Progradation of the Yellow (Huanghe) River delta in response to the implementation of a basin-scale water regulation program

Zhou, Yuanyuan; Huang, He Qing; Nanson, Gerald C.; Huang, Chong; Liu, Gaohuan

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.04.023

Cited by 61 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The reduced sediment supply to the lower reach and estuary has already shifted the YR delta to an erosional phase 28 , potentially affecting more than two million people 29 . Further, as a majority of climate models are projecting an increase of precipitation over the YR catchment, whereas the capacity of soil conservation and engineering measures to capture sediment will inevitably saturate over time, we must also pay attention to preventing a river sediment load rebound.…”

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confidence: 99%

Reduced sediment transport in the Yellow River due to anthropogenic changes

et al. 2015

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The erosion, transport and redeposition of sediments shape the Earth's surface, and a ect the structure and function of ecosystems and society 1,2 . The Yellow River was once the world's largest carrier of fluvial sediment, but its sediment load has decreased by approximately 90% over the past 60 years 3 . The decline in sediment load is due to changes in water discharge and sediment concentration, which are both influenced by regional climate change and human activities. Here we use an attribution approach to analyse 60 years of runo and sediment load observations from the traverse of the Yellow River over China's Loess Plateau -the source of nearly 90% of its sediment load. We find that landscape engineering, terracing and the construction of check dams and reservoirs were the primary factors driving reduction in sediment load from the 1970s to 1990s, but large-scale vegetation restoration projects have also reduced soil erosion from the 1990s onwards. We suggest that, as the ability of existing dams and reservoirs to trap sediments declines in the future, erosion rates on the Loess Plateau will increasingly control the Yellow River's sediment load.Change of soil erosion and the resulting river sediment transport are important components of global change, so understanding the mechanisms behind such change is crucial to developing strategic plans for the sustainable management of catchments 4,5 . In recent decades, significant decreasing trends in river sediment loads have been observed in approximately 50% of the world's rivers 6,7 . The benefits and risks of the change in river sediment load largely depend on the baseline load and the scale of the change 8,9 . Hence, it is important to quantify the change of river sediment loads through time, and to understand the drivers and mechanisms behind them 2,5 .The Huang He, or Yellow River (YR) (Fig. 1), was the most sediment-laden river in the world, but its annual sediment load has continually decreased since the 1950s (refs 10-13). The yearly sediment loads at the main gauging stations along the YR, all show significant decreasing trends (p < 0.01) over the past six decades (Fig. 1b). Sediment load increases most suddenly in the middle reach of the river, when crossing the Loess Plateau (LP), between the Toudaoguai gauging station (TDG) (0.07 Gt yr −1 ) and the Tongguan station (TG) (0.63 Gt yr −1 ), and then gradually declines in the lower reach (Fig. 1b, top right inset). The LP is thus the largest sediment source, nearly 90% (refs 3,11) for the YR, and we therefore focus on this part of the river's catchment. A mass budget over the middle reach of the YR can be obtained from the difference of measured sediment flux and water discharge at TG and TDG (Fig. 1). Both the river discharge and sediment load across the LP show significant decreasing trends (−0.25 km 3 yr −2 , p < 0.001; and −0.02 Gt yr −2 , p < 0.001, respectively) over the past six decades, whereas precipitation decreased slightly (−1.2 mm yr −2 , p = 0.015). As Fig. 2a shows two abrupt falls in sed...

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Reduced sediment transport in the Yellow River due to anthropogenic changes

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“…During the periods 1965–1973 and 1986–1999, small overbank floods occurred once every 2.5 years and 2.0 years, respectively. The decline in the frequency of small overbank floods since 1960 is due to climatic change and intensive human activities (Zhou et al, ).…”

Section: Changes In Runoff Sediment Load and Floodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, the bankfull channel shrank considerably, with the bankfull channel width decreasing to 500 m, only one-sixth of the counterpart before the flood. human activities (Zhou et al, 2015).…”

Section: Changes In Runoff and Sediment Loadmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the Xiaolangdi Reservoir coming into full operation in 2002, a water and sediment regulation scheme has been implemented since then. As detailed byMa et al (2012) andZhou, Huang, Nanson, Huang, and Liu (2015), this scheme takes the advantages of the large volume of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir and the location of the dam at the entrance of the LYR, and, in a joint operation with the upstream Longyangxia, Liujiaxia, Sanmenxia, and Wanjiazhai Reservoirs, releases water and sediment load into the LYR under a considerable degree of control. The operational modes of the water and sediment regulation scheme are mainly (a) supplying sufficient water to the LYR and the estuary of the Yellow River so as to make the regional ecosystems sustainable and (b) storing clear water and yet discharging sediment-laded flow, typically large floods, so as to prevent the Xiaolangdi Reservoir from losing volume at a fast speed.4.2 | Types of overbank floodsDifferent overbank floods have different capacities to shape the channel and the floodplains of the LYR.…”

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Sedimentation of overbank floods in the confined complex channel–floodplain system of the Lower Yellow River, China

Zhang

Huang

Carling

et al. 2017

Hydrological Processes

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The channel boundary conditions along the Lower Yellow River (LYR) have been altered significantly since the 1950s with the continual reinforcement and construction of both main and secondary dykes and river training works. To evaluate how the confined complex channel–floodplain system of the LYR responds to floods, this study presents a detailed investigation of the relationship between the tempo‐spatial distribution of sedimentation/erosion and overbank floods occurred in the LYR. For large overbank floods, we found that when the sediment transport coefficient (ratio of sediment concentration of flow to flow discharge) is less than 0.034, the bankfull channel is subject to significant erosion, whereas the main and secondary floodplains both accumulate sediment. The amount of sediment deposited on the main and secondary floodplains is closely related to the ratio of peak discharge to bankfull discharge, volume of water flowing over the floodplains, and sediment concentration of overbank flow, whereas the degree of erosion in the bankfull channel is related to the amount of sediment deposited on the main and secondary floodplains, water volume, and sediment load in flood season. The significant increase in erosion in the bankfull channel is due to the construction of the main and secondary dykes and river training works, which are largely in a wide and narrow alternated pattern along the LYR such that the water flowing over wider floodplains returns to the channel downstream after it drops sediment. For small overbank floods, the bankfull channel is subject to erosion when the sediment transport coefficient is less than 0.028, whereas the amount of sediment deposited on the secondary floodplain is associated closely with the sediment concentration of flow. Over the entire length of the LYR, the situation of erosion in the bankfull channel and sediment deposition on the main and secondary floodplains occurred mainly in the upper reach of the LYR, in which a channel wandering in planform has been well developed.

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“…The Yellow River Delta (YRD) is one of the three largest deltas in China. It is rich in natural resources and contains important wetland ecosystems, providing important habitats for rare and endangered bird species (Zhou et al 2015, Lu et al 2016. In recent decades the hydrologic regime of the YRD has been altered by dramatic climatic and anthropogenic changes in the Yellow River Basin, thus increasing the vulnerability of its deltaic system (Jiang et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regime shift of the hydroclimate–vegetation system in the Yellow River Delta of China from 1982 through 2015

Niu

Zhang

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The Yellow River Delta (YRD) has been experiencing substantial climatic, hydrological, and anthropogenic stresses, and a sound understanding of the regime shift in its hydroclimate-vegetation system is of fundamental importance for maintaining the health and stability of its regional ecosystems. This study constructs and analyzes a 34-year-dataset (1982-2015) of hydro-climatic variables and satellite-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in the YRD. A seasonaltrend decomposition technique based on loess (STL), and a structural change analysis were coupled to detect regime shifts of regional hydroclimate and vegetation in the YRD from 1982 through to 2015. During this period the YRD exhibited a significant warmer-drier-greening trend and experienced four regime shifts of its hydroclimate-vegetation system, with the four shift periods roughly centered in 1989, 1998, 2004, and 2012. Partial correlation analysis revealed that temperature was the dominant factor promoting vegetative growth in spring and autumn (all P NDVI-TEM greater than 0.65), and streamflow impacted the NDVI mainly in summer. Temperature and precipitation were the dominant controls of vegetative growth during the growing season prior to 2002, and thereafter precipitation and streamflow alternately became the main moisture-influencing factors of vegetative growth. Streamflow played an important complementary role on vegetative growth, particularly in near riverine areas when drought exceeds a certain threshold. Additionally, climate shifts determined the changing trend of NDVI across the region, while the effect of land use change is localized and predominant in the northeastern part of the study region. These findings offer an insight into appropriate water regulation of the Yellow River and on climatic adaptation within the YRD.

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Progradation of the Yellow (Huanghe) River delta in response to the implementation of a basin-scale water regulation program

Cited by 61 publications

References 41 publications

Reduced sediment transport in the Yellow River due to anthropogenic changes

Reduced sediment transport in the Yellow River due to anthropogenic changes

Sedimentation of overbank floods in the confined complex channel–floodplain system of the Lower Yellow River, China

Regime shift of the hydroclimate–vegetation system in the Yellow River Delta of China from 1982 through 2015

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