The impact of the Three Gorges Dam on the downstream distribution and texture of sediments along the middle and lower Yangtze River (Changjiang) and its estuary, and subsequent sediment dispersal in the East China Sea

Abstract

The grain size of river sediments changes systematically downstream from source to sink, and is influenced by catchment lithology, geomorphology, hydrology, oceanography and, in modern settings, anthropogenic impacts. Compared with small, gravel-bedded river systems, less is known about large, sandy‐bed rivers, particularly from the river source to marine sink. In the present study, we examine longitudinal changes in sediment grain size along the middle and lower Yangtze River, downstream of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD), and along the major sediment dispersal pathway into the East China Sea, over a total length of 2100km. We also examine the spatial patterns of seabed sediment grain size in the East China Sea adjacent to the Yangtze Estuary (70,000km2 in area). In particular, we consider the impact of the TGD on the grain size of the riverbed and seabed sediments. Before the construction of the TGD, the relationship between median grain size and distance along the sandy bed of the middle and lower Yangtze showed a downstream fining trend that was exponential in form. After the TGD was built, erosion caused an abrupt gravel–sand transition to develop in the section immediately downstream of the TGD. In the Yangtze Estuary, flocculation and subsequent deposition of suspended riverine mud during the slack water period between flood and ebb tides led to the formation of an abrupt sand–mud transition. Muddy deposits along the major longshore sediment dispersal route also show an exponential fining trend. However, towards the open East China Sea, the modern riverine muds are replaced seawards by older sands. The mud margin there was found to have retreated landward significantly over the post-TGD period due to erosion driven by the significant decrease in sediment supply from the Yangtze River. We expect that the impact of the TGD on the grain size of bed sediments in the Yangtze River and the East China Sea will continue for some time, and the change in the grain size of bed sediments there will become more pronounced.