Climatic zonation complicated the lithology controls on the mineralogy and geochemistry of fluvial sediments in the Heihe River basin, NE Tibetan Plateau

Effects of cascade reservoir systems on the longitudinal distribution of sediment characteristics: a case study of the Heihe River Basin

“…The sediment in the Heihe River comes mainly from the upstream mountainous area and is formed by the erosion of surface soils and weathered rocks by precipitation and runoff (Zhang et al 2020 ). Ice/snow meltwater and precipitation in the high mountain regions are the main water resources of the Heihe River and its tributaries.…”

“…Due to river segmentation and disruption by cascade dams, depositional environments may be derived from different rivers affected by different hydrodynamic conditions. However, a stable water-sediment relationship is an important prerequisite to maintain the aquatic ecosystem balance in inland river basins (Zhang et al 2020 ). As such, accurately analyzing basin-wide river sediment erosion and silting by cascade dam construction is central to studies on reservoir management and water resource utilization.…”

“…The intensive cascade reservoir system in the upstream region of the Heihe River has greatly changed the relationship between water and sediments, and this change has influenced several factors, including the evolution of the river course in the middle and lower reaches, the flow regime from rapid to slow, the riverine ecosystem, and even the development of agriculture in the Hexi Corridor (Wang et al 2021 ; Zhang et al 2010 ). Previous studies have focused mainly on the analysis of river sediment sources (Derbyshire et al 1998 ; Ta et al 2004 ; Zhang et al 2020 ), and there have been few studies on the influence of human activities on the characteristics of river sediment transport. In this study, we focused on (1) the change in the grain size distribution and compositions of sediments in different reaches, (2) the influence of cascade reservoirs on the grain size distribution and compositions, and (3) the interaction between cascade reservoirs and the deposition environment of the Heihe River.…”

Effects of Cascade Reservoir Systems on the Longitudinal Distribution of Sediment Characteristics: A Case Study of the Heihe River Basin

“…Most of the runoff in the HRB and its tributaries is generated from rainfall and ice-snow melting in the upstream mountainous area; precipitation is the main source (Wang et al, 2009). The hydrological station at Yingluo Gorge (the outlet of the river in the Qilian Mountains) recorded a multiyear average runoff amount and sediment ux (1968-2015) of 1.65× 10 9 m 3 /yr and 2.06 × 10 6 t/yr, respectively (Zhang et al, 2020). The sediment in the Heihe River comes mainly from the upstream mountainous area and is formed by the erosion of surface soils by precipitation and runoff.…”

“…The intensive cascade reservoir system in the upstream region of the Heihe River has greatly changed the relationship between water and sediments, and this change has in uenced several factors, including the evolution of the river course in the middle and lower reaches, the riverine ecosystem, and even the development of agriculture in the Hexi Corridor. Previous studies have focused mainly on the analysis of river sediment sources (Derbyshire et al, 1998;Ta et al, 2004;Zhang et al, 2020), and there have been few studies on the in uence of human activities on the characteristics of river sediment transport. In this study, we systematically collected surface sediment samples from a typical river and cascade reservoir system in the Heihe River.…”