Response of bankfull discharge to discharge and sediment load in the Lower Yellow River

Wu, Baosheng; Wang, Guangqian; Xia, Junqiang; Fu, Xudong; Zhang, Yuanfeng

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.01.007

Cited by 105 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Yue et al 2002), previous studies had indicated that TFPW procedure provides a better assessment of the significance of the trends for serially correlated data than the other approaches, such as pre-whitening (PW), or the variance correction approach (VCA) (Yue et al 2002, Yue and Wang 2004, Zhang and Lu 2009. Hence, the TFPW approach is widely applied to eliminate the effect of serial correlation on the Mann-Kendall test results (Burn and Cunderlik 2004, Leclerc and Ouarda 2007, Wu et al 2008, Xu et al 2008, Zhang and Lu 2009). However, we also carried out the multiple significance tests by using the method of false discovery rate (FDR; Benjamini and Hochberg 1995), which controls the proportion q of falsely rejected null hypotheses relative to the total number of rejected hypotheses (Shi et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the headwater catchments of the Yellow River basin, which contribute nearly 35% of the streamflow in the basin (Zheng et al 2009), no significant trend of streamflow was detected from 1956 to 2000, but change-point analysis showed that a significant change in annual streamflow occurred around 1990 (Zheng et al 2007). The streamflow in the Upper Yellow River (Yang et al 2004), the Middle Yellow River (Xu 2005a, Miao et al 2010, the Lower Yellow River (Liu and Zheng 2004, Fu et al 2004, Wu et al 2008) and the water fluxes to the sea (Xu 2005b, Wang et al 2006 have declined significantly in the last several decades. The declining trend results in a progressive intensification of water stress in the downstream direction (Vörösmarty et al 2000, Xu et al 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Spatio-temporal variability of streamflow in the Yellow River: possible causes and implications

Miao

Shi

Chen

et al. 2012

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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The water shortage in the Yellow River, China, has been aggravated by rapid population growth and global climate changes. To identify the characteristics of streamflow change in the Yellow River, approximately 50 years of natural and observed streamflow data from 23 hydrological stations were examined. The Mann-Kendall and Pettitt tests were used to detect trends and abrupt change points. The results show that both the natural and the observed streamflow in the Yellow River basin present downward trends from 1956 to 2008, and the decreasing rate of observed streamflow is generally faster than that of the natural streamflow. Larger drainage areas have higher declining rates, and the declining trends are intensified downstream within the mainstream. The possibility of abrupt changes in observed streamflow is higher than in natural streamflow, and streamflow series in the mainstream are more likely to change abruptly than those in the tributaries. In the mainstream, all the significant abrupt changes appear in the middle and latter half of the 1980s, but the abrupt changes occur somewhat earlier for observed streamflow than for natural streamflow. The significant abrupt change for the observed streamflow in the tributaries is almost isochronous with the natural streamflow and occurs from the 1970s to 1990s. It is implied that the slight reduction in precipitation is not the only direct reason for the streamflow variation. Other than the effects of climate change, land-use and land-cover changes are the main reasons for the natural streamflow change. Therefore, the increasing net water diversion by humans is responsible for the observed streamflow change. It is estimated that the influence of human activity on the declining streamflow is enhanced over time.Key words streamflow; trend; abrupt change; Yellow River, China Causes éventuelles et implications de la variabilité spatio-temporelle des débits du fleuve JauneRésumé La pénurie d'eau dans le fleuve Jaune, en Chine, a été aggravée par la croissance rapide de la population et les changements climatiques. Pour identifier les caractéristiques du changement des débits dans le fleuve Jaune, près de 50 ans de données sur les débits naturels et observés à partir de 23 stations hydrologiques ont été examinés. Les tests de Mann-Kendall et de Pettitt ont été utilisés pour détecter les tendances et les points de changement brusques. Les résultats montrent que tant l'écoulement naturel que l'écoulement observé dans le bassin du fleuve Jaune présentent des tendances à la baisse de 1956 à 2008, et que le taux de diminution du débit observé est généralement plus rapide que celui du débit naturel. Les grandes surfaces de drainage présentent des taux de diminution plus élevés, et les tendances à la baisse sont intensifiés en aval dans le bief principal. La probabilité de changements abrupts dans le débit observé est supérieure à celle de l'écoulement naturel, et la série des débits dans le bief principal est plus susceptible de changer brusquement que celles des affluents...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Spatio-temporal variability of streamflow in the Yellow River: possible causes and implications

Miao

Shi

Chen

et al. 2012

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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“…Temporal variations of mean annual flow discharge and mean annual sediment concentration have been examined in this reach at Huayuankou Station. Moreover, as an important parameter describing flow and sediment combination in a river, this study presents sediment transport coefficient (the ratio of sediment concentration to flow discharge) as used in previous studies of the lower Yellow River (Chien and Zhou, 1965;Xu, 2004;Hu et al, 2006;Wu et al, 2008). The reason for adopting this ratio is to obtain an index of the changing sediment concentration that is more independent of changes in flow discharge than could be obtained otherwise.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bankfull discharge is considered to be at or close to the channel-forming discharge and as a particularly important hydrological and geomorphic parameter (Wolman and Leopold, 1957;Williams, 1978;Osterkamp, 2004;Wu et al, 2008). Fig.…”

Section: Bankfull Channel-form Adjustmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, width, depth and discharged measured at bankfull stage were used to examine the changing temporal trend of channel adjustments. The bankfull stage was determined by identifying the elevation of the floodplain at the top of the bank as shown on the measured cross-sectional profiles (Wu et al, 2008;Xia et al, 2010). Where the elevation of the surfaces of the active floodplain varied too much to determine a single bankfull stage, a series of measurements of cross-sectional profiles as well as upstream and downstream cross-sectional profiles were used.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Channel adjustments in response to the operation of large dams: The upper reach of the lower Yellow River

et al. 2012

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The Yellow River in China carries an extremely large sediment load. River channel-form and lateral shifting in a dynamic, partly meandering and partly braided reach of the lower Yellow River, have been significantly influenced by construction of Sanmenxia Dam in 1960, Liujiaxia Dam in 1968, Longyangxia Dam in 1985 and Xiaolangdi Dam in 1997 Using observations from Huayuankou Station, 128 km downstream of Xiaolangdi Dam, this study examines changes in the river before and after construction of the dams. The temporal changes in the mean annual flow discharge and mean annual suspended sediment concentration have been strongly influenced by operation of theses dams. Observations of sediment transport coefficient (ratio of sediment concentration to flow discharge), at-a-station hydraulic geometry and bankfull channel form observed from 1951 to 2006 have shown that, although variations in flow and sediment load correspond to different periods of dam operation, changes in channel form are not entirely synchronous with these. The channel has been subject to substantial deposition due to the flushing of sediment from Sanmenxia Dam, resulting in a marked reduction in bankfull cross-sectional area. Flows below bankfull had a greater impact on channel form than higher flows because of very high sediment load. At-a-station hydraulic geometry shows that the variation of channel cross-sectional area below bankfull in this wide and relatively shallow system largely depends on changes in width. Such at-a-station changes are significantly influenced by (1) events below bankfull and (2) overbank floods. Bankfull depth is the main component of channel adjustment in that depth adjusts synchronously with channel area. The channel adjusts its size by relatively uniform changes in depth and width since 1981. Channel morphology is not the product of single channelforming flow frequency. It is determined by the combination of relatively low flows that play an important role in fine sediment transport and bed configuration as with relatively high flows that are effective at modifying the channel's morphology. The sediment transport coefficient is a useful index for efficiently guiding the operation of the dams in a way that would minimize channel changes downstream. Sedimentation over the nearly 60 years of study period caused the lower Yellow River to aggrade progressively, the only significant exception being the two years following completion of Sanmenxia Dam.

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Modeling flood dynamics along the superelevated channel belt of the Yellow River over the last 3000 years

et al. 2015

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The Yellow River, China, experienced >1000 levee breaches during the last 3000 years. A reduced-complexity model is developed in this study to explore the effects of climate change and human activity on flood levels, levee breaches, and river avulsions. The model integrates yearly morphological change along a channel belt with daily river fluxes and hourly evolution of levee breaches. Model sensitivity analysis reveals that under natural conditions, superelevation of the channel belt dominates flood frequency. When there is significant human-accelerated basin erosion and breach repair, the dominant factors shift to a combination of mean annual precipitation, superelevation, critical shear stress of weak channel banks, and the time interval between breach initiation and its repair. The effect of precipitation on flood frequency is amplified by land use changes in the hinterland, particularly in the erodible Loess Plateau. Uncertainty analysis estimates the most likely values of the dominant factors for six historical periods between 850 B.C. and A.D. 1839, which are used to quantitatively reconstruct flood dynamics. During 850 B.C. to A.D. 1839, when the sediment load increased fourfold, the breach recurrence interval was shortened from more than 500 years to less than 6 years, and the breach outflow rate increased~27 times. River management practices during A.D. 1579 to A.D. 1839 focused on levees and triggered a severe positive feedback of increased levee heights and flood hazard exacerbation. Raising the levee heights proved to be ineffective for sustainable flood management.

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Response of bankfull discharge to discharge and sediment load in the Lower Yellow River

Cited by 105 publications

References 27 publications

Spatio-temporal variability of streamflow in the Yellow River: possible causes and implications

Spatio-temporal variability of streamflow in the Yellow River: possible causes and implications

Channel adjustments in response to the operation of large dams: The upper reach of the lower Yellow River

Modeling flood dynamics along the superelevated channel belt of the Yellow River over the last 3000 years

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