长江入海物质在东海内陆架水域形成了大规模泥质沉积区。内陆架泥区具有细颗粒沉积物和有机质的源/汇双重特征。长江口及邻近海域的泥质沉积过程产物关系、泥质沉积在生态系统动力学中的作用、泥质沉积碳库增量潜力，是区域性沉积动力学的3个前沿问题，主要研究内容包括长江河口泥区未来演化趋势、泥区沉积物重力流形成条件和过程、泥区沉积物有机质含量与初级生产及低氧水层的关系、泥区消浪作用及其机制、颗粒态有机质衰减曲线(或曲线族)、颗粒态有机质碳库增量潜力等。其研究需要海洋观测站网在底部边界层、水层、新型数据上的支撑，以满足数据分辨率、连续性的要求。底部边界层连续观测将有助于重力流、泥区消浪作用、湍动影响下的沉积物起动曲线族等问题的解决。水层观测将有助于有机质衰减系数的研究，进而获得有机质埋藏率、浅层天然气、有机碳库增量等问题的答案。一些新型数据含有物源、沉积体特征和演化的大量信息，此类数据的获取将依赖于观测技术的突破。

A large scale mud deposit associated with the Changjiang (Yangtze River) has been formed over the inner shelf waters of the East China Sea. It serves as both source and sink for finegrained sediment and organic matter. Three scientific problems in regional sediment dynamics have been identified, i.e., the processproduct relationships of the mud deposit, the role played by the mud in ecosystem dynamics, and the potential of future magnitude of the carbon reservoir contained in the sedimentary system. The research topics include the future evolution of the Changjiang mud deposit, the generation of sediment gravity flows, organic matter content in the deposit in relation to water column primary production and hypoxia, wave energy attenuation over the mud bed, the decay of particulate organic matter in response to resuspension, and the carbon reservoir pattern in relation to the evolution of the mud deposit. Such research requires an enhanced ability to collect longterm, continuous, highresolution data associated with the benthic boundary layer, the water column and some new sources (e.g., data derived from in situ imagery analysis). The bottom boundary layer data are useful to the studies on sediment gravity flow, wave energy dissipation over the mud area, and the turbulenceinfluenced sediment initiation conditions. The water column data will help to establish the delay curves of organic matter, which is critical to deal with the organic matter burial rate, the formation of shallow gas, and the carbon reservoir issues. Furthermore, there is a demand to collect innovative types of data, to obtain additional information on material source and mud deposit evolution, which awaits technological breakthroughs from the observation systems.