtrappingthepumpedmaterialsandrecordingtheporepressuresinthesubstrate.Experimentalresultsarequiteinterestingaswedidobserveyellowslurrywhichismainlycomposedoffine-grainedsoilparticlesappearingontheseabedsurface;seepagegradientswerealsodetectedintheintertidalflat,undertheactionoftidesandsmallwindwaves.Preliminaryconclusionsarethat‘sedimentpump’occurswhenseepageforceexceedsacertainthreshold:firstly,itisbigenoughtodisconnectthesoilparticlesfromthesoilskeleton;secondly,thedegreeofseabedfluidizationorbioturbationisbigenoughtoprovidepreferredpathsforthedetachedmaterialstomigrateupwards.Thentheywouldbefirstlypumpedfrominteriortothesurfaceofseabedandtheneasilyre-suspendedintooverlyingwatercolumn.Influentialfactorsof‘sedimentpump’aredeterminedashydrodynamics(waveenergy),degreeofconsolidation,indexofbioturbation(permeability)andcontentoffine-grainedmaterials(sedimentaryage).Thisnewperspectiveof‘sedimentpump’mayprovidesomeimplicationsforthemechanisminterpretationofseveraluncleargeologicalphenomenaintheYellowRiverdeltaarea.
