Contrasting morphodynamics in alluvial fans and fan deltas: effect of the downstream boundary

Alluvial fans and fan deltas can, in principle, have exactly the same upstream conditions, but fan deltas by definition have ponding water at their downstream boundary. This ponding creates effects on the autogenic behaviour of fan deltas, such as backwater adaptation, mouth bars and backward sedimentation, whereas alluvial fans may lack these effects. Hence the present authors hypothesize that morphodynamics on alluvial fans are determined primarily by upstream boundary conditions, whereas morphodynamics on fan deltas are determined by both the upstream and the downstream boundary condition and changes therein. To isolate the effects of the upstream and downstream boundaries, five new alluvial fan experiments are compared with the details of three fan deltas published earlier that were formed under very similar and simple conditions. Similar to the fan deltas, the alluvial fans build up by sheet flow, whilst quasi‐regular periods of incision cause temporary channelized flow. Incision is followed by channel backfilling, after which the fan returns to sheet flow. The channelization and backfilling in alluvial fans is markedly less pronounced and more prone to autogenic disturbance than in fan deltas. The difference is caused by morphodynamics at the downstream boundary. In a fan delta, the flow expansion of the channel causes deposition of all the sediment, which forms a mouth bar and causes strong backfilling. In an alluvial fan, on the other hand, the slope break at the fan perimeter causes some deposition, but transport is not reduced to zero. Consequently, the backfilling in alluvial fans is less pronounced than in fan deltas. Other published experiments support this trend: removal of the mouth bar by a river leads to permanent channelization, whilst pronounced mouth‐bar formation in highly channelized deltas promotes backward sedimentation. The experimental results for this study predict that, when alluvial fans prograde into lakes or deep rivers, they transition to fan deltas with increasingly deeper channels and thicker backfill deposits.     

黄河河口延伸与下游淤积关系研究中的问题分析

阐明了黄河河口延伸与下游淤积关系问题的实质,指出了黄河河口延伸与下游淤积关系对时间尺度的依赖性,进而深入探讨了以前研究这一问题所用论据的合理性题。分析结果揭示,那种认为黄河下游淤积由河口延伸控制和河口延伸作用局限于近口河段的说法都缺乏令人信服的证据。     

GRAVEL SLUICING IN ALPINE RUN-OF-RIVER HYDROPOWER PLANTS

1 INTRODUCTIONNdsral rivers entering reservoirs carry also sediment, partly as bedload and patly in suspension. At theentrance of the reservoir flow velocity is considerably reduced and the capability of sediment transport isdrashcally fading. Bedload maerial is deposited totally at the reservoir entrance fondng a delta, material...in suspension is cAned further intO the reservoir ulh.. it is partly deposited and partly dischargedthrough the dam towards downstreaxn (depending on the trapp…     

Downstream fining in contrasting reaches of the sand‐bedded Yellow River

Compared to downstream fining of a gravel‐bedded river, little field evidence exists to support the process of downstream fining in large, fine sand‐bedded rivers. In fact, the typically unimodal bed sediments of these rivers are thought to produce equal mobility of coarse and fine grains that may discourage downstream fining. To investigate this topic, we drilled 200 sediment cores in the channel beds of two fine‐grained sand‐bedded reaches of the Yellow River (a desert reach and a lower reach) and identified a fine surface layer (FSL) developed over a coarse subsurface layer (CSL) in the 3‐m‐thick bed deposits. In both reaches downstream, the thickness of the FSL increased, while that of the CSL decreased. Comparison of the depth‐averaged median grain sizes of the CSL and the FSL separately in both reaches shows a distinct downstream fining dependence to the median grain size, which indicates that at a large scale of 600‐800 km, the CSL shows a significant downstream fining, but the FSL shows no significant trends in downstream variations in grain size. This result shows that fine sediment supply (<0·08 mm median grain size) from upstream, combined with lateral fine sediment inputs from tributaries and bank erosion, can cause a rapid fining of the downstream channel bed surface and can develop the FSL layer. However, in the desert reach, lateral coarse sediment supply (>0·08 mm median grain size) from wind‐borne sediments and cross‐desert tributaries can interrupt the FSL and coarsen the channel bed surface locally. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

对流层上层斜压波包活动与2003年江淮流域梅雨的关系

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析和中国740站逐日降水资料, 研究了2003年淮河流域梅雨期间对流层上层斜压波动的传播情况。结果发现, 斜压波组织成波包向下游传播且具有明显的下游频散效应。波动起源于巴尔喀什湖西北侧, 沿着西北－东南向的路径向东南传播, 传至江淮流域大约需要3天。斜压波包所带来的扰动能量为江淮流域暴雨的发生发展提供了必要的能量积聚。通过与1998和1997年这两个梅雨年份的比较, 发现1998年异常强梅雨年的斜压波包的活动特征与2003年的相似, 但在梅雨降水非常偏少的1997年, 未发现有明显的斜压波包向下游的传播。     

下边界条件为水位流量关系的扩散波洪水演算方法研究

经大量的理论分析和实际洪水演算表明,扩散波可较好地反映洪水波的运动特点。本文基于河道下断面的水位流量关系和连续方程的联立求解,导出了水位流量关系型的下边界条件。利用Laplace变换,得到了扩散波方程在该边界条件下的解析解。文中的求解过程表明,可利用该法进行洪水演算,关键在于如何与实际洪水结合,这个问题有待进一步地分析研究。     

深埋长引水隧洞对电站下游水温的影响

引水式水电站深埋长引水隧洞对电站下游水温的影响直接关系到下游水生物生境.采用k-ε模型,结合能量传输方程建立了引水隧洞三维水温预测模型,并在利用原型观测资料验证模型的基础上,对拟建的锦屏二级引水隧洞的水温进行了预测.预测结果表明,由于雅砻江上拟建的锦屏二级隧洞洞径与过流量较大,水流在隧洞内滞流时间短,水温升高不明显.由于模型采用隧洞实际空间布置数据,建立包括混凝土衬砌区域在内的三维空间计算域,同时考虑温度场与流场的相互影响,实现了对温度场的精确模拟,从而可为水电站设计和水生物保护提供科学依据.     

黄河下游泺口边滩大型环状滑塌构造研究

黄河下游泺口浮桥北岸的泺口边滩中后部发育了两个大型环状滑塌构造，小者长42.54 m，宽31.55 m，高0.63 m；大者长58.30 m，宽46.24 m，高0.76 m。根据几何学特征及运动要素，可以将大型环状滑塌构造分为三个部分：主体带、过渡带和消失带。主体带以规模较大的滑塌块体为主，滑塌块体宽20～30 cm，长2～3 m，高40～60 cm，呈弧片形；滑塌缝开放或被淤泥充填，此带长宽十余米；过渡带以规模中等的滑塌块体为主，滑塌块体宽5～20 cm，长0.5～2 m，高20～40 cm，也呈弧片形，滑塌缝半开放或紧闭，滑塌块体的相对运动方向在此带发生转变，由单向运动转变为相对运动；次级侵蚀沟槽在此带汇合，形成了一个放射状的大“空腔”，滑塌以此“空腔”为圆心相对滑动，并由此形成环状滑塌构造，此带长10～20 m。在过渡带之外为消失带，总体特征是滑塌块体及滑塌位移量逐渐由大到小，直至消失，此带长15～30 m。黄河泺口大型环状滑塌构造是在一种近水平条件下形成的，滑塌坡度为0.745°，滑塌是以“多米勒”骨牌方式实现和完成的。泺口边滩是以粉砂和泥质粉砂为主的易于液化的细粒物质，其滑塌构造的形成与黄河暴涨暴落导致的孔隙水过饱和及泺口边滩的特殊结构造成的渗水有关。     

随机森林回归模型的悬浮泥沙浓度遥感估算

三峡工程蓄水以来,清水下泄,坝下游河段发生了长时间、长距离的沿程冲刷,河流悬浮泥沙浓度发生改变,给沿岸生态系统带来了不利影响。随机森林算法灵活、稳健,已被广泛应用于各类生态环境变量的回归预测分析,但其在水体悬浮泥沙浓度估算方面的能力尚未得到充分认识。基于泥沙站点监测数据和MODIS卫星遥感反射率数据,通过构建随机森林非参数回归预测模型,对三峡工程坝下游宜昌至城陵矶河段在建坝前后14年间(2002年—2015年)各月的悬浮泥沙浓度进行遥感估算。研究表明:(1)基于随机森林的悬浮泥沙浓度估算模型表现较好,模型预测值与实测值间相关性好、预测精度高,优于其他模型(线性回归、支持向量机、人工神经网络模型)。(2)在参与模型构建的MODIS波段变量中,红波段被认为是最重要的预测变量,但不能单独使用它进行预测,悬浮泥沙遥感预测需要多变量共同参与。(3)将悬浮泥沙数据按季节分类所构建的随机森林模型,其平均误差为0.46 mg/L,平均相对均方根误差为12.33%,估算效果最优,能够满足较高精度下悬浮泥沙浓度估算的需求。综上,可以考虑以季节为划分依据,用随机森林回归模型估算悬浮泥沙浓度,并用于后期坝下游河道悬浮泥沙浓度时空反演。     

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.