Comparing effects of land reclamation techniques on water pollution and fishery loss for a large-scale offshore airport island in Jinzhou Bay, Bohai Sea, China

Plans are being made to construct Dalian Offshore Airport in Jinzhou Bay with a reclamation area of 21 km2. The large-scale reclamation can be expected to have negative effects on the marine environment, and these effects vary depending on the reclamation techniques used. Water quality mathematical models were developed and biology resource investigations were conducted to compare effects of an underwater explosion sediment removal and rock dumping technique and a silt dredging and rock dumping technique on water pollution and fishery loss. The findings show that creation of the artificial island with the underwater explosion sediment removal technique would greatly impact the marine environment. However, the impact for the silt dredging technique would be less. The conclusions from this study provide an important foundation for the planning of Dalian Offshore Airport and can be used as a reference for similar coastal reclamation and marine environment protection.