Decadal changes in bathymetry of the Yangtze River Estuary: Human impacts and potential saltwater intrusion

Abstract

This study analyzed bathymetric changes of the 77-km Yangtze River Estuary in China over the past ten years in order to understand the impacts of recent human activities on the estuary of a large alluvial river. Morphological changes were assessed by analyzing digitized bathymetric data of the estuarine channels from 2002 to 2013. Additionally, multi-beam bathymetric measurements made in 2012, 2014 and 2015 were utilized to investigate microtophographic bedforms of the lower reach of the estuary. Our results showed that the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River Estuary experienced substantial channel bed erosion in the past 10 years, and that the recent human activities have contributed to the change. These included the construction of a 70 km2 reservoir along the Yangtze River Estuary, the Qingcaosha Reservoir, for drinking water supply for the City of Shanghai, which has caused progressive bed erosion in the North Channel. The net volume of channel erosion in the Hengsha Passage from 2002 to 2013 was 0.86 × 108 m3. A large amount of the eroded sediment was trapped downstream, causing overall accretion in the upper reach of the North Passage. The middle and upper reaches of the South Passage also experienced intense erosion (0.45 × 108 m3) in the past ten years, while high accretion occurred in the lower reach because of the Deepening Waterway Project. The channel dredging left a large range of dredging marks and hollows in the North Passage. The increasing saltwater intrusion found in the Yangtze River Estuary may have been a consequence of either dredging or erosion, or both combined.