The Ecological Restoration of Heavily Degraded Saline Wetland in the Yellow River Delta

As a result of discontinuous water flow, agriculture, and increasing urban use of fresh water affecting the natural wetlands of the Yellow River Delta, these areas have experienced significant degradation in the past two decades, ultimately diminishing the overall natural wetland land area in the region. This study aimed to address the issue of decreasing fresh water in the Yellow River Delta by studying the effects of three different approaches to restoration on long‐term wetland recovery. The results of the study demonstrated that soil salt and available Na contents significantly decreased in response to all three restoration treatments. Impacts of the restoration treatments were more significant in 2009 than in 2010, as shown by the high rate of activity in the reed debris group. The highest phosphatase activity of the experimental period was also observed in the reed debris group. Meanwhile, a marked variation in soil nutrient elements (total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus, and available potassium) was observed in the restoration treatment plots throughout the experimental period. TC and TN contents were generally higher in the restoration treatment groups than in the control group. Moreover, urease and phosphatase activity levels were highly correlated with one another, as well as with soil nutrient elements. In 2009, the yield of the Suaeda salsa plant was highest in the reed debris treatment group and lowest in the ploughing treatment group. The S. salsa plant did show a positive response to all of the different restoration treatments. Taken together, these results suggest that restoration approaches that implement ploughing techniques aided in the restoration of degraded saline wetlands.     

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（1999-03-2006-06 A.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.

     

Physiological Responses of Halophyte Suaeda salsa to Water Table and Salt Stresses in Coastal Wetland of Yellow River Delta

Soil salinity and waterlogging are two major environmental problems in estuarine wetlands. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of salt stress, water table, and their combination on growth, chlorophyll content, antioxidant system, and ion accumulation in Suaeda salsa plant, which is the pioneer plant in coastal wetland of the Yellow River Delta (YRD). The results showed that plant height, number of branches, and biomass were significantly affected by water table and salt stress. With enhanced salt stress, the ratio of leaf to total biomass increased and the ratio of root to total biomass decreased. The contents of Chl‐a, ‐b, Chl‐a + b, and carotenoids (Car) decreased significantly with increasing soil salinity and the water table level. Salt stress enhanced the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), but reduced the content of protein. With the lowering water table level, the activity of CAT and protein content increased, and activity of SOD decreased. Na⁺ and Cl^? content were up‐regulated with increasing salt stress (NaCl), whereas, the contents of other cations (K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺) and anions ( and ) were decreased. In summary, the results indicated that the S. salsa plants could adapt to the adverse soil environments through modifying their growth and physiology status at the highly saline and intertidal zone, such as the YRD estuarine wetlands, and also could be used as a bio‐reclamation plant to decline the high salt in saline soils.     

Geospatial-temporal analysis of land-use changes in the Yellow River Delta during the last 40 years

Research on land use/land cover changes (LUCC)has been the core project of the Global EnvironmentalChanges since the 1990s[1—6]. Scientists at home andabroad have been laying emphasis on integrationstudies on land-use change by “space and process”features[7—10] as researches on LUCC are in a greatdeal. It is of paramount important for us to studyLUCC at various spatial-temporal scales and build aquantitative assessment of land-use conversion by in-tegrated spatial-temporal features. …     

Chemical characterization of naturally weathered oil residues in the sediment from Yellow River Delta, China

With its close proximity to Shengli Oilfield, China’s second largest oilfield, the Yellow River Delta is at high risk for crude oil contamination. The massive oil discharge in oilfield may offer a chance for a natural experiment to investigate compositional changes of oil residues and study the stability of source- and weathering-dependent molecular parameters in oil residues after spills. The results demonstrate that the conventional diagnostic ratios, such as C₂₉20S/(20S + 20R), C₂₉/C₃₀H, C₃₀βα/αβ, C₃₁22S/(22S + 22R), C₂-DBTs/C₂-PHENs, C₃-DBTs/C₃-PHENs, DBT/MCHRY, CHRY/PHENs, are also valid for oil source identification even after extensive weathering of spilled oils in terrestrial environment, although some exceptions were encountered for extensively weathered sample. Moreover, the ratios of selected specific biomarkers (the oleanane index, the gammacerane index) have been developed and assessed as source indicators. Finally, we find that some maturity parameters based on alkyl naphthalenes and methyl phenanthrenes in petroleum geochemistry, such as the methylnaphthalene ratios (TMNr, TeMNr, PMNr), the methylphenanthrene ratios (MPI-1, MPDF), can be applied for the source identification and correlation at their lightly to moderately weathered stage.     

Stochastic evolution of hydraulic geometry relations in the lower Yellow River of China under environmental uncertainties

Hydraulic geometry relations comprise a classic way to understand characteristics of a river. However, environmental changes pose large uncertainties for the reliability of such relations. In the current study, on the basis of the ordinary differential equations (ODEs) formed through linear treatment of the deterministic power-law hydraulic geometry relations, a set of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) driven by Fractional white noise and Poisson noise are developed to simulate the historical dynamic probability distributions of typical hydraulic geometry variables such as slope, width, depth, and velocity with bankfull discharge variation over time in the lower Yellow River of China. One group of possible stochastic average behaviors within the next 50 years are calculated under three different design incoming water-sediment conditions (including 300, 600, and 800 million t of annual average sediment discharge). In each part of the lower reaches, after estimation of the SDE parameters using a nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method, the model is carefully examined using Monte Carlo simulation as compared with the deterministic control models. The results of this comparison reveal the potential responses of hydraulic geometry characteristics to environmental disturbances, and the average trends mainly agree with the measurements. Comparisons among the three different prediction results reveal the stochastic average solution generally is greater than the deterministic solution. The results also confirm the severe negative impacts that result from the condition of 300 million t of incoming sediment, thus, pointing out the need to raise the level of river evolution alert for the lower Yellow River of China in the future. Moreover, with the help of the stochastic computation, the stream power and hydraulic width/depth ratio could be representative of an effective systematic measure for river dynamics. The proposed stochastic approach is not only important to development in the field of fluvial relations, but also beneficial to the practical design and monitoring of a river system according to specified accuracy requirements.     

Relationship of photosynthetic carbon fixation with environmental changes in the Jiulong River estuary of the South China Sea, with special reference to the effects of solar UV radiation

Phytoplankton cells in estuary waters usually experience drastic changes in chemical and physical environments due to mixing of fresh and seawaters. In order to see their photosynthetic performance in such dynamic waters, we measured the photosynthetic carbon fixation by natural phytoplankton assemblages in the Jiulong River estuary of the South China Sea during April 24-26 and July 24-26 of 2008, and investigated its relationship with environmental changes in the presence or the absence of UV radiation. Phytoplankton biomass (Chl a) decreased sharply from the river-mouth to seawards (17.3-2.1 μg L⁻¹), with the dominant species changed from chlorophytes to diatoms. The photosynthetic rate based on Chl a at noon time under PAR-alone increased from 1.9 μg C (μg Chl a)⁻¹ L⁻¹ in low salinity zone (SSS < 10) to 12.4 μg C (μg Chl a)⁻¹ L⁻¹ in turbidity front (SSS within 10-20), and then decreased to 2.1 μg C (μg Chl a)⁻¹ L⁻¹ in mixohaline zone (SSS > 20); accordingly, the carbon fixation per volume of seawater increased from 12.8 to 149 μg C L⁻¹ h⁻¹, and decreased to 14.3 μg C L⁻¹ h⁻¹. Solar UVR caused the inhibition of carbon fixation in surface water of all the investigated zones, by 39% in turbidity area and 7-10% in freshwater or mixohaline zones. In the turbidity zone, higher availability of CO₂ could have enhanced the photosynthetic performance; while osmotic stress might be responsible for the higher sensitivity of phytoplankton assemblages to solar UV radiation.     

黄河干流浮游植物群落特征及其对水质的指示作用

2008年5-6月和9-10月对黄河干流13个河段和4座水库的浮游植物群落及其环境进行了全面调查.共鉴定浮游植物8门83属150种,其中有硅藻59种,绿藻55种,蓝藻24种,甲藻4种,裸藻4种,金藻2种,黄藻1种和隐藻1种,平均细胞密度和生物量分别为126.90×104cells/L和0.940mg/L.从大的格局上看,浮游植物群落在种类数、种类组成和现存量上均存在较明显的空间分异,这种分异性可从河流流速、泥沙含量和受污染程度得到解释.根据浮游植物污染指示种和Shannon-Wiener多样性指数分析,黄河干流各河段多受到不同程度的污染.与1986年的资料相比,黄河干流浮游植物组成发生了明显变化,属数下降了9.8%,而平均生物量升高了128.7%,且在种类组成上也发生了明显的变化,表明河流污染程度的加剧.     

Levels and distribution of tris-(2,3-dibromopropyl) isocyanurate and hexabromocyclododecanes in surface sediments from the Yellow River Delta wetland of China

The levels and distribution of tris-(2,3-dibromopropyl) isocyanurate (TBC) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) of surface sediments in the Yellow River Delta wetland had been investigated. The concentrations of TBC and ∑ HBCDs ranged from 0.20 to 29.03 ng·g^? 1 dw and below limits of detections (LODs) to 20.25 ng·g^? 1 dw. The average composition profile of three HBCDs isomers were 10.1%, 6.1% and 83.8% for α-, β- and γ-HBCD, respectively. Moreover, correlation analysis indicated there are similar sources among three isomers and positive correlations between total organic carbon (TOC) content and concentrations of TBC and HBCDs. The mass inventory of TBC,α-, β-, γ-HBCD, ΣHBCDs in surface sediments of Yellow River Delta wetland were estimated about 725.50, 72.76, 44.29, 548.34, 665.39 kg. Therefore, further investigations on potential human health and environmental risk assessments of TBC and HBCDs were needed.     

Distribution,sources and potential toxicological significance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface soils of the Yellow River Delta,China

PAH concentrations of 61 surface soil samples collected from the Yellow River Delta (YRD), China were measured to determine occurrence levels, sources, and potential toxicological significance of PAHs. The total concentrations of ∑PAHs ranged from 27 to 753 ng/g d.w., with a mean of 118 ± 132 ng/g. The highest concentrations was found in the mid-southern part of the YRD (753 ng/g), which was associated with the oil exploration. The ratios indicated that the PAHs throughout the YRD were mostly of pyrogenic origin; while various sites in mid-southern part in the region were derived mainly from the petrogenic sources. Multivariate statistical analyses supported that the PAHs in surface soils of the YRD were principally from the coal and biomass combustion, petroleum spills, and/or vehicular emissions. The toxic assessment suggested that the PAHs in soils were at low potential of ecotoxicological contamination level for the YRD.     

Streamflow trends and climate linkages in the source region of the Yellow River,China

Much of the discussion on hydrological trends and variability in the source region of the Yellow River centres on the mean values of the mainstream flows. Changes in hydrological extremes in the mainstream as well as in the tributary flows are largely unexplored. Although decreasing water availability has been noted, the nature of those changes is less explored. This article investigates trends and variability in the hydrological regimes (both mean values and extreme events) and their links with the local climate in the source region of the Yellow River over the last 50 years (1959–2008). This large catchment is relatively undisturbed by anthropogenic influences such as abstraction and impoundments, enabling the characterization of widely natural, climate‐driven trends. A total of 27 hydrological variables were used as indicators for the analysis. Streamflow records from six major headwater catchments and climatic data from seven stations were studied. The trend results vary considerably from one river basin to another, and become more accentuated with longer time period. Overall, the source region of the Yellow River is characterized by an overall tendency towards decreasing water availability. Noteworthy are strong decreasing trends in the winter (dry season) monthly flows of January to March and September as well as in annual mean flow, annual 1‐, 3‐, 7‐, 30‐ and 90‐day maxima and minima flows for Maqu and Tangnag catchments over the period 1959–2008. The hydrological variables studied are closely related to precipitation in the wet season (June, July, August and September), indicating that the widespread decrease in wet season precipitation is expected to be associated with significant decrease in streamflow. To conclude, decreasing precipitation, particularly in the wet season, along with increasing temperature can be associated with pronounced decrease in water resources, posing a significant challenge to downstream water uses. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of River Terraces in the Middle Reach Valleys of the Yellow River and Analysis on the Multi-Gradational Features of Tectonism in the Formation of Terrace Series

Where the Yellow River flows through the Haiyuan-Tongxin arc-form tectonic region on the northeastern side of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau, as many as 10～21 basis and erosion terraces have been produced, among which the biggest altitude above river level is 401m and the formation age of the highest terrace is 1.57 Ma B.P. Based on comparative analysis of the Yellow River terraces located separately in the Mijiashan mountain, the Chemuxia gorge, the Heishanxia gorge and the other river terraces in the vast extent of the northern part of China, it has been found that the tectonic processes resulting in the formation of the terrace series is one of multi-gradational features, i.e., a terrace series can include the various terraces produced by tectonic uplifts of different scopes or scales and different ranks. The Yellow River terrace series in the study region can be divided into three grades. Among them, in the first grade there are 6 terraces which were formed separately at the same time in the vast extent of the northern part of China and represent the number and magnitude of uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau since 1.6 Ma B. P. ; in the second grade there are 5 terraces which were separately and simultaneously developed within the Haiyuan-Tianjingshan tectonic region and represent the number and magnitude of uplift of this tectonic region itself since 1.6Ma B. P.; in the third grade there are 10 terraces which developed on the eastern slope of the Mijiashan mountain and represent the number and amplitude of uplift of the Haiyuan tectonic belt itself since 1.6Ma B.P. Comparison of the terrace ages with loess-paleosoil sequence has also showed that the first grade terraces reflecting the vast scope uplifts of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau are very comparable with climatic changes and their formation ages all correspond to the interglacial epochs during which paleosoils were formed. This implies that the vast extent tectonic uplifts resulting in river down-cutting are closely related to the warm-humid climatic periods which can also resnit in river downward erosion after strong dry and cold climatic periods, and they have jointly formed the tectonic-climatic cycles. There exists no unanimous and specific relationship between the formation ages of the second and third grade terraces and climatic changes and it is shown that the formation of those terraces was most mainly controlled by tectonic uplifts of the Tianjingshan block and the Haiyuan belt. The river terraces in the study region, therefore, may belong to 2 kinds of formation cause. One is a tectonic-climatic cyclical terrace produced jointly by vast extent tectonic uplifts and climatic changes, and the terraces of this kind are extensively distributed and can be well compared with each other among regions. Another is a pulse-tectonic cyclical terrace produced by local tectonic uplifts as dominant elements, and their distribution is restricted within an active belt and can not be compared with among regions.     

Geomorphic evolution of the Qingshuigou channel of the Yellow River Delta in response to changing water and sediment regimes and human interventions

Delta channels are important landforms at the interface of sediment transfer from terrestrial to oceanic realms and affect large, and often vulnerable, human populations. Understanding these dynamics is pressing because delta processes are sensitive to climate change and human activity via adjustments in, for example, mean sea level and water/sediment regimes. Data collected over a 40-year period along a 110-km distributary channel of the Yellow River Delta offer an ideal opportunity to investigate morphological responses to changing water and sediment regimes and intensive human activity. Complementary data from the delta front provide an opportunity to explore the interaction between delta channel geomorphology and delta-front erosion–accretion patterns. Cross-section dimensions and shape, longitudinal gradation and a sediment budget are used to quantify spatial and temporal morphological change along the Qingshuigou channel. Distinctive periods of channel change are identified, and analysis provides a detailed understanding of the temporal and spatial adjustments of the channel to specific human interventions, including two artificial channel diversions and changes in water and sediment supply driven by river management, and downstream delta-front development. Adjustments to the diversions included a short-lived period of erosion upstream and significant erosion in the newly activated channel, which progressed downstream. Channel geomorphology widened and deepened during periods when management increased water yield and decreased sediment supply, and narrowed and shallowed during periods when management reduced water yield and the sediment load. Changes along the channel are driven by both upstream and downstream forcing. Finally, there is some evidence that changing delta-front erosion–accretion patterns played an important role in the geomorphic evolution of the deltaic channel; an area that requires further investigation. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An improved method for evaluating the seasonal variability of total suspended sediment flux field in the Yellow and East China Seas

The suspended sediment flux field in the Yellow and East China Seas(YECS) displays its seasonal variability.A new method is introduced in this paper to obtain the flux field via retrieval of ocean color remote sensing data,statistical analysis of historical suspended sediment concentration data,and numerical simulation of three-dimensional(3D) flow velocity.The components of the sediment flux field include(i) surface suspended sediment concentration inverted from ocean color remote sensing data;(ii) vertical distribution of suspended sediment concentration obtained by statistical analysis of historical observation data;and(iii) 3D flow field modeled by a numerical simulation.With the improved method,the 3D suspended sediment flux field in the YECS has been illustrated.By comparison with the suspended sediment flux field solely based on the numerical simulation of a suspended sediment transport model,the suspended sediment flux field obtained by the improved method is found to be more reliable.The 3D suspended sediment flux field from ocean colour remote sensing and in situ observation are more closer to the reality.Furthermore,by quantitatively analyzing the newly obtained suspended sediment flux field,the quantity of sediment erosion and deposition within the different regions can be evaluated.The sediment exchange between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea can be evident.The mechanism of suspended sediment transport in the YECS can be better understood.In particular,it is suggested that the long-term transport of suspended sediment is controlled mainly by the circulation pattern,especially the current in winter.     

Regularity of sediment transport and sedimentation during floods in the lower Yellow River,China

The flood season is the main period of flow,sediment transport,and sedimentation in the lower Yellow River(LYR).Within the flood season,most of the flow,sediment transport,and sedimentation occurs during flood events.Because of the importance of floods in forming riverbeds in the LYR,the regularity of sediment transport and sedimentation during floods in the LYR was studied.Measured daily discharge and sediment transport rate data for the LYR from 1960 to 2006 were used.A total of 299 floods wer...     

Distribution and Potential Sources of Surface Aerosol Particles in the Yangtze River Delta Region,China

Based on meteorological and pollution data from January 2017 to December 2019, in this paper the long-term distribution of surface aerosol particles, and the interaction between aerosol pollution and meteorological factors in four cities of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region is investigated. The long-term observation shows the law of typical aerosol pollution characteristics. Meteorological factors are significantly different during aerosol-polluted and nonpolluted days. The effect of each meteorological factor on aerosol pollution may vary by different seasons and cities. The changes in meteorological factors are not completely consistent during aerosol fine-mode and coarse-mode polluted days. To distinguish the possible sources of surface aerosol particles, the potential source contribution function and concentration-weighted trajectory models are applied to study transport sources. Based on the detailed analyses, this study will provide a reliable basis for further pollution control in the YRD.     

Recent changes in the sediment regime of the Pearl River (South China): Causes and implications for the Pearl River Delta

Riverine sediments have played an important role in the morphological evolution of river channels and river deltas. However, the sediment regime in the many world's rivers has been altered in the context of global changes. In this study, temporal changes in the sediment regime of the Pearl River were examined at different time scales, that is, annual, seasonal, and monthly time scales, using the Mann–Kendall test. The results revealed that precipitation variability was responsible for monthly and seasonal distribution patterns of the sediment regime and the long‐term changes in the water discharge; however, dam operation has smoothed the seasonal distribution of water discharge and resulted in decreasing trends in the annual, wet‐season, and dry‐season sediment load series since the 1950s. Due to the different regulation magnitudes of dam operation, differences were observed in sediment regime changes among the three tributaries. In addition, human activities have altered the hysteresis of seasonal rating curves and affected hysteresis differences between increasing and decreasing water discharge stages. Sediment supply is an important factor controlling river channel dynamics, affecting channel morphology. From the 1950s to the 1980s, siltation was dominant in river channels across the West River and North River deltas in response to the sediment increases; however, scouring occurred in the East River deltas due to sediment reduction. Significant erosion occurred in river channels in the 1990s, which was mostly due to downcutting of the river bed caused by sand excavations and partly because of the reduced sediment load from upstream. Although sand excavations have been banned and controlled by authority agencies since 2000, the erosion of cross sections was still observed in the 2000s because of reduced sediment caused by dam construction. Our study examines the different effects of human activities on the sediment regime and downstream channel morphology, which is of substantial scientific importance for river management.     

Partitioning behavior of perfluorinated compounds between sediment and biota in the Pearl River Delta of South China

Surface sediment and biota were collected from 12 sampling sites – seven along the Pearl River Delta and five along the Hong Kong coastline. Perfluorinated compound (PFC) concentrations were detected using a high-performance-liquid-chromatogram–tandem-mass-spectrometry system. Analytical results indicated that the total PFC concentrations were in the range of 0.15–3.11 ng/g dry weight in sediments, while the total PFC concentrations in oyster and mussel samples were between 0.46–1.96 and 0.66–3.43 ng/g wet weight, respectively. The major types of PFCs detected in the sediment samples were perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), with concentrations ranging from low limits of quantification to 0.86 ± 0.12 ng/g dry weight and 1.50 ± 0.26 ng/g dry weight, respectively. In bivalve samples, PFOS was the dominant contaminant with concentrations ranging from 0.25 ± 0.09 to 0.83 ± 0.12 ng/g wet weight in oysters and 0.41 ± 0.14 to 1.47 ± 0.25 ng/g wet weight in mussels. An increase in PFC concentration was found to be correlated with increased human population density in the study areas.