Abstract:To clarify the impacts of river discharge on offshore sea level in the Yangtze estuary. Based on the river discharge frequency of 25%, 50% and 75% as well as multi year monthly discharge statistically calculated from measured runoff from 1950 to 2011 at Datong Station in the Yangtze River, the impacts of river discharge on offshore sea level were computed and analyzed using the tidal model of the Yangtze estuary and the Hangzhou Bay. The numerical results indicate that the mean tidal levels of the whole computational region rise as the river discharge increases, and the amplification decreases from upstream to the entrance. The amplification of the southern part is greater than that of the northern part in the offshore area. The mean tidal level has a very good positive correlation with river discharge in the Yangtze estuary. When the river discharge increases by 20 000 m3·s-1, the area where the mean tidal levels increase by 0.005~0.010 m covers most of the Hangzhou Bay.