An experimental study on erodibility of intertidal sediments in the Yellow River delta

The erodibility of intertidal sediments is an important factor affecting coastal erosion.In July and October 2008,in situ measurement of erodibility of the surficial sediment were conducted using a recirculating flume at 20 tidal flat experiment sites along the seashore of the Yellow River delta.At the same time,the characteristics of sand ripples and biogenic features on the tidal flat were observed and the physical-mechanical sediment properties such as bulk density,water content,grain size distribution,plasticity,penetration resistance,shear strength and compressibility,were measured.By field measurement,it is obtained that the critical erosion shear stress of the surficial sediment on the tidal flat varies between 0.088 Pa and 0.254 Pa.The factors influencing sediment erodibility are complicated because of physical and biological reworking after the sediment deposited.There’s a positive correlation between shear strength and critical erosion shear stress.The burrowing crabs’ activities changed the sediment microtopography and made the sediment have greater roughness,and that is one possible reason for the higher erodibility.The formation of scour pits on the tidal flat correlates with the heterogeneous erodibility of the surficial sediment.     

水丝蚓(Tubificid worms)扰动对磷在湖泊沉积物-水界面迁移的影响

为探讨水丝蚓(Tubificid worms)扰动对磷在湖泊沉积物-水界面间迁移的影响,选取太湖梅梁湾与大浦口两富营养化湖区为研究对象,通过室内培养实验,利用Rhizon间隙水采样器等技术,研究了水丝蚓扰动对太湖沉积物-水界面理化性质及溶解活性磷(SRP)在界面通量的影响.结果表明水丝蚓扰动能够增大表层沉积物含水率、氧化还原电位,减小间隙水中Fe2+浓度.水丝蚓没有显著改变梅梁湾间隙水中SRP浓度,同时促进了梅梁湾沉积物中SRP向上覆水的释放;但水丝蚓显著减小了大浦口间隙水中SRP浓度,并抑制了大浦口沉积物中SRP向上覆水的释放.水丝蚓扰动对磷在沉积物-水界面间迁移的不同影响可能是由沉积物中Fe2+含量差异较大造成的.     

Sediment discharge of the Yellow River (China) and its effect on the sedimentation of the Bohai and the Yellow Sea

The Yellow River is noted for its small water discharge and huge sediment load, which amounts to about11 × 10⁸ tons every year, contributing 17% of the world's fluvial sediment discharge to the ocean. This has a profound effect on the sedimentation of the Bohai and the Yellow Sea. Changes of the outlet in the modern delta every 10 y result in frequent changes in the recession and progradation of the deltaic coastline both in space and time, and is the main reason why the Yellow River has not succeeded in building a bird-foot delta like the Mississippi. Owing to the huge sediment input from the Yellow River, the sedimentation rate of the Bohai is very high, about 0.6 m ka⁻¹, but it is unlikely that the Bohai will be filled up in a few thousand years. In the late Quaternary period, the Yellow River extended its course across the Yellow Sea at least 4 times and probably discharged its heavy load into the Okinawa Trough during the last glacial maximum (15,000 B.P.).     

Calibration of the high-pressure cohesive strength meter (CSM)

Coastal erosion is an immense economic and social problem that has been receiving increased attention in recent years. A number of devices have been developed to determine the sediment stability in coastal areas: laboratory and field flumes; a range of different erosion devices; shear vanes and fall cone penetrometers. The cohesive strength meter (CSM) erosion device was developed to determine in situ the temporal and spatial variations in the erosion threshold of muddy intertidal sediments. Technological developments have enabled considerable improvements to be made to the original design over the last 15 years.     

Modeling the Yellow River sediment flux and its deposition patterns under climatological conditions

A numerical sediment transport model was embedded into a coupled wave-tide-circulation model to quantitatively estimate the suspended sediment fluxes (SSF) and distribution in different areas for the Yellow River derived sediment. The model is validated by comparing model simulated sediment deposition rates with those from observations. Simulated results show that the SSF of the Yellow River across two major sections (the Bohai Strait and the 37° N section) are highest during September and October, whereas for the 32° N section the flux is negligibly small (less than 0.1 kg/s). We demonstrate that the sediment flux is primarily driven by the buoyancy forcing of the Yellow River freshwater discharge and modulated by the wind-driven surface wave and circulation patterns in this region. The SSF across the Bohai Strait is about 30 % of the Yellow River discharge, while across the 37° N section it is 15.8 %. Therefore, about 70 % of the total discharged Yellow River sediments are deposited in the Bohai Sea, 14.1 % in the North Yellow Sea, and 13.9 % in the South Yellow Sea. There are two deposition branches in the Yellow Sea. The primary one is located off the eastern tip of the Shandong Peninsula and extends to the southwest off the coastline, which is consistent with the observed “Ω”-shape deposition pattern. This simulated tongue shape deposition pattern is isolated from the north by the strong resuspension off the eastern tip of Shandong Peninsula. The secondary branch extends to the middle of the South Yellow Sea and has been strengthened by resuspension process. The two deposition branches are separated by the wintertime Yellow Sea Warm Current in the bottom layer.     

End member inversion of surface sediment grain size in the South Yellow Sea and its implications for dynamic sedimentary environments

Four end members were inverted from surface sediment grain size data from the South Yellow Sea by using the end member (EM) model. The sediment provenance and hydrodynamic meanings of each EM were discussed based on the frequency and spatial distributions of the EMs. EM1 and EM2 reflect the dynamic transport and sorting processes of the terrigenous sediment, and EM3 and EM4 reflect the modification of relic sand. The ocean front mainly affected transport of relatively coarse terrigenous sediment in the South Yellow Sea, and the fine terrigenous sediments were generally unaffected by the ocean front. Fine sediment could pass through the ocean front and deposit in the central South Yellow Sea under weak tidal condition to form most part of the Central Yellow Sea Mud (CYSM). The CYSM extended toward northwest and southwest. The sediment in the north part of the CYSM mainly consisted of sediment from the Yellow River (Huanghe) in the northwest, and the sediment in the southwest part of CYSM mainly consisted of Subei coastal sediments from both the Yangtze River (Changjiang) and the Yellow River. Compared to the traditional method of sediment grain size analysis, the EM model can determine the EMs and provide better explanations of the sediment provenance and dynamic regional sedimentary environment in the study area.     

Dynamic Changes of Sediment Discharge and the Influencing Factors in the Yellow River,China, for the Recent 90 Years

The dynamic changes in the sediment discharge over 90 years from 1919 to 2008 in the Yellow River in China were assessed on the basis of annual rainfall series and annual sediment series in Shan County hydrological station. The key factors affecting sediment discharge, such as rainfall, and human activities were studied. Anomaly accumulation method and double mass curve were employed to test the stage changes of sediment discharge, and to determine the main factors of sediment decline. Results showed that the annual average sediment discharge under natural conditions was about 16 × 10⁸ t, but the measured annual average sediment during 1919–2008 was 12.71 × 10⁸ t. The highest annual average during the study period was 39.10 × 10⁸ t in 1933 while the lowest was 1.77 × 10⁸ t in 2008. Sediment discharge in the Yellow River experienced two low sediment stages (1924–1931 and 1979–2008) and a high sediment stage (1932–1971), respectively. Since 1979, there was a significant decreasing trend in the sediment discharge, and the main influencing factor was fierce human activities. Annual average sediment discharge in the post‐development period (1979–2008) was 69.7% lower than that in the pre‐development period (1919–1978), with average reduction of 81 and 19% caused by human activities and rainfall, respectively. These results provide important evidence for making protecting policy for water resources quality and environmental safety of the Yellow River.     

Quantitatively distinguishing sediments from the Yangtze River and the Yellow River using δ Eu<Subscript>N</Subscript>-ΣREEs plot

Sediment samples were collected from the lower channel of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River and the contents of rare earth elements (REEs) were measured. In addition, some historical REEs data were collected from published literatures. Based on the δ Eu_N-ΣREEs plot, a clear boundary was found between the sediments from the two rivers. The boundary can be described as an orthogonal polynomial equation by ordinary linear regression with sediments from the Yangtze River located above the curve and sediments from the Yellow River located below the curve. To validate this method, the REEs contents of sediments collected from the estuaries of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River were measured. In addition, the REEs data of sediment Core 255 from the Yangtze River and Core YA01 from the Yellow River were collected. Results show that the samples from the Yangtze River estuary and Core 255 almost are above the curve and most samples from the Yellow River estuary and Core YA01 are below the curve in the δEu_N-ΣREEs plot. The plot and the regression equation can be used to distinguish sediments from the Yangtze River and the Yellow River intuitively and quantitatively, and to trace the sediment provenance of the eastern seas of China. The difference between the sediments from two rivers in the δEu_N-ΣREEs plot is caused by different mineral compositions and regional climate patterns of the source areas. The relationship between δEu_N and ΣREEs is changed little during the transport from the source area to the river, and from river to the sea. Thus the original information on mineral compositions and climate of the source area was preserved. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40506016, 40576032, and 90411014)     

Predictability of sediment transport in the Yellow River using selected transport formulas

This paper evaluates the applicability of the sediment transport methods developed by Engelund and Hansen, Ackers and White, Yang et al., and van Rijn, together with the Wuhan methods developed in China, to the Yellow River, which has highly concentrated and fine-grained sediment. The sediment data includes over 1000 observations from the Yellow River, 32 sets of data from a canal, and 266 sets of data from laboratory flumes. The best predictions were obtained by the Yang 1996 method, the Wuhan method, and the modified Wuhan method by Wu and Long, while reasonably good predictions were also provided by the van Rijn 2004 method. The Engelund and Hansen, the Ackers and White, and the van Rijn 1984 methods in their original forms are not applicable to the Yellow River. The predicted results for total load concentrations were as good as for bed-material concentrations, even though the total load includes a large portion of wash load.     

现代黄河三角洲沉积物磁性地层年代框架及环境磁学研究

本文对黄河三角洲Z07孔沉积物进行了系统的磁性地层学和环境磁学研究.通过结合沉积速率和古地磁长期变化数据,我们为该孔建立了较为精确可信的年代框架(1999-03—2006-06A.D.).环境磁学结果表明黄河三角洲沉积物与中国黄土的磁学特征相似,主要载磁矿物为单畴(SD)磁铁矿,超顺磁颗粒(SP)含量也较高.整体上,该孔沉积物磁学参数的变化主要受粒度和含量控制.岩芯磁性参数在2003年前后发生了系统变化.我们认为,黄河自2002年起进行调水调沙工程,黄河下游河道冲刷加剧,形成新的物质来源,河流输入的沉积物粒度变粗,输沙量增加,这一新的物质来源是造成Z07钻孔磁性参数发生显著变化的主因.     

Floodplain storage of mine tailings in the belle fourche river system: A sediment budget approach

Arsenic-contaminated mine tailings that were discharged into Whitewood Creek at Lead, South Dakota, from 1876 to 1978, were deposited along the floodplains of Whitewood Creek and the Belle Fourche River. The resulting arsenic-contaminated floodplain deposit consists mostly of overbank sediments and filled abandoned meanders along White-wood Creek, and overbank and point-bar sediments along the Belle Fourche River. Arsenic concentrations of the contaminated sediments indicate the degree of dilution of mine tailings by uncontaminated alluvium. About 13 per cent of the 110 × 10⁶ Mg of mine tailings that were discharged at Lead were deposited along the Whitewood Creek floodplain. Deposition of mine tailings near the mouth of Whitewood Creek was augmented by an engineered structure. About 29 per cent of the mine tailings delivered by Whitewood Creek were deposited along the Belle Fourche River floodplain. About 60 per cent of that sediment is contained in overbank deposits. Deposition along a segment of the Belle Fourche River was augmented by rapid channel migration. The proportions of contaminated sediment stored along Whitewood Creek and the Belle Fourche River are consistent with sediment storage along the floodplains of perennial streams in other, similar sized watersheds.     

Influences of retrogressive erosion of reservoir on sedimentation of its downstream river channel——A case study on Sanmenxia Reservoir and the Lower Yellow River

Retrogressive erosion, a widespread phenomenon of sediment transport in reservoirs, often impacts on both the reservoir capacity and the sedimentation in the downstream river channel. Based on field data from the Sanmenxia Reservoir and the Lower Yellow River over the past decades, three courses of ret-rogressive erosion with distinctive features were analyzed. The results indicate that retrogressive erosion, especially caused by rapid reduction in the water level till the reservoir is empty, often results in the serious siltation of the lower Yellow River and threatens the safety of the flood control in the Lower Yellow River. Unreasonable operation of the reservoir and incoming hyperconcentrated floods accom-panied by retrogressive erosion also aggravate the siltation of the main channel of the river. However, a reasonable operation mode of the reservoir so named"storing the clear (low sediment concentration) water in the non–flood season, and sluicing the muddy(high sediment concentration) water in the flood season" was found, which might mitigate the deposition in both the reservoir and the Lower Yellow River. This operation mode provides important experience for the design and operation of large reser-voirs in other large rivers carrying huge amounts of sediment.     

Sedimentation processes in silt-rich sediment systems

Sediment found in China’s Yangtze and Yellow River systems is characterized by large silt fractions. In contrast to sand and clay, sedimentation and erosion behaviour of silt and silt–clay–sand mixtures is relatively unknown. Therefore, settling and consolidation behaviour of silt-rich sediment from these river systems is analysed under laboratory conditions in specially designed settling columns. Results show that a transition in consolidation behaviour occurs around clay contents of about 10 %, which is in analogy with the transition from non-cohesive to cohesive erosion behaviour. Above this threshold, sediment mixtures consolidate in a cohesive way, whereas for smaller clay percentages only weak cohesive behaviour occurs. The settling behaviour of silt-rich sediment is found to be in analogy with granular material at concentration below 150 g/l. Above 150–200 g/l, the material settles in a hindered settling regime where segregation is limited or even prevented. The results indicate that for modelling purposes, multiple sediment fractions need to be assessed in order to produce accurate modelling results.     

Weathering effects on the geotechnical properties of argillaceous sediments in tropical environments and their geomorphological implications

Outcrops of young, sedimentary, argillaceous rocks with well developed fabric display rapid changes in their properties when subject to tropical weathering. The change in the materials is often accompanied by mass movement activity and the geomorphological consequence in terms of landforms is usually the development of badlands topography. Detailed field and laboratory studies have been undertaken on the Joe's River Formation, Barbados, and the Lichi Melange, Taiwan. Both are sedimentary mudrocks with well developed, scaly fabrics. Physical and geotechnical laboratory tests have been conducted on samples collected from type site locations to elucidate associations between material properties, earth surface processes and landform development. While the inherent physical properties show little or no difference in the transition from unweathered to highly weathered materials, by applying the critical state model, the mudrock geotechnical properties can be shown to change significantly. As weathering commences, material strength surprisingly increases. Only after a period of more extensive weathering do mechanical properties confirm increasingly incompetent materials. The initial strength increase appears to be due to weathering-induced modification of the fabric. The subsequent strength drop is a product of weathering-induced modification of both the fabric and the in situ, intact sediment. It is suggested that by applying the critical state model, a greater consideration can be gained of the geotechnical response of the sediments to weathering.     

Variations in texture of beach sediments in the vicinity of the Tirumalairajanar river mouth of India

The distribution of grain size parameters along 11 km stretch of the beach sediments between Karikal and Nagore,reveals that the mean grain size exhibits a marked decreasing trend on either side of the mouth of the Tirumalairajanar River which flow from west to east.The sediments are mainly of medium to coarse grained,moderately sorted,near-symmetrical skewed to fine skewed and leptokurtic to mesokurtic in nature.Interrelationship of various parameters shows bimodal nature of sediments having dominance of medium to coarse sand.The major part of the sediment fall in a coarse to fine grained category(sand and silt).Based on the CM(Coarser one percentile value in micron) pattern,the sediment fall in rolling and suspension field.These factors includes the sediments discharged from the river mixes with offshore sediments and with the sediments eroded from a source rock.The effect of wave sorting, and the northward drifting of sediments by littoral current are understandable.Results indicate that the Tirumalairajanar River is the most important source for modern sediments in the study area.The agitation by waves is an important sorting mechanism in the study area,and the net sediment transport in the study area is northward.The findings are based on the grain sizes and also corroborated by shortterm observations of the beach sediment dynamics and transport during the monsoon and summer seasons between Karaikal and Nagore region.     

The relative contributions of physical and microbiological factors to cohesive sediment stability

The stabilising effects of natural benthic diatom and bacterial assemblages on cohesive sediments were compared with those caused by physico-chemical binding alone. Cohesive sediment beds were reconstructed in 4 annular laboratory miniflumes, using sediment collected at 5–6 m water depth from a local fjord. The sediment was left to stabilise (consolidate) for 1, 2, 5 and 10 days, before being fully resuspended in a series of erosion experiments. The flumes were aerated and subjected to different light/dark conditions; antibiotics were used to isolate diatom from bacteria effects. During consolidation, a constant current velocity was maintained, at a speed well below erosion threshold.     

Regional Flow and Deformation Analysis of Basin‐Fill Aquifer Systems Using Stress‐Dependent Parameters

Changes in effective stress due to water pressure variations modify the intrinsic hydrodynamic properties of aquifers and aquitards. Overexploited groundwater systems, such as basins with heavy pumping, are subject to nonrecoverable modifications. This results in loss of permeability, porosity, and specific storage due to system consolidation. This paper presents (1) the analytical development of model functions relating effective stress to hydrodynamic parameters for aquifers and aquitards constituted of unconsolidated granular sediments, and (2) a modeling approach for the analysis of aquifer systems affected by effective stress variations, taking into account the aforementioned dependency. The stress‐dependent functions were fit to laboratory data, and used in the suggested modeling approach. Based on only few unknowns, this approach is computationally simple, efficiently captures the hydromechanical processes that are active in regional aquifer systems under stress, and readily provides an estimate of their consolidation.     

Impacts of climate change and hydraulic structures on runoff and sediment discharge in the middle Yellow River

Due to climate change and its aggravation by human activities (e.g. hydraulic structures) over the past several decades, the hydrological conditions in the middle Yellow River have markedly changed, leading to a sharp decrease in runoff and sediment discharge. This paper focused on the impacts of climate change and hydraulic structures on runoff and sediment discharge, and the study area was located in the 3246 km² Huangfuchuan (HFC) River basin. Changes in annual runoff and sediment discharge were initially analysed by using the Mann–Kendall trend test and Pettitt change point test methods. Subsequently, periods of natural and disturbed states were defined. The results showed that both the annual runoff and sediment discharge presented statistically significant decreasing trends. However, compared with the less remarkable decline in annual rainfall, it was inferred that hydraulic structures might be another important cause for the sharp decrease in runoff and sediment discharge in this region. Consequently, sediment‐trapping dams (STDs, a type of large‐sized check dam used to prevent sediment from entering the Yellow River main stem) were considered in this study. Through evaluating the impacts of the variation in rainfall patterns (i.e. amount and intensity) and the STD construction, a positive correlation between rainfall intensity and current STD construction was found. This paper revealed that future soil and water conservation measures should focus on areas with higher average annual rainfall and more rainstorm hours. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

REGULATION OF FLOW AND SEDIMENT LOAD IN THE YELLOW RIVER

Small runoff, large sediment load, and incompatible relationship of flow and sediment load are very important characteristics of the Yellow River. They are also the crux of the most prominent problems of the Yellow River. To solve these problems, the regimes of flow and sediment load have to be improved by increasing water, reducing sediment load, and by using reservoirs to regulate flow and sediment load. The results of experiments for regulating the flow and sediment load in the last three years by the Xiaolangdi Reservoir have indicated that this measure is a realistic and effective way to mitigate the prominent problems in flood control of the Lower Yellow River at present and in the near future. However, the regulation system is still imperfect. It is advisable to speed up the pace of research and construction of the system for regulating flow and sediment load.