Hydrologic and hydraulic characteristics of the Yellow River and impact of flow and sediment diversion

In the history, the Yellow River nurtured Chinese civilization. It is respected as the ＂ancestor of the four large rivers in China＂ and praised as ＂the mother river of China＂. At the same time, the Yellow River is regarded as ＂the misery of China＂ and considered as the most complex river hard to control in the world. Today, the Yellow River is also one large river greatly influenced by human activities in the world. The safety of the Yellow River, particularly flood control, is always the most important issue for governing and developing the country. Great achievements have been made after many years of efforts for controlling the Yellow River. However, since the nineties of 20 century, some new problems occurred, such as sharp reduction of flux to sea, dry rivercourse, worsen environment, etc. Rapidly shrinking riverbed and two-level perched stream are disadvantageous to flood safety especially. The new concepts and new practices are urgently needed to control the river. Therefore, the Yellow River Conservancy Committee of Ministry of Water Resources had continuously carded out flow and sediment diversion each year from 2002 to 2005. To timely probe into the new issues produced after flow and sediment diversion, and in order to deepen the understanding of rules for the Yellow River＇s water and sediment and provide reference and experience to the researchers for other large rivers, five hydrologic and hydraulic characteristics of the Yellow River, such as lack of water, much of sediment, different resources of water and sediment, inconsistency between water and sediment and frequency of sink switching and route changing, are described. Flow and sediment diversion of the Yellow River is also reviewed. Under flow and sediment diversion,     

Degeneration and countermeasures of water resources system of the Changjiang River Delta

Water resources system is composed of natural water subsystem and social water subsystem. And it is a complicated large system, which contains certain regional background, as well as specific framework, function and dynamic balance. The evaluation of the water resources system needs the viewpoint of sustainable development and the measurement according to water resources system carrying capacity, which holds the meaning of both water resources carrying capacity and water environment carrying capacity. The Changjiang River Delta is a very important area in China. As the local water resources are concerned, the Delta is an area lack of water as a matter of fact. The water resources system of the Delta experiences a long, intricate and degenerate period. The lack of water due to resources shortage in the 1950＇s was converted to that due to water quality from the 1980＇s. Furthermore, the status of water shortage sharpens gradually. The representations are summarized as follows： firstly, the discharge amount of wastewater and polluted water is large all along. Secondly, the pollution status of rivers, which involve the Changjiang River, the Grand Canal, the rivers in cities and the rivers in small towns and villages, is noticeable. Thirdly, water quality of Taihu Lake is worth of more attention. Therefore, the countermeasures on the reconditioning and regulating of water resources system in the Delta demands the following new strategies, such as to treat the rivers, the lakes and the seas as one overall system, to improve, harmonize and counterpoise water resources system carrying capacity, to implement the integrated management of water resources, which means the integrated management of drainage area along with the regional area, especially the integrated management of city water, and to carry on water saving and scientific use so as to increase the efficiency of water use, and so on.     

On Metallogenic Conditions and Regularities of the Lower and Middle Reaches of the Changjiang River

The paper deals with the metallogenic conditions and regularities of the region ol the lower-middle reachesof the Changjiang River in China. The complicated structural network with the Changjiang (Yangtse) deepfracture as its trunk is the leading rock-and ore-controlling structure of the metallogenic belt. Thehigh-potassium granodiorites of the first magmatic sequence of the Mesozoic Yangtse syntexis type and thesodium-rich diorites of the second sequence are genetically related to the copper ore series and the iron ore se-ries respectively. and occur respectively in the block-faulted and-folded uplift area and the down-faulted vol-canic basin as well as the transitional zone between the two. The ore-hosting horizons show specific associa-tions of rocks and often contain ore beds basically of stratabound nature.     

A decade of variation of COD in the Changjiang River （Yangtze River） and its variation trend analysis

The average annual value of COD (chemical oxygen demand) fluxes of the Changjiang River (Yangtze River) and its main tributaries in the past decade (i.e., 1991–2000), has been evaluated. Based on the data from the Datong Hydrological Station (DHS), it was found that the Dongting Lake drainage basin contributed the greatest water discharge (35.8%) and COD flux (48.3%) among the main tributary drainage basins, followed by the Poyang Lake drainage basin with the contributions of 15.4% and 19.3%,respectively. By the end of the year of 2000, COD flux in the Changjiang River rose by almost 45% relative to that in the year of 1991, reaching about 1941000 ton/a at DHS. Statistical analysis revealed that industrial wastewater discharge, as well as COD in it, was found decreasing in the same period, due to the gradual reinforcement of environmental management. Moreover, correlation analysis indicated that non-point pollution from agriculture and increasing discharge of domestic sewages caused by rapid growth of population along the Changjiang River drainage valley should be responsible for the high COD. Furthermore, with the current trend of population growth and agricultural development in this basin, water quality of the Changjiang River, in terms of COD level, is going to deteriorate in the near future. Thus, the rational applications of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture and the proper treatment of domestic sewages before they are discharged would be the most concerned controlling parameters.     

Characteristics Research of Immersed and Waterlogged Subterranean River System of Reservoir Areas of Hydroelectric Stations

The karst inunersion and waterlogging is one of the typical and the nmst harmful natural disasters in southern karst areas of China. It is threat to the local production and life for a long time. In recent years, due to the construction of more reservoirs, the disaster became serious. This article takes immersion and waterlogging of BanweUs subterranean rivers in Yantan reservoir area as an example, re-searches the daily rainfalls reflection to the water level of reservoir depression, discusses characteristics of immersion and waterlogging of the valley, analyzes the disaster index in detail, such as water level process, the highest water level, sensitive rainfall, original waterlogged rainfall and delayed day numbers etc., and umvides the reference as a basis to the disaster analysis.     

Characteristics of Water Environment in Regions of Zhaling and Eling Lakes near Waterhead of Yellow River

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Hydrogeochemistry of the Winder River and adjoining tributaries, Balochistan, Pakistan

Quantitative estimation of ground and stream waters draining through sedimentary rocks of the Pab and Mor ranges (Jurassic-Cretaceous) and the Bela ophiolite has been made. The degree of correspondence among cations and anions has been estimated in order to evaluate their mutual relationships. The abundance of major ions is interpreted to be related to bedrocks and climatic conditions, which may contribute to the genetic affiliation. The log TDS and Na/Na Ca ratio reflected supremacy of weathering of rocks with some influence of evaporation. Ionic relationship is exhibited in the form of Stiff diagrams. Patterns of ionic composition revealed high NaCl, medium Ca(HCO3)2 and low MgSO4. Piper diagram has been used to classify the hydrofacies. The important hydrogeochemical parameters have been estimated for assessment of groundwater quality for domestic purposes in accordance to WHO. Irrigation water qualities have been evaluated in terms of EC, SAR, RSC, ESP and pH.     

Enrichment of Cd and Pb and associations with grain size in sediments in Nanjing alluvial island of Yangtze River

Intermittence belts of metal contaminated sediment have been formed along the urban riverside of the Yangtze River because of rapid urbanization and industrial development during the last three decades. Baguazhou Island, the third alluvial island in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, was chosen to assess the contaminations level of Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu and Zn in suspended particulate matter （SPM）, recent sediments and sediment-derived soils. The relations between the metal concentrations and the grain size distributions in sediments were analyzed in order to explore the association of heavy metal settling with sediment deposition. The results showed that significantly high levels of Cd and Pb in SPM dominated enrichment factors （EFs） of recent sediments in the area of Baguazhou Island. High levels of Cd and Pb were found both in the riverine sediments and in the soils. However, the average levels of Cd and Pb in sediments were almost as twice as those in soil. About 43% of all sediment samples have EFCd≥1.5 and 14% with EFCd≥2. There are about 21% of the samples with EFPb≥1.5 and none of them has EFPb≥2. Meanwhile, soil samples with EFCd≥1.5 account for 39% of all 64 samples and no one with EFPb≥1.0. Most of the sediment samples contain more than 80% of fine grains lower than 60 μm in size, and few samples located in the site where flow eroding process dominates contain fine grains lower than 30%. Correlation analysis indicated that the concentrations of Cd and Pb in the sediments have significant relationships with grain size.     

The Background Features and Formation of Chemical Elements of Groundwater in the Region of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

The paper deals with the background features, formation and distribution of the chemical el-ements K, Na, Ca, Mg, Si, Fe, Mn, Cr, Ni,V, Co, Ti, Mo, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Hg, Cd, Be, Li, Sr, B,F, Cl, Br and I in the groundwater in the region of the middle and lower reaches of the YangtzeRiver and their relations to the composition of the water-bearing media, properties of the overly-ing rocks and soils, redox environment, and groundwater flow condition, mineralization and pHof groundwater.     

Characteristics and causes of changes in annual runoff of the Wuding River in 1956–2009

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China. Its runoff experienced rapid changes in the past decades. The trend and driving forces of change of the river’s runoff has been a hot topic in some academic fields in China in recent years, due to its importance in solving the contradiction between supply and demand of water resources, reasonable exploitation and utilization of water resources and its significance in promoting the social, economic and ecologically sustainable development. The Wuding River is one of the large tributaries in the Middle Yellow River and soil and water conservation measures have been implemented in the tributary much earlier. It can be a good example for investigating the trend and causes of changes of runoff of the Yellow River. In this paper, the variation trend and abrupt change are determined in the time series of annual runoff of the Wuding River recorded at a hydrological station near its outlet during the period from 1956 to 2009 using several time series analysis methods. Secondly, the influences of climate change and human activities are estimated through calculating the amount of runoff reduction due to climate change in different periods. Results show that the annual runoff was continually decreasing, the drought trend was aggravating, and abrupt change in runoff series appeared in 1971 and 1997 as a result of large scale water and soil conservation measure after 1971 and ecosystem restoration program since 1997. It is also found that human activities were the main influence factor for runoff reduction during the period from 1972 to 2009. The contributions from climate change increased from about 23 to 30 %, and those from human activities decreased from 77 to 70 % from the period of 1972–1996 to the period of 1997–2009. Finally, a formula is built to reveal the relation of runoff with both climate factors and each main kind of human activities.     

Geochemistry and Tectonic Significance of Alkali Granites along the Ulungur River,Xinjiang

In North Xinjiang there is an alkali granite belt extending in the NW-SE direction along the southern band of the Ulungur River and running parallel to the suture zone,i.e.,Aermantai-Zhaheba Ophiolitic Melange Zone ,between the Junggar Plate and the Altay Orogenic Belt.Whole -rock Rb-Sr isochron ages of the Ulungur alkali granites are within the range of 292-309Ma, showing that they were genetically connected with the latest episode of Hercynian magmatism subsequent to the syncollision S-type and post-collision uplifting I-type granitoids in the Altay region .The alkali granites are miner-alogically characterized by the occurrence of aegirine and arfvedsonite and chemically by high silicon and alkali,low calcium and magnesium and abundant high-field elements, being typical A-type granites .The alkali granites were formed in the final stage of the Hercynian calc-alkaline magmatic cycle in a very short period of time .They are in line with the post-orogenic A-type(PA-type)granites, implying that the tectonic regime was changed from compression to extension.     

Eutrophication investigation and assessment of the Daning River after water storage of the Three Gorges Reservoir

The Daning River is a very important tributary in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. It is also a famous scenic spot. Anomalies appeared after water storage of the reservoir in June, 2003. In September, 2003, eutrophication monitoring in the 135-m backwater reach of the Daning River was conducted and the data were simply analyzed. The assessment result is that water body in the segment from Shuauglong to Longmen was mesotrophic or eutrophic. At the same time, the causes of its nutritional change were discussed, and counter-measures have been proposed.     

Aquatic chemistry of the Rudnaja River affected by mine tailings and processing plants

In the bed of the Rudnaja River( Primorye, Russia) the influents of the polymetallic mine tailings and processing factories affected the river water chemistry, especially heavy metal concentrations. Decreasing of production in the last 10–15 years was re…     

The Background of Regional Lead Isotopic Compositions and Its Application in the Lower and Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River and Neighbouring Areas

The paper systematically deals with the background of regional isotopic compo-sitions in the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River and neighbouring areas. It isshown that the lead isotopic compositions of different geological formations and units are con-trolled by the primary mantle heterogeneity, dynamic process of crust-mantle interchange,abundances of uraninm, thorium and lead of various layers of the earth and timing. Studies onthe background of regional isotopic compositions may offer significant information forgeochemical regionalization, tracing of sources of ore-forming materials, and regionalprognosis of ore deposits.     

Interacting Effect of pH,Phosphate and Time on the Release of Arsenic from Polluted River Sediments (Anllóns River,Spain)

The interacting effect of pH, phosphate and time on the release of arsenic (As) from As-rich river bed sediments was studied. Arsenic release edges and kinetic release experiments (pH range 3–10), in the absence and presence of phosphate, coupled with sequential extraction procedures, SEM/EDX analyses and geochemical calculations, were carried out to evaluate As remobilisation and to elucidate the mechanisms involved. The results showed that As release underwent pronounced kinetic effects, which were strongly influenced by pH and phosphate. Remobilisation of As after 24 h was low (between ~1 and 5%) and varied slightly with pH, whereas alkaline conditions generally promoted As remobilisation after 168 h, with up to 12–21% of total As released. The results showed that depending on the pH and sediment considered, the release of As increased dramatically after ~48–72 h, suggesting that different processes are involved at different reaction periods. The addition of phosphate (1 mM) increased both the amount of As released (between 2 and 8 times) and the rate of As release from the sediments within the entire pH range (3–10) and period (168 h) studied. Moreover, in some cases, it also affected the shape of the As release edges and kinetic profiles. The similarities in the release profiles and the positive correlations between As and some sediment components, especially Fe and Al hydroxides, and organic matter—which appears to play a key role at high pH—suggest that As release from the studied sediments may be associated with solid phase dissolution processes under both acid and alkaline pH, whereas desorption plays a key role in the short term and at natural pH conditions, especially in the presence of phosphate, which acts as an As-displacing ligand. Evaluation of As mobility based on short-time leaching experiments may seriously underestimate the mobilisation of As from sediments.     

Stratigraphy and ecostratigraphic distribution of foraminiferal morphogroups from the Upper Jurassic of the Makar’yev section (Unzha River,Volga River basin)

Investigation of the Upper Callovian to Lower Kimmeridgian microfossils from the Makar’yev reference section (Unzha River, East European Platform) has been carried out. The section is characterized by ammonite debris and abundant associations of benthic and planktic foraminifers. It is a perfect object for stratigraphic and paleoecological researches. The biostratigraphic distribution of foraminifers from the Makar’yev section allows one to identify standard foraminifera zones of the East European Platform, as well as to upgrade some of them. The analysis of vertical and lateral ammonites and foraminiferal distribution, completed with litho stratigraphy, has precised the stratigraphic volume and position of boundaries of several lithological units.An improved stratigraphic scheme for the Kostroma area of the Moscow Depression is proposed. Analysis of the composition, structure, and dynamic changes of the foraminiferal assemblages has been performed. The morphofunctional analysis of foraminiferal genera has for the first time identified how foraminiferal morphogroups differing in their life style and feeding strategy varied with short-term paleoenvironmental changes. These morphogroup changes allow establishing four ecostratigraphic levels. These paleoecological data have been calibrated along with geochemical factors. They have shown a crisis of foraminiferal association during the Late Oxfordian and Early Kimmeridgian. A similar crisis has also been discovered in the north of Siberia, which may be an argument for its global distribution. The analysis of the taxonomic composition and the density of foraminiferal associations, in parallel with the structure of the association, has revealed a succession of transgressive and regressive events during the Late Callovian-Early Kimmeridgian. It allows the typification of each assemblage in relation with each event and underlines the occurrence of second-order sea-level fluctuations (middle part of the Middle Oxfordian and the earliest Kimmeridgian).     

Types and Ore-forming Conditions of Gold Deposits in the Jinsha River-Lancang River-Nujiang River Area

The Jinsha River-Lancang River-Nujiang River area is one of the important prospect areas for noble metal and nonferous metal deposits of China. Of a great variety of gold deposits present in this area, the following types seem to be economically most valuable and promising: tectonic alteration type in ophiolitic melange; polymetallic quartz vein type related to intermediate-acid intrusions; finely disseminated type in fracture zones; mixed hydrothermal type in tectonic fractures of carbonate rocks; hydrothermal type related to subvolcanic rocks; volcanic-hot spring type; submarine volcano exhalation-sedimentary-hydrothermal reformation type. Metallogenic epochs are exclusively Mesozoic and Cenozoic, and ore deposits and orebodies are controlled by linear structures. Magmatic activity has affected gold mineralization in varying degrees, and gold deposits are basically of mesothermal-epithermal type with ubiquitous and intense alterations. Ore-forming materials and hydrothermal solutions show multi-source character.     

Contamination and bioavailability of heavy metals in sediments from the Yangtze River Delta Region

The Yangtze River Delta Region is one of the most important economic development areas in China. In the process of its industrialization and urbanization, a great deal of wastewater is poured into rivers, lakes and coasts. Researches on contamination and bioavailability of heavy metals can help us to assess the ecological risks in the aquatic environment of the Yangtze River Delta. The samples were collected from three environmental compartments including the Yangtze River, Taihu Lake, and the south coast of Jiangsu. The concentrations of heavy metals were determined by ICP-MS. Metal speciation was determined by the sequential extraction procedure modified based on Tessier＇s scheme. Among the seven elements of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, Co, Ni detected, the contents of Cr, Zn did not vary significantly, while Cd and Pb varied significantly. Compared to the background values （loess in the basement）, all metals detected except Co, Cr exceeded the background level. Cd had the greatest exceeding values, reaching 2 to 7 times. Ni and Pb were followed. The contents of Zn were comparatively high in lake sediments, especially in the lake bays. Ni was enriched in fiver sediments and Cu was highest in sediments from the Yangtze River estuary. Cd and Pb were concentrated in the coastal sediments. Comparatively, in space, Cr was associated with the carbonate fractions in the bay of lake. Cu-bound Fe-Mn oxides and Ni in residual form were highest in the open lake. In the river environment, Fe/Mn oxide-bound Pb, exchangeable Cd were the highest fractions. In the estuary environment, Pb and Zn bound carbonates, Cd-bound Fe-Mn oxides are the largest fractions. Cd in the exchangeable fraction, Cu-bound Fe-Mn oxides had the larger proportions in the coast. In general, the bioavailability of Cu and Cd were high in lake environment, the available Pb, Cd were remarked in river environment, and Pb and Zn were easily assimilated by creatures in estuary.     

Optical characteristics and solar photodegradation of dissolved organic matter in Arkansas River, USA

Dissolved organic matter （DOM）, a mixture of numerous organic compounds of 30 to 300000 D, exists in all natural water resources including rivers, lakes and oceans, and plays a very important role in global carbon cycle and ecology. The DOM molecules absorb UV light strongly in short wavelengths and prevent microorganisms from being damaged by solar UV irradiation. Meanwhile, the large DOM molecules are then photodegraded into inorganic carbon and smaller organic molecules which are easier for bacterioplankton to digest. The Arkansas River is one of the largest rivers in the US, and a major input of organic materials to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. However, the photochemical properties of the DOM in the river water have not been investigated. To study this photodegradation process of the Arkansas River, water samples from the river were collected, filtered, sealed into quartz flasks, and exposed to sunlight for up to 15 hours. Some samples were retrieved from the flasks at certain time intervals. The intensity of the sunlight was measured during the exposure process at 30 min to 1 hr intervals. UV-vis absorption, fluorescence emission, 3D fluorescence spectra and DOM concentrations were determined for all retrieved samples. It was found that the total DOM concentration decreased while the dissolved inorganic carbon （DIC） concentration increased in the samples. UV absorption and fluorescence intensity of DOM decreased exponentially. The disappearance rate of UV absorption varied with wavelength. The loss of integral fluorescence was about 2.6 times that of the UV absorption at the excitation wavelength. In addition, the quantum yields also decreased, and the peak position of 3D fluorescence scan shifted to shorter wavelength.