Network‐scale dynamics of grain‐size sorting: implications for downstream fining,stream‐profile concavity,and drainage basin morphology

We explore the link between channel‐bed texture and river basin concavity in equilibrium catchments using a numerical landscape evolution model. Theory from homogeneous sediment transport predicts that river basin concavity directly increases with bed sediment size. If the effective grain size on a river bed governs its concavity, then natural phenomena such as grain‐size sorting and channel armouring should be linked to concavity. We examine this hypothesis by allowing the bed sediment texture to evolve in a transport‐limited regime using a two grain‐size mixture of sand and gravel. Downstream ?ning through selective particle erosion is produced in equilibrium. As the channel‐bed texture adjusts downstream so does the local slope. Our model predicts that it is not the texture of the original sediment mixture that governs basin concavity. Rather, concavity is linked to the texture of the sorted surface layer. Two different textural regimes are produced in the experiments: a transitional regime where the mobility of sand and gravel changes with channel‐bed texture, and a sand‐dominated region where the mobility of sand and gravel is constant. The concavity of these regions varies depending on the median gravel‐ or sand‐grain size, erosion rate, and precipitation rate. The results highlight the importance of adjustments in both surface texture and slope in natural rivers in response to changes in ?uvial and sediment inputs throughout a drainage network. This adjustment can only be captured numerically using multiple grain sizes or empirical downstream ?ning rules. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regional extreme‐dry‐spell frequency analysis using the L‐moments method in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin,China

In this research, the regional extreme‐dry‐spell frequency in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is studied by the L‐moments method. The research area has been divided into three subregions (regions 1, 2 and 3), which have been identified as homogenous regions. The results of a goodness‐of‐fit test indicate that a generalized normal distribution is the optimal regional model for regions 1 and 2 whereas a generalized Pareto distribution is the optimal regional model for region 3. The return period analysis figures out that the maximum length‐of‐dry‐spell (MxDS) values increase from south to north in the southern part and increase from northeast to southwest in the northern part of the middle reaches of the YRB under different return periods. The increments of quantiles of dry spell under different return levels indicate that drought risk in region 1 is higher than that in regions 2 and 3. The analysis of the occurrence day of MxDS shows that MxDS mostly occurred during winter of 1998 and spring of 1999 in most stations during the considered period. By comparing summer MxDS events, it can be found that mean MxDS values have slightly increased in regions 1 and 2 during the last five decades. The maximum mean MxDS values appeared in the 2000s for regions 1 and 2 and in the 1990s for region 3. The atmospheric circulation shows that the positive anomaly centre in the west of North China, negative anomaly centre in the east of North China and the strong western Pacific subtropical high led to the decrease of precipitation in North China during the summer of 1997. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Comparison of hydraulic geometry between sand‐ and gravel‐bed rivers in relation to channel pattern discrimination

A comparison has been made between the hydraulic geometry of sand‐ and gravel‐bed rivers, based on data from alluvial rivers around the world. The results indicate a signi?cant difference in hydraulic geometry among sand‐ and gravel‐bed rivers with different channel patterns. On this basis, some diagrams for discrimination of meandering and braided channel patterns have been established. The relationships between channel width and water discharge, between channel depth and water discharge, between width–depth ratio and water discharge and between channel slope and water discharge can all be used for channel pattern discrimination. The relationship between channel width and channel depth can also be used for channel pattern discrimination. However, the accuracy of these relationships for channel pattern discrimination varies, and the depth–discharge relationship is a better discriminator of pattern type than the classic slope–discharge function. The cause for this difference has been explained qualitatively. To predict the development of channel patterns under different natural conditions, the pattern discriminator should be searched on the basis of independent or at least semi‐independent variables. The relationship between stream power and bed material grain size can be used to discriminate channel patterns, which shows a better result than the discriminator using the slope–discharge relationship. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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...     

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…     

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 variation of river flow renewability in the middle Yellow River and the influencing factors

In the past 30 years, the measured annual river flow of the Yellow River has declined significantly. After adding the diverted water back to get the ‘natural’ annual river flow, the tendency of decrease can still be seen. This indicates that the river flow renewability of the Yellow River has changed. The river flow renewability is indexed as the ratio of annual ‘natural’ river flow to annual precipitation over a river drainage basin, where the ‘natural’ river flow is the measured annual river flow plus the annual ‘net’ water diversion from the river. By using this index, based on the data from the drainage area between Hekouzhen and Longmen stations on the middle Yellow River, a study has been made of the river flow renewability of the Yellow River in the changing environment of the past 50 years. The river flow renewability index (I_rr) in the drainage area between Hekouzhen and Longmen in the middle Yellow River basin has been found to decline significantly with time. In the meantime, annual precipitation decreased, annual air temperature increased, but the area of water and soil conservation measures has been increased. It has been found that I_rr is positively correlated with the areal averaged annual precipitation, but negatively correlated with annual air temperature. There is close, negative correlation between I_rr and the area of water and soil conservation measures including land terracing, tree and grass planting and checkdam building, implying that water and soil conservation measures have reduced the river flow renewability. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent variation in reach‐scale bankfull discharge in the Lower Yellow River

Bankfull discharge is a key parameter in the context of river engineering and geomorphology, as an indicator of flood discharge capacity in alluvial rivers, and varying in response to the incoming flow and sediment regimes. Bankfull channel dimensions have significantly adjusted along the Lower Yellow River (LYR) due to recent channel degradation, caused by the operation of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir, which has led to longitudinal variability in cross‐sectional bankfull discharges. Therefore, it is more representative to describe the flood discharge capacity of the LYR, using the concept of reach‐averaged bankfull discharge. Previous simple mean methods to estimate reach‐scale bankfull discharge cannot meet the condition of flow continuity or account for the effect of different spacing between two sections. In this study, a general method to calculate cross‐sectional bankfull discharge using the simulated stage‐discharge relation is outlined briefly, and an integrated method is then proposed for estimating reach‐scale bankfull discharge. The proposed method integrates a geometric mean based on the log‐transformation with a weighted average based on the spacing between two consecutive sections, which avoids the shortcomings of previous methods. The post‐flood reach‐scale bankfull discharges in three different channel‐pattern reaches of the LYR were estimated annually during the period from 1999 to 2010 using the proposed method, based on surveyed post‐flood profiles at 91 sedimentation sections and the measured hydrological data at seven hydrometric sections. The calculated results indicate that: (i) the estimated reach‐scale bankfull discharges can effectively represent the flood discharge capacity of different reaches, with their ranges of variation being less than those of typical cross‐sectional bankfull discharges; and (ii) the magnitude of the reach‐scale bankfull discharge in each reach can respond well to the accumulative effect of incoming flow and sediment conditions. Finally, empirical relationships for different reaches in the LYR were developed between the reach‐scale bankfull discharge and the previous four‐year average discharge and incoming sediment coefficient during flood seasons, with relatively high correlation coefficients between them being obtained, and the reach‐scale bankfull discharges in different reaches predicted by the delayed response model were also presented for a comparison. These relations for the prediction of reach‐scale bankfull discharges were validated using the cross‐sectional profiles and hydrological data measured in 2011. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of long‐term water balance in the source area of the Yellow River basin

To analyse the long‐term water balance of the Yellow River basin, a new hydrological model was developed and applied to the source area of the basin. The analysis involved 41 years (1960–2000) of daily observation data from 16 meteorological stations. The model is composed of the following three sub‐models: a heat balance model, a runoff formation model and a river‐routing network model. To understand the heat and water balances more precisely, the original model was modified as follows. First, the land surface was classified into five types (bare, grassland, forest, irrigation area and water surface) using a high‐resolution land‐use map. Potential evaporation was then calculated using land‐surface temperatures estimated by the heat balance model. The maximum evapotranspiration of each land surface was calculated from potential evaporation using functions of the leaf area index (LAI). Finally, actual evapotranspiration was estimated by regulating the maximum evapotranspiration using functions of soil moisture content. The river discharge estimated by the model agreed well with the observed data in most years. However, relatively large errors, which may have been caused by the overestimation of surface flow, appeared in some summer periods. The rapid decrease of river discharge in recent years in the source area of the Yellow River basin depended primarily on the decrease in precipitation. Furthermore, the results suggested that the long‐term water balance in the source area of the Yellow River basin is influenced by land‐use changes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Simulating the hydraulic characteristics of the lower Yellow River by the finite‐volume technique

The finite‐volume technique is used to solve the two‐dimensional shallow‐water equations on unstructured mesh consisting of quadrilateral elements. In this paper the algorithm of the finite‐volume method is discussed in detail and particular attention is paid to accurately representing the complex irregular computational domain. The lower Yellow River reach from Huayuankou to Jiahetan is a typical meandering river. The generation of the computational mesh, which is used to simulate the flood, is affected by the distribution of water works in the river channel. The spatial information about the two Yellow River levee, the protecting dykes, and those roads that are obviously higher than the ground, need to be used to generate the computational mesh. As a result these dykes and roads locate the element interfaces of the computational mesh. In the model the finite‐volume method is used to solve the shallow‐wave equations, and the Osher scheme of the empirical function is used to calculate the flux through the interface between the neighbouring elements. The finite‐volume method has the advantage of using computational domain with complex geometry, and the Osher scheme is a method based on characteristic theory and is a monotone upwind numerical scheme with high resolution. The flood event with peak discharge of 15 300 m³/s, occurring in the period from 30 July to 10 August 1982, is simulated. The estimated result indicates that the simulation method is good for routing the flood in a region with complex geometry. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黄河上游茨哈峡至积石峡段鱼类资源调查(2005-2010年)

2005-2010年对黄河上游茨哈峡至积石峡河段进行鱼类资源调查.结果表明,该河段分布有鱼类39种,分别隶属6目9科29属.鲤形目为主要类群,共2科8亚科20属27种,鲤科16属16种,鳅科4属11种;鲑形目2科3亚科4属5种;鲈形目2科2属4种;鲇形目、鳉形目、合鳃鱼目各1科1属1种.采集到鱼类36种,新增补鱼类7种(其中土著鱼类1种,外来鱼类6种).Margalef丰富度指数为0.692~1.753,香农威纳生物多样性指数为0.796~1.734,Shannon-Wiener改进指数为2.699~9.349,Wilhm改进指数为0.733~1.839,辛普森指数为0.406~0.764,Pielou指数为0.495~0.850.这表明该河段鱼类多样性不高,各样点间差异不显著,但不同水域渔获物组成存在一定的差异.本文对重要土著鱼类和外来鱼类的生态习性进行调查,并对鱼类资源衰退进行分析,提出了保护建议.     

Variation in reach‐scale thalweg‐migration intensity in a braided reach of the lower Yellow River in 1986–2015

Thalweg migration of an alluvial river plays a key role in channel evolution, which may influence the effect of existing river training works and biodiversity on floodplains, and cause losses in riparian land and property. The braided reach of the Lower Yellow River underwent continuous channel aggradation during the period from 1986 to 1999, and then remarkable channel degradation in 1999–2015 owing to the state of operation of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir in 1999. Here we quantify associated thalweg migration changes and identify the key influencing factor in the braided reach. Thalweg‐migration distances and intensities at section‐ and reach‐scales were calculated during the past 30 years from 1986 to 2015, in order to investigate the characteristics of thalweg migration in the reach. There was a 47% reduction in the reach‐scale thalweg‐migration distance and a 35% reduction in the corresponding migration intensity after the reservoir operation. It is also revealed that fluvial erosion intensity is a dominant factor in controlling the thalweg migration, based on the investigation into various influencing factors in the study reach. The thalweg‐migration intensity of the braided reach can be expressed as a power function of the previous four‐year average fluvial erosion intensity. The calculated thalweg‐migration intensities in 1986–2015 using the proposed relation generally agree with the observed data. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

鄂尔多斯高原河曲段黄河阶地构造变形研究

通过对河曲县城一带出露较好的黄河阶地剖面进行研究,认为河曲一带黄河三、四级阶地形成于中更新世时期,晚更新世早期形成二级阶地,全新世形成一级阶地。本区中更新世抬升速率为0．14mm／a,晚更新世抬升速率为0．18mm／a,全新世抬升速率为0．70mm／a,晚更新世和全新世抬升速率的突然加大,可能与黄河下游三门湖的贯通、区域侵蚀基准面突然降低、河流侵蚀加大有关。     

宁夏沙坡头黄河大弯的成因分析

黄河在宁夏沙坡头形成了"几"字形河曲地貌,并在河曲凸岸发育了3级河流阶地。本文针对沙坡头大弯河流阶地特征、阶地年龄,以及大拐弯的成因进行了分析,探讨本区地貌发育的机制。结果表明:(1)沙坡头大弯3级河流阶地形成的主要原因是构造抬升作用,气候变化对此处阶地形成的作用不明显。在区域新构造活动强烈的背景下,约中更新世末期中卫盆地开始抬升,黄河河道被固定,河流下切形成本区的最高阶地T3;约在70kaB.P.、8kaB.P.形成T2、T1阶地。(2)沙坡头黄河大拐弯是由香山—天景山断裂左旋走滑位错,以及水流受地球自转偏向力的河流内生动力共同作用的结果,并且河流的内生动力作用远大于前者的贡献。     

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.     

黄河下游南四湖地区黄河河道变迁的湖泊沉积响应

黄河下游地区湖泊演化多与黄河河道变迁密切相关,进行高分辨率的湖泊沉积环境的研究,可揭示历史时期黄河下游的河道变迁,本文以南四湖ＤＳ孔为例,探讨河道变迁的湖泊沉响应。     

Investigation of the relationship between runoff and atmospheric oscillations,sea surface temperature,and local‐scale climate variables in the Yellow River headwaters region

The Yellow River headwaters region (YRHR) contributes nearly 40% of total flow in the Yellow River basin, which is suffering from a serious water shortage problem. Investigation of the relationship between runoff and climate variables is important for understanding the variation trend of runoff in the YRHR under global climate change. Global and local climate variables, including the West Pacific subtropical high; northern hemisphere polar vortex (NH); Tibetan Plateau Index B (TPI‐B); southern oscillation index; sea surface temperature; and precipitation, evaporation, and temperature, were fully considered to explore the relationship with runoff at Jimai, Maqu, and Tangnaihai stations from 1956 to 2014. The results reveal that runoff had a decreasing trend, which will likely be maintained in the future, and there was a significant change in runoff around 1995 at all stations. Correlation analysis indicated that runoff was dominated by precipitation, NH, temperature, and TPI‐B, and a substantial correlation was observed with sea surface temperature and evaporation, but there was little correlation with West Pacific subtropical high and southern oscillation index. Furthermore, impacts of climate change on runoff variations were distinctly different at different temporal scales. Three dominant runoff periodicities were identified by a singular spectrum analysis‐multitaper method and continuous wavelet transform, that is, 1.0‐, 6.9‐, and 24.8‐year runoff periodicities. In addition, runoff was positively correlated with temperature at a 1‐year periodicity, negatively correlated with TPI‐B at a 6.9‐year periodicity, and positively correlated with NH at a 24.8‐year periodicity, that is, temperature, TPI‐B, and NH‐controlled runoff at annual, interannual, and interdecadal scales. Further, all analyses of the stations in the YRHR showed excellent consistency. The results will provide valuable information for water resource management in the YRHR.