The Yangtze River Estuary features a complex river regime characterized by three-level bifurcations and four outlets entering the sea, with numerous shoals and sandbars distributed along its course. From upstream to downstream, these include: Chongtou Jiangxinsha, Baimao Xiaosha, Baimao Shoal etc.

This study focuses on unprotected or partially protected shoals, selecting typical estuarine sandbars such as Baimao Shoal, Biandansha, and Chongtou Jiangxinsha as research subjects. Key objectives include: Analyzing changes in characteristic parameters and erosion-deposition patterns of these shoals after the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir;Investigating the impact of upstream sediment load variations on shoal evolution;Revealing new evolutionary trends of estuarine shoals under altered water-sediment inflow conditions into the Yangtze Estuary.