Sedimentation of overbank floods in the confined complex channel–floodplain system of the Lower Yellow River,China

The channel boundary conditions along the Lower Yellow River (LYR) have been altered significantly since the 1950s with the continual reinforcement and construction of both main and secondary dykes and river training works. To evaluate how the confined complex channel–floodplain system of the LYR responds to floods, this study presents a detailed investigation of the relationship between the tempo‐spatial distribution of sedimentation/erosion and overbank floods occurred in the LYR. For large overbank floods, we found that when the sediment transport coefficient (ratio of sediment concentration of flow to flow discharge) is less than 0.034, the bankfull channel is subject to significant erosion, whereas the main and secondary floodplains both accumulate sediment. The amount of sediment deposited on the main and secondary floodplains is closely related to the ratio of peak discharge to bankfull discharge, volume of water flowing over the floodplains, and sediment concentration of overbank flow, whereas the degree of erosion in the bankfull channel is related to the amount of sediment deposited on the main and secondary floodplains, water volume, and sediment load in flood season. The significant increase in erosion in the bankfull channel is due to the construction of the main and secondary dykes and river training works, which are largely in a wide and narrow alternated pattern along the LYR such that the water flowing over wider floodplains returns to the channel downstream after it drops sediment. For small overbank floods, the bankfull channel is subject to erosion when the sediment transport coefficient is less than 0.028, whereas the amount of sediment deposited on the secondary floodplain is associated closely with the sediment concentration of flow. Over the entire length of the LYR, the situation of erosion in the bankfull channel and sediment deposition on the main and secondary floodplains occurred mainly in the upper reach of the LYR, in which a channel wandering in planform has been well developed.     

Outlines of New Global Geochemical Mapping Program

<正>Since 1988,great efforts and enthusiasm had been paid by applied geochemists in the implementation of global geochemical mapping through the International Geological Correlation Program's Projects 259 and 360,and the Task Group on‘Global Geochemical Baselines' established by the International Union of Geological Sciences(IUGS),in collaboration with the International Association of Geochemistry(IAGC).But how to use extremely low-density sampling to obtain a global picture of the distribution of most elements in the periodic table in a reasonably short time is still a great challenge faced by the applied geochemistry community.It will depend on the continuous development of new mapping concept,and the advisable and courageous innovation of methodology for searching other suitable sample media and sampling layout.Based on the encouragement results obtained from the representativeness study of delta sediments conducted at the mouth of Yangtze River,and at the mouths of its four major tributary,it is expected to broadly apply the geochemical fractal self-similarity nature to main rivers and their estuaries with catchments up to hundreds of thousands or over a million square kilometers in the world.With this new mapping concept,a new outlines of a Global Geochemical Mapping Program was advanced and the establishment of an International Research Center of Global Geochemical Mapping was also suggested to facilitate the programs implementations.     

长江中下游安庆沿江湖泊湿地夏季鸟类多样性调查

湖泊湿地是鸟类的重要栖息地,湖泊湿地鸟类是湖泊生态系统重要的监测生物,湖泊湿地鸟类多样性及其影响因素的研究对湿地管理具有重要意义.2011年7-8月,采用样线法对长江中下游安庆沿江7个湖泊湿地的夏季鸟类资源进行了调查,以期为湖泊湿地资源管理提供依据.共记录到安庆沿江湖泊湿地鸟类14目35科82种,其中留鸟27种(占32.9%),夏候鸟37种(占45.1%);水鸟28种(占34.6%);肉食性、食虫和杂食性鸟类占多数,分别占30.5%、30.5%和23.2%;须浮鸥、夜鹭、丝光椋鸟、黑脸噪鹛、树麻雀、家燕等6种鸟类为优势种.物种数以黄大湖最高(50种),白荡湖和破罡湖最低(各28种);Shannon-Wiener指数以黄大湖最高(2.123),白荡湖最低(1.918);均匀度指数以龙感湖最高(0.865),菜子湖最低(0.739).进一步分析显示,鸟类物种数、多样性指数与湖泊面积呈显著正相关,鸟类物种数、多样性指数与干扰强度呈显著负相关.采取退田还湖、恢复湿地等途径增加湿地面积、生境类型和植被资源对于保护湖泊湿地的鸟类资源具有积极意义.     

Multiple Time-scale Characteristics of Runoff Variations in Middle Reaches of Huolin River and Their Effects

The Huolin River is one of the most important water sources for Xianghai wetland, Horqin wetland, and Chaganhu wetland in the western Songnen Plain of Northeast China. The annual runoff series of 46 years at Baiyun- hushuo Hydrologic Station, which is located in the middle reaches of the Huolin River, were analyzed by using wavelet analysis. Main objective was to discuss the periodic characteristics of the runoff, and examine the temporal patterns of the Huolin River recharging to the floodplain wetlands in the lower reaches of the river, and the corresponding effects of recharging variation on the environmental evolution of the wetlands. The results show that the annual runoff varied mainly at three time scales. The intensities of periodical signals at different time scales were strongly characterized by local distribution in its time frequency domain. The interdecadal variation at a scale of more than 30yr played a leading role in the temporal pattern of runoff variation, and at this scale, the runoff at Baiyunhushuo Hydrologic Station varied in turn of flood, draught and flood. Accordingly, the landscape of the floodplain wetlands presented periodic features, es- pecially prominent before the 1990s. Compared with intense human activities, the runoff periodic pattern at middle (10-20yr) and small (1-10yr) scales, which has relatively low energy, exerted unobvious effects on the environmental evolution of the floodplain wetlands, especially after the 1990s.     

Sedimentary facies and geomorphic evolution of a blocked‐valley lake: Lake Futululu,northern Kwazulu‐Natal,South Africa

Blocked‐valley lakes are formed when tributaries are impounded by the relatively rapid aggradation of a large river and its floodplain. These features are common in the landscape, and have been identified in the floodplains of the Solimões‐Amazon (Brazil) and Fly‐Strickland Rivers (Papua New Guinea), for example, but their inaccessibility has resulted in studies being limited to remotely sensed image analysis. This paper documents the sedimentology and geomorphic evolution of a blocked‐valley lake, Lake Futululu on the Mfolozi River floodplain margin, in South Africa, while also offering a context for the formation of lakes and wetlands at tributary junctions. The study combines aerial photography, elevation data from orthophotographs and field survey, and longitudinal sedimentology determined from a series of cores, which were sub‐sampled for organic content and particle size analysis. Radiocarbon dating was used to gauge the rate and timing of peat accumulation. Results indicate that following the last glacial maximum, rising sea‐levels caused aggradation of the Mfolozi River floodplain. By 3980 years bp , aggradation on the floodplain had impounded the Futululu drainage line, creating conditions suitable for peat formation, which has since occurred at a constant average rate of 0·13 cm year^?1. Continued aggradation on the Mfolozi River floodplain has raised the base level of the Futululu drainage line, resulting in a series of back‐stepping sedimentary facies with fluvially derived sand and silt episodically prograding over lacustrine peat deposits. Blocked‐valley lakes form where the trunk river has a much larger sediment load and catchment than the tributary stream. Similarly, when the relative difference in sediment loads is less, palustrine wetlands, rather than lakes, may be the result. In contrast, where tributaries drain a steep, well‐connected catchment, they may impound much larger trunk rivers, creating lakes or wetlands upstream.     

Variations in trace element geochemistry in the Seine River Basin based on floodplain deposits and bed sediments

Between 1990 and 1995 a series of bed sediment, suspended sediment and fresh floodplain samples were collected within the Seine River Basin, in France, to evaluate variations in trace element geochemistry. Average background trace element levels for the basin were determined from the collection and subsequent analyses of bed sediment samples from small rural watersheds and from a prehistoric (5000 BP) site in Paris. Concentrations are relatively low, and similar to those observed for fine‐grained bed sediments from unaffected areas in the United States and Canada. However, the concentrations are somewhat higher than the reference levels presently adopted by French water authorities for areas north of the Seine Basin, which have similar bedrock lithologies. Downstream trace element variations were monitored in 1994 and 1995 using fresh surficial floodplain samples that were collected either as dried deposits a few days after peak discharge, or immediately after peak discharge (under ≤30 cm of water). Chemical comparisons between fresh floodplain deposits, and actual suspended sediments collected during flood events, indicate that, with some caveats, the former can be used as surrogates for the latter. The floodplain sediment chemical data indicate that within the Seine Basin, from the relatively unaffected headwaters through heavily affected urban streams, trace element concentrations vary by as much as three orders of magnitude. These trace element changes appear to be the result of both increases in population as well as concomitant increases in industrial activity. (This article is a US government work and is in the public domain in the United States.)     

Geomorphic controls on floodplain sediment and soil organic carbon storage in a Scottish mountain river

River floodplains constitute an important element in the terrestrial sediment and organic carbon cycle and store variable amounts of carbon and sediment depending on a complex interplay of internal and external driving forces. Quantifying the storage in floodplains is crucial to understand their role in the sediment and carbon cascades. Unfortunately, quantitative data on floodplain storage are limited, especially at larger spatial scales. Rivers in the Scottish Highlands can provide a special case to study alluvial sediment and carbon dynamics because of the dominance of peatlands throughout the landscape, but the alluvial history of the region remains poorly understood. In this study, the floodplain sediment and soil organic carbon storage is quantified for the mountainous headwaters of the River Dee in eastern Scotland (663 km²), based on a coring dataset of 78 floodplain cross-sections. Whereas the mineral sediment storage is dominated by wandering gravel-bed river sections, most of the soil organic carbon storage can be found in anastomosing and meandering sections. The total storage for the Upper Dee catchment can be estimated at 5.2 Mt or 2306.5 Mg ha^-1 of mineral sediment and 0.7 Mt or 323.3 Mg C ha^-1 of soil organic carbon, which is in line with other studies on temperate river systems. Statistical analysis indicates that the storage is mostly related to the floodplain slope and the geomorphic floodplain type, which incorporates the characteristic stream power, channel morphology and the deposit type. Mapping of the geomorphic floodplain type using a simple classification scheme shows to be a powerful tool in studying the total storage and local variability of mineral sediment and soil organic carbon in floodplains. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黄河泛滥平原全新世沙尘暴活动的历史记录——以颖河上游一典型剖面为例

研究了淮河支流颖河上游嵩山东麓一典型全新世黄土-古土壤剖面,获得了较高时间分辨率的磁化率、粒度成分和>0.063mm粒级百分比含量等环境代用指标系列。通过地层对比研究,确定了该剖面的基本年代框架。分析了颖河上游全新世黄土-土壤磁化率、粒度特征,论证了颖河上游全新世黄土-土壤物质粒度成分与黄河泛滥沉积沙尘暴活动关系,揭示了颖河上游全新世黄河泛滥平原沙尘暴活动特征。3100aBP以来气候趋于干旱,黄河下游泛滥频率增加,风沙活动范围显著扩大,沙尘暴活动强烈。     

Evaluating competing hypotheses for the origin and dynamics of river anastomosis

Anastomosing rivers have multiple interconnected channels that enclose flood basins. Various theories potentially explain this pattern, including an increased discharge conveyance and sediment transport capacity of multiple channels, deltaic branching, avulsion forced by base‐level rise, or a tendency to avulse due to upstream sediment overloading. The former two imply a stable anabranching channel pattern, whereas the latter two imply disequilibrium and evolution towards a single‐channel pattern in the absence of avulsion. Our objective is to test these hypotheses on morphodynamic scenario modelling and data of a well‐documented case study: the upper Columbia River. Proportions of channel and floodplain sediments along the river valley were derived from surface mapping. Initial and boundary conditions for the modelling were derived from field data. A 1D network model was built based on gradually varied flow equations, sediment transport prediction, mass conservation, transverse slope and spiral meander flow effects at the bifurcations. The number of channels and crevasse splays decreases in a downstream direction. Also, measured sediment transport is higher at the upstream boundary than downstream. These observations concur with bed sediment overloading from upstream, which can have caused channel aggradation above the surrounding floodplain and subsequent avulsion. The modelling also indicates that avulsion was likely caused by upstream overloading. In the model, multi‐channel systems inevitably evolve towards single‐channel systems within centuries. The reasons are that symmetric channel bifurcations are inherently unstable, while confluenced channels have relatively less friction than two parallel channels, so that more discharge is conveyed through the path with more confluences and less friction. Furthermore, the present longitudinal profile curvature of the valley could only be reproduced in the model by temporary overfeeding. We conclude that this anastomosing pattern is the result of time‐varying sediment overloading and is not an equilibrium pattern feature, and suggest this is valid for many anastomosing rivers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.