Modelling hyperconcentrated flow in the Yellow River

A large amount of the total sediment load in the Chinese Yellow River is transported during hyperconcentrated floods. These floods are characterized by very high suspended sediment concentrations and rapid morphological changes with alternating sedimentation and erosion in the main channel, and persistent sedimentation on the floodplain. However, the physical mechanisms driving these hyperconcentrated floods are still poorly understood. Numerical modelling experiments of these floods reveal that sedimentation is largely caused by large vertical concentration gradients, both in the channel during the rising stage of the flood, as well as on the floodplains, during a later stage of the flood. These vertical concentration gradients are large because the turbulent mixing rates are reduced by the increased sediment‐induced density gradients, resulting in a positive feedback mechanism that produces high deposition rates. Erosion prevails when the sediment is largely held in suspension due to hindered settling, and is strengthened by the reduced wetted cross‐section caused by massive sedimentation on the floodplain. Observed patterns of erosion and sedimentation during these floods can be qualitatively reproduced with a numerical model in which sediment‐induced density effects and hindered settling are included. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of climate and land-use change on green-water variations in the Middle Yellow River,China

Abstract

Water resources management should cover both blue water and green water. For green-water management at the river drainage basin scale, the green-water coefficient (C _gw) is adopted, defined as the ratio of annual green water to annual precipitation. Based on data from the Middle Yellow River basin, China, for the period 1950 to 2007, we studied the temporal variation in C _gw in response to some influencing factors. A decreasing trend in C _gw was found. The influence of changes in land management on C _gw, reflected by an increase in the area (A _sw) of soil and water conservation measures, is emphasized. Using multiple regression analysis, the contributions of A _sw and the 5-year moving averages of annual precipitation and air temperature were estimated as 51, 37 and 12%, respectively. The results may provide useful information for better management of water resources, including green and blue water flows in the Yellow River basin.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor D. Gerten

Citation Xu, J.-X., 2013. Effects of climate and land-use change on green-water variations in the Middle Yellow River, China. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (1), 1–12.     

对黄河流域水资源保护的探索与实践

黄河水资源贫乏,水污染严重,水资源供需矛盾日益尖锐,黄河流域水资源保护面临着诸多的困难和压力.新《水法》的颁布,给黄河水资源保护带来新的机遇和挑战,依法建立法制化、社会化的流域与区域相结合的水资源保护管理体系,完善法规,建立健全执法体系,以水功能区划管理为重心,实施入河总量控制,建立和完善重大水污染事件快速反应机制,加强水质监测机制与技术创新,加强水资源保护前期和科研工作,建设水资源保护信息管理系统,采取多部门联合治污等项措施,是做好黄河流域水资源保护工作的重要前提和任务.     

黄河伊洛河中下游鱼类多样性及群落结构

为了解伊洛河中下游鱼类多样性、群落结构及其与环境因子的关系,于2016年2-12月对伊洛河中下游5个河段开展鱼类多样性及环境调查.共采集鱼类12361尾,43种,隶属于4目9科37属.伊洛河中下游鱼类群落的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数、Margalef丰富度指数、Pielou均匀度指数和Simpson指数变化范围分别为1.75~2.38、2.44~3.63、0.59~0.76和0.73~0.86.各指数均以西草甸河段最高.各河段优势种以（Hemiculter leucisculus）、似鳊（Pseudobrama simoni）、鲫（Carassius auratus）、兴凯鱊（Acheilognathus chankaensis）和鳑鲏属（Rhodeus）等小型或广适性鱼类为主.丰度/生物量比较（ABC）曲线显示,除西草甸河段外,各河段优势鱼类群落均受到不同程度的干扰.其中七里铺和黑石关鱼类群落处于严重干扰状态,以小型鱼类或大型鱼类的幼鱼为主.采用冗余分析方法分析了鱼类群落结构与环境因子的关系,发现除了河床、水流、捕捞等因子以外,氨氮、总磷浓度与pH是导致伊洛河中下游鱼类群落结构差异的主要影响因子.针对伊洛河鱼类多样性现状,建议加强流域水质监管,恢复河流连通性,推进保护区全面禁渔,开展生态修复等以恢复伊洛河河流健康.     

黄河中游汾河入黄口湿地水源组成与地表-地下水转化关系

水源动态补给和转化是影响湿地水文过程及其生态效应的重要机制,在黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展的战略背景下,开展沿黄湿地多水源组成分析及转化关系研究,是揭示干旱半干旱区水量转化及湿地生态系统演变机制的关键.本文根据山西省汾河入黄口湿地的水文节律变化特征,选择2019年旱季(5月)、主汛期(7月)和汛末(9月)作为典型时期,...     

长江与黄河入海活性硅输送规律及变化趋势

根据长江与黄河各一个完整水文年的调查数据,并结合历史资料分析了我国这两条大型河流活性硅((RSi,RSi=溶解硅(DSi)+生物硅(BSi))的入海通量及长时间序列的变化规律与影响因素.结果表明,长江与黄河RSi的组成存在显著的差异,二者水体中BSi/RSi的平均比值分别为0.22和0.49;黄河DSi的年平均浓度为长江的74%,而BSi年平均浓度却是长江的3倍.黄河水体中相对较高的BSi浓度反映了黄河流域水体浑浊度与土壤侵蚀程度较高,源自黄土高原高的泥沙输送量是导致黄河水体中BSi浓度较长江高的主要原因.长江与黄河下游RSi通量在丰水期、平水期与枯水期的比值分别为5.3∶3.1∶1.6与3.8∶3.4∶2.8,长江半数以上的RSi入海通量是在丰水期输出的,而黄河在3个时期的差异不明显.相比于径流的变化,1958-2014年间长江DSi通量变化主要是由DSi浓度的变化引起的,流域气候变化(如温度变化)是其浓度及其通量年代际变化的重要原因;而黄河1985-2001年间DSi通量下降是由于径流量与DSi浓度降低的双重原因引起的.气候变化,特别是温度的变化会对流域硅的风化速率与硅的产出产生重要影响,但其具体的影响有待进一步揭示.     

The 1800-year variation of the lower Yellow River bank breachings in relation to the drainage basin vegetation reconstructed using cave stalagmite records

Rivers are closely related to climate, and the hydrogeomorphic features and stability of river channels respond sensitively to climatic change. However, the history of instrumental observations of climatic, hydrological and channel changes is short, notably limiting our ability to understand the complex river responses to long-term climate change and human activity. In this study, we show that cave stalagmite records reflected the variations in precipitation and temperature in the Yellow River basin, and the net primary productivity (NPP) of vegetation over the past 1800 years can therefore be reconstructed. We found that the reconstructed annual mean precipitation (P_m) and NPP closely related to the 1800-year variation of the lower Yellow River (LYR) channel instability indexed by the frequency of the LYR levee breaching events (LBEs) (F_b) derived from historical documents. The temporal variations in P_m, NPP and F_b exhibited an anti-phase relationship (negative correlation) and in-phase relationship (positive correlation), referred to as Type I and Type II relationships, respectively. The two types alternately appeared, dividing the studied period into several sub-periods. Type I occurred when the vegetation remained in a quasi-natural condition, and Type II occurred when the vegetation had been altered by humans to some degree. These features reflect complex river behaviours in response to climate change and human activity and may be explained by the interaction between climate, vegetation and human activity on the millennial timescale. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黄河下游游荡段不同畸形河湾的演变特点

1980s中期以来,黄河下游游荡段经常出现畸形河湾,分析其演变过程及特点对游荡段治理具有重要意义.本研究采用黄河下游游荡段的遥感影像和实测断面地形资料,描述了不同畸形河湾的演变过程并分析其河湾形态参数和断面形态的变化.研究表明,黄河下游游荡段的畸形河湾具有演变周期短、扭曲程度较大和易发生自然裁弯等特点.游荡段不同位置畸形河湾的演变特点不同：游荡段上段的畸形河湾演变缓慢,裁弯历时长;中段的畸形河湾演变速率较高,河湾扭曲程度大;下段的畸形河湾演变速率高,容易发生自然裁弯.河湾形态参数可反映畸形河湾的演变过程,其变化特点与畸形河湾的形成和裁弯过程相对应.在畸形河湾形成过程中,曲率半径和河湾间距减小,弯曲度、水流夹角和河湾振幅增大.游荡段3个畸形河湾弯曲度的最大值分别为1.20、2.10和1.61,反映了不同畸形河湾的扭曲程度.“Ω”形畸形河湾裁弯后的曲率半径、水流夹角、河湾振幅和河湾间距约为其演变过程中最值的605%、59%、27%和133%.“M”形畸形河湾裁弯后水流夹角、河湾振幅和河湾间距约为其最值的37%、83%和152%.在畸形河湾形成时期,伊洛河口断面位于畸形河湾凹岸侧的滩地以94 m/a的速率崩塌.裁弯后,河槽冲刷,两岸滩地崩退,河槽展宽速率为148 m/a.河床底部的冲刷从深泓点逐渐向两边发展.     

黄河水资源问题与对策研究

黄河是中国的第二大河.黄河下游由于水资源缺乏近些年来频频发生的断流引起了人们的极大关注.黄河水资源问题日益重要,继黄河洪水、泥沙之后,成为举世瞩目的又一个热点问题.黄河水资源问题有其自身的特点,人们一直在探寻解决这个问题的好方法.本文根据长期实测资料分析介绍了黄河水资源的概况,剖析了黄河水资源开发利用中存在的问题,并对如何解决这些问题提出了建议.     

黄河上游近60年水沙变化特征及其影响因素

由于受人类活动及气候变化影响,黄河上游干流水沙特征发生显著变化。为探究黄河上游水沙变化情况,基于黄河上游5个水文站1964-2019年水沙、遥感影像等数据,利用Mann-Kendall检验法、滑动t检验法、累积距平曲线和双累积曲线等突变检验方法和小波分析法,对黄河上游水沙变化特征进行研究。利用水沙关系曲线及线性回归法等方法估算人类活动和气候对水沙变化的贡献率,并着重讨论梯级水库建设及土地利用变化对水沙的影响。结果表明:1)黄河上游玛曲-小川段流域内降雨量和径流量变化幅度不明显,贵德站、循化站、小川站1986-2019年年均输沙量分别减至1964-1985年的9.8%、24.6%、38.8%,输沙量大大减少。黄河上游玛曲-小川段径流量突变多在1986年,输沙量突变多在1969、1986、2004年,径流量存在8、16、22 a周期,输沙量存在4~8、18~21、27 a周期。2)1969年后,河流输沙能力增强,水沙关系显著改变。在不同时段内,人类活动对径流量变化在1987-2019年贡献率为66.3%,对输沙量变化在1970-1986、1987-2004、2005-2019年的贡献率为72.96%、70.73%、69.7%。人类活动对黄河上游干流水沙影响占据主导因素。3)刘家峡水库淤积最为严重,单库运行期水库淤积量为2.39亿t,排沙比变化范围为1.39%~10.7%。梯级水库联调使得径流量在1964-2004年间减少47.8%,1964-2019年间梯级水库减沙94.8%,梯级水库对输沙量影响远大于对径流量的影响。4)1980-2020年间,草地面积增加了1880.03 km²,增幅3.1%,有利于减少输沙量,草地拦沙效益大于截流效益。     

Ecological and environmental instream flow requirements for the Wei River—the largest tributary of the Yellow River

Instream flows are essential determinants of channel morphology, riparian and aquatic flora and fauna, water quality estuarine inflow and stream load transport. The ecological and environmental instream flow requirements (EEIFR) should be estimated to make the exploitation and utilization of water resources in a highly efficient and sustainable way and maintain the river ecosystem good health. As the largest tributary of the Yellow River, the Wei River is the ‘Mother River’ of Guanzhong region in Shaanxi province. It plays a great role in the development of West China and the health of the ecosystem of the Yellow River. The objective of this study is to estimate the EEIFR for improving the Wei River's ecological and environmental condition and develop the river healthily. Concerning the main ecological and environmental functions of the Wei River in Shaanxi Province, the EEIFR for each section of the Wei River including minimum instream flow requirements (IFR) for aquicolous biotopes maintenance, IFR for channel seepage, channel evaporation, stream self‐purification and sediment transportation were estimated in this paper. The methods to estimate the instream flow requirements for stream self‐purification and instream flow requirements for sediment transportation were proposed. The temporal scale of typical years include the year with the probability 25% of occurrence (high‐flow year), the year with the probability 50% (normal‐flow year) and the year with the probability 75% (low‐flow year). The results show that the EEIFR for the Wei River mainly include instream flow requirements for self‐purification and sediment transportation in each typical year. From high‐flow year to low‐flow year, the annual EEIFR for each reach decrease, except those for the reach from Linjiacun to Weijiabao, and from Linjiacun at the upper reaches to Huaxian at the lower reaches, and the annual reach EEIFR decrease in a sequence. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two-thousand years of debates and practices of Yellow River training strategies

Throughout the history of China, the Yellow River has been associated with flood disasters and changes in the course of its lower reaches because of sedimentation. From 602 B.C. to 1949 the river experienced 1593 levee bursts, flooding vast areas, and claiming millions of human lives. The river shifted its main course by avulsion 26 times with the apex around Zhengzhou, resulting in devastating calamities and numerous old channels. Training of the Yellow River has a history of more than 3000 yr. Levee construction has been the major strategy for flood control. Two extremely different strategies has been proposed and practiced in the past 2000 yr, i.e. the "wide river and depositing sediment" strategy and the "narrow river and scouring sediment" strategy. This paper analyzes the levee breaches and flood disasters in the past 2000 yr and compares the results of the two extremely different strategies. The "narrow river and scouring sediment" strategy has only short term effects on levee breach control and flood mitigation. The "wide river and depositing sediment" strategy can essentially mitigate flood disasters and reduce levee breaches for a long term period of time. The "wide river and depositing sediment" strategy has been used and no levee breach has occurred in the past 67 yr, which has been the only periods of more than 50 yr with no levee breaches in the history of the Yellow River since 700 A.D.Modern flood and sedimentation management methods have also been introduced, and the strategy of applying the ' "widen the river and enhance the levees" approach for the upper and lower reaches management is proposed.     

黄河中游小北干流段持续淤积期的主槽摆动特点

黄河中游小北干流河段为典型的游荡型河段,主槽经常发生摆动,揭示主槽摆动特点对研究该河段的河床演变规律具有重要意义.以1986-2001年小北干流段汛后卫星遥感资料与实测29个淤积大断面地形资料为基础,计算了断面及河段尺度的主槽摆动宽度与强度,定量分析了持续淤积期小北干流段的主槽摆动特点及其主要影响因素.计算结果表明:主...     

Characteristics and influencing factors of sediment deposition-scour in the Sanhuhekou-Toudaoguai Reach of the upper Yellow River,China

The annual changes of sediment deposition-scour on the riverbed in the Sanhuhekou-Toudaoguai Reach of the upper Yellow River during the years 1952-2010 were investigated based on runoff and sediment transport observations from the Sanhuhekou and Toudaoguai hydrological stations. Multiple influencing factors such as reservoir operations, tributary inflows, as well as runoff and sediment loads from the Shidakongdui area were analyzed. The results show that even though the sediment loads from the major sources, the Shidakongdui area as well as the upstream tributaries such as the Qingshui River and the Zuli River have reduced especially since the 2000 s as a result of enhanced water-soil conservation measures and improvement of vegetation cover, the study reach was still generally in a status of cumulative aggradation. This is mainly due to the joint operations of the Liujiaxia Reservoir and the Longyangxia Reservoir, which significantly reduced the annual runoff and sediment loads at the Sanhuhekou Crosssection. The reservoirs also remarkably altered the summer flood characteristics of the study reach, inducing the shape of the annual flow curve changing from a 'single-peak' into a 'doublepeak'. These alternations sharply decreased the sediment transport capacity of flooding in the summer flood season which yields more than 90% of the sediment loads, leading to an unbalanced relation between the water and sediment. In addition, the estimated incoming sediment coefficient of the Sanhuhekou Crosssection ranged from 0.003 to 0.014 kg s/m~6, of which 0.004 kg s/m~6 was suggested as a rough critical value to determine the scour or deposition status of the study reach.     

Response of salinity distribution around the Yellow River mouth to abrupt changes in river discharge

To investigate how salinity changes with abrupt increases and decreases in river discharge, three surveys were conducted along six sections around the Yellow River mouth before, during and after a water regulation event during which the river discharge was increased from ∼200 to >3000 m³ s⁻¹ for the first 3 days, was maintained at >3000 m³ s⁻¹ for the next 9 days and was decreased to <1000 m³ s⁻¹ for the final 4 days. The mean salinity in the Yellow River estuary area during the event varied ∼1.21, which is much larger than its seasonal variation (∼0.50) and interannual variation (∼0.05). Before the event, a small plume was observed near the river mouth. During the event, the plume extended over 24 km offshore in the surface layer in the direction of river water outflow. After the event, the plume diminished in size but remained larger than before the event. The downstream propagation of the plume (as in a Kelvin wave sense) was apparent in the bottom layer during the second survey and in both the surface and bottom layers during the third survey. The plume sizes predicted by the formulas from theoretical studies are larger than those we observed, indicating that factors neglected by theoretical studies such as the temporal variation in river discharge and vertical mixing in the sea could be very important for plume evolution. In addition to the horizontal variation of the plume, we also observed the penetration of freshwater from the surface layer into the bottom layer. A comparison of two vertical processes, wind mixing and tidal mixing, suggests that the impact of wind mixing may be comparable with that of tidal mixing in the area close to the river mouth and may be dominant over offshore areas. The change in Kelvin number indicates an alteration of plume dynamics due to the abrupt change in river discharge during the water regulation event.     

Sediment transferring function of the lower reaches of the Yellow River influenced by drainage basin factors and human activities

Since 1986, with a sharp decrease in water dis-charges, the Yellow River has entered a period charac-terized by low discharges and seasonally occurring dry-ups[1,2]. Since 1999, more strict management of water diversion has been imposed, and therefore the dry-ups have been well under control. However, the lower reaches of the Yellow River is still predominated by low-discharges, and has become a man-induced shrinking river. In the past 40 years, significant effect of soil and water conservat…     

Migration rate of river bends estimated by tree ring analysis for a meandering river in the source region of the Yellow River

Meandering rivers have dynamic evolution characteristics of lateral migration and longitudinal creeping movement, and studies on the migration rate of meandering rivers have both scientific and practical significance for understanding the evolution process. A river source region often is sparsely populated and lacks long-term monitoring data, making it difficult to estimate the migration rate of river bends. In the source region of the Yellow River, located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China, meandering rivers have extensively developed. Combined with field investigation and sampling in the source region in 2016 and 2017, 9 river bends in the middle Baihe River were selected to attempt estimation of migration rates of the river bends using tree ring analysis. The tree core and disc samples were collected using an increment borer and a crosscut saw, and the ages of the trees were estimated based on tree ring analysis. A method for estimating the migration rate of river bends based on the relation between positions and ages of trees grown on the point bars in inner banks is proposed. The estimated migration rates of the 9 river bends of the Baihe River ranged 0.38–6.10 m/yr, and the migration rates were found to be related to the flow rate, channel slope, height of the outer bank, and width of the river valley. The maximum migration rate was determined to be at the No. 9 River Bend where the ratio of the meander-bend radius to the channel width (R/W) was 2.31, which is consistent with previous findings that the bend migration is most rapid in the ‘migration phase’. The proposed method for estimating the migration rate of river bends provides a potential alternative option for future study on the morphodynamic process of a meandering river.     

Physically based simulation of the streamflow decrease caused by sediment‐trapping dams in the middle Yellow River

As a result of climate change/variation and its aggravation by human activities over the past several decades, the hydrological conditions in the middle Yellow River in China have dramatically changed, which has led to a sharp decrease of streamflow and the drying up of certain tributaries. This paper simulated and analysed the impact of sediment‐trapping dams (STDs, a type of large‐sized check dam used to prevent sediment from entering the Yellow River main stem) on hydrological processes, and the study area was located in the 3246 km² Huangfuchuan River basin. Changes in the hydrological processes were analysed, and periods of natural and disturbed states were defined. Subsequently, the number and distribution of the STDs were determined based on data collected from statistical reports and identified from remote sensing images, and the topological relationships between the STDs and high‐resolution river reaches were established. A hydrological model, the digital Yellow River integrated model, was used to simulate the STD impact on the hydrological processes, and the maximum STD impact was evaluated through a comparison between the simulation results with and without the STDs, which revealed that the interception effect of the STDs contributed to the decrease of the streamflow by approximately 39%. This paper also analysed the relationship between the spatial distribution of the STDs and rainfall in the Huangfuchuan River basin and revealed that future soil and water conservation measures should focus on areas with a higher average annual rainfall and higher number of rainstorm hours. © 2015 The Authors Hydrological Processes Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Temporal and spatial variability of extreme river flow quantiles in the Upper Vistula River basin,Poland

Temporal and spatial variability in extreme quantile anomalies of seasonal and annual maximum river flows was studied for 41 gauging stations at rivers in the Upper Vistula River basin, Poland. Using the quantile perturbation method, the temporal variability in anomalies was analysed. Interdecadal oscillating components were extracted from the series of anomalies using the Hilbert‐Huang transform method. Period length, part of variance of each component, and part of unexplained variance were assessed. Results show an oscillating pattern in the temporal occurrence of extreme flow quantiles with clusters of high values in the 1960–1970s and since the late 1990s and of low values in the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s. The anomalies show a high variability on the right bank of the Upper Vistula River basin during the summer season with the highest values in catchments located in the western and south‐western parts of the basin. River flow extreme quantiles were found to be associated with large‐scale climatic variables from the regions of the North Atlantic Ocean, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Asia, and, to a lesser extent, the Pacific Ocean. Similarities between temporal variability of river flows and climatic factors were revealed. Results of the study are important for flood frequency analysis because a long observation period is necessary to capture clusters of high and low river flows.     

黄河中游北洛河宜君段全新世特大洪水及其气候背景研究

通过对黄河中游北洛河的野外考察,在宜君基岩峡谷全新世风成黄土-土壤剖面中发现三层古洪水滞流沉积物(SWD).野外观察和室内实验分析,证明它们是北洛河特大洪水悬移质泥沙在高水位滞流环境下的沉积物.这些古洪水滞流沉积层夹在全新世中期古土壤之内,其每一层记录了一期特大洪水事件.利用古水文学方法恢复了古洪水洪峰水位和流量,确定...