Changes In Sediment Load Research Articles

Coastal and Terrestrial Impact of the Isostatically Forced Late Quaternary Drainage Divide Shift, Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers, Maine, USA

Marine features associated with Late Quaternary isostatic adjustment are well documented in central and coastal Maine, United States. However, the effects of glacially induced land-surface tilting in the interior of the state and its affects on coastal landforms are not well understood. Investigations at Moosehead Lake, Maine's largest lake, indicates that isostatically forced tilting shifted the lake's outlet from the Penobscot River drainage to the Kennebec River drainage, resulting in a significant effect on marine delta formation through changes in the discharge and competence of the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers, two of the largest in the region. Historic stream-gage data are used as an analogue to quantify the effect of the outlet shift on the relative discharge of these two rivers. These data suggest that, in the upper portions of the watersheds, the Penobscot River lost approximately 25% of its annual discharge, while the Kennebec River experienced an approximately 74% increase in annual discharge. The timing of this change, established in the abandoned lake outlet into the Penobscot River, coincides with the end of deposition of the Penobscot paleodelta in Penobscot Bay and the onset of deposition of the western lobe of the Kennebec paleodelta. This indicates that changing river discharges were also linked to changes in sediment loads at the rivers' mouths. In addition, these findings imply that coarse-grained fluvial deposits (North Anson Formation) identified in the upper Kennebec valley may be the result of the rapid and large increase in river discharge associated with the divide shift. Recognition of both marine and fluvial features associated with isostatic adjustment emphasizes the importance of this process on early postglacial landscape formation.

Impact of climate change on stream discharge and sediment yield in Northern Viet Nam

The purpose of this paper is to apply “Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)” model to assess the impacts of climate change on stream discharge and sediment yield from Song Cau watershed in Northern Viet Nam. Three climate change scenarios B1, B2, and A2; representing low, medium, and high levels of greenhouse gas emission, respectively, were considered in this study. The highest changes in stream discharge (up to 11.4%) and sediment load (15.3%) can be expected in wet season in 2050s according to the high emission scenario (A2), while for the low emission scenario the corresponding changes equal to 8.8% and 12.6%. The results show that the stream discharge is likely to increase in the future during the wet season with increasing threats of sedimentation.

Temporal variability of water discharge and sediment load of the Yellow River into the sea during 1950–2008

Based on hydrological data observed at Lijin gauging station from 1950 to 2008, the temporal changes of water discharge and sediment load of the Yellow River into the sea were analyzed by the wavelet analysis, and their impacts on the estuary were investigated in different periods based on the measured coastline and bathymetry data. The results show that: (1) there were three significant periodicities, i.e. annual (0.5—1.0-year), inter-annual (3.0–6.5-year) and decadal (10.1–14.2-year), in the variations of water discharge and sediment load into the sea, which might be related to the periodic variations of El Nino and Southern Oscillation at long-term timescales. Variations of water discharge and sediment load were varying in various timescales, and their periodic variations were not significant during the 1970s–2000s due to strong human disturbances. (2) The long-term variation of water discharge and sediment load into the sea has shown a stepwise decrease since the 1950s due to the combined influences of human activities and precipitation decrease in the Yellow River Basin, and the human activities were the main cause for the decrease of water discharge and sediment load. (3) The water discharge and sediment load into the sea greatly influenced the evolution of the Yellow River Estuary, especially the stretch rate of coastline and the deposition rate of the sub-aqueous topography off the estuary which deposited since 1976.

Effects of water discharge and sediment load on evolution of modern Yellow River Delta, China, over the period from 1976 to 2009

Abstract. The Yellow River, which is the second largest river in China, is regarded as the world's largest contributor of fluvial sediment load to the ocean. In recent decades, the dramatic reduction in water discharge and sediment load due to climate change and human activities in the drainage basin has greatly constrained the evolution process of Yellow River delta. We highlight how runoff and sediment load discharged into sea affected extension of shoreline length and area of modern Yellow River delta during 1976–2009 based on remote sensing interpretation and long-term monitoring data in hydrological station. Average runoff of 207.47 × 108 m3 yr−1 and average sediment load of 4.63 × 108 m3 yr−1 were discharged into the sea from 1976 to 2008. The annual runoff reduced by ~59.7 % in 1990–2002 and annual sediment load reduction up to ~72.1 % in 2003–2008. Both shoreline length and area of Yellow River Delta extended overall in the studied period, but with decreasing rates in accordance with changes of runoff and sediment load. High increasing rate of shoreline length of ~3.63 km yr−1 and quick area extension of ~16.26 km2 yr−1 were observed in 1976–1985. Since 1996 however, the average increase rate of shoreline length and area decreased to ~0.80 km yr−1 and ~3.94 km2 yr−1, respectively. In addition, the fluctuated changes of shoreline and area were great and the net negative increase of land area was occurred during this period. There exist significant exponential relationships between the accumulated sediment load and extensions of shoreline length and the area during the evolution of the modern Yellow River Delta. Our results indicate that the evolution of shoreline and change of area of the Yellow River Delta are directly affected by the dramatic reduction of runoff and sediment load, which are much close related human being activities in Yellow River drainage basin in recent decades.

Influence of Three Gorges Dam on streamflow and sediment load of the middle Yangtze River, China

Using updated hydrological datasets from three stations, including Cuntan, Yichang and Hankou, covering the period of January 1992–December 2008, the influence of Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on streamflow and sediment load of the Yangtze River was investigated. Results indicated that TGD did not seem to exert a significant influence on streamflow occurring at three stations and changes in streamflow can be mainly attributed to streamflows of tributaries. However, a sharp decrease in the sediment load after the impoundment of TGD was observed. Clear water after the impoundment caused erosion of riverbed and resulted in more sediment at the Hankou station than at the Yichang station. No distinct changes in the annual and monthly maximum sediment loads were observed before and after the impoundment. Therefore, annual and monthly maximum sediment load changes should be subjected mainly to river hydraulics. This study has practical relevance for understanding the influence of large hydraulic structures on the hydrological processes of large rivers.

Spatio-temporal patterns of hydrological processes and their responses to human activities in the Poyang Lake basin, China

Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China, and plays a major role in flood mitigation, restoration and conservation of the ecological environment in the middle Yangtze River basin. Sediment load and streamflow variations in Poyang Lake basin are important for the scouring and deposition changes of this lake. However, these hydrological processes are heavily influenced by human activities, such as construction of water reservoirs, and land-use/land cover changes. By thorough analysis of long series of sediment and streamflow obtained from five major hydrological stations, we systematically investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of these hydrological processes and the hydrological responses to human activities using the Mann-Kendall trend test, the double cumulative mass curve and the linear regression method. The results show: (1) no significant change in streamflow followed by an increasing tendency after the 1990s that turns to be decreasing about 2000; and (2) a sharp increase of sediment load during the late 1960s and 1970s triggered by extensive deforestation (during the “Cultural Revolution” in China) followed by a tendency to decrease after the early 1980s. Construction of water reservoirs has greatly reduced the sediment load of the Poyang Lake basin, and this is particularly the case in the Ganjiang River, where the sediment load changes may be attributed to the trapping effects of the Wan'an Reservoir, the largest water reservoir within the Poyang Lake basin. There is no evidence to corroborate the influence of water reservoirs on the streamflow variations. It seems that the streamflow variations are subject mainly to precipitation changes, but this requires further analysis. The current study may be of scientific and practical benefit in the conservation and restoration of Poyang Lake, as a kind of wetland, and also in flood mitigation in the middle Yangtze River basin that is under the influence of human activities. Citation Zhang, Q., Sun, P., Jiang, T. & Chen, X.-H. (2011) Spatio-temporal patterns of hydrological processes and their hydrological responses to human activities in the Poyang Lake basin, China. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(2), 305–318.

A preliminary estimate of human and natural contributions to the changes in water discharge and sediment load in the Yellow River

Water discharge and sediment load have changed continuously during the last half century in the Yellow River basin, China. In the present paper, data from 7 river gauging stations and 175 meteorological stations are analyzed in order to estimate quantitatively the contributions of human activities and climate change to hydrological response. Coefficients of water discharge ( C w ) and sediment load ( C s ) are calculated for the baseline period of 1950s–1960s according to the correlations between the respective hydrological series and regional precipitation. Consequently, the natural water discharge and natural sediment load time series are reconstructed from 1960s–2008. Inter-annual impacts are then separated from the impacts of human activities and climate change on the hydrological response of different regions of the Yellow River basin. It is found that human activities have the greatest influence on changes to the hydrological series of water discharge and sediment load, no matter whether the effect is negative or positive. Moreover, the impact of human activities is considerably greater on water discharge than sediment load. During 1970–2008, climate change and human activities respectively contribute 17% and 83% to the reduction in water discharge, and 14% and 86% to the reduction in sediment yield in the Upper reaches of Yellow River basin; The corresponding relative contributions in the Middle reaches are 71% and 29% to reductions in water discharge, and 48% and 52% to reductions in sediment load. Moreover, it is observed that the impacts of human activities on the whole basin are enhanced with time. In the 2000s, the impact of human activities exceeds that of climate change in the 2000s, with human activities directly responsible for 55% and 54% of the reductions in water discharge and sediment load in the whole basin.

Sediment transport constraints on river response to regulation

We demonstrate that alluvial channel response to regulation depends on the characteristic mode of sediment transport in a channel and, thus, for a channel in supply-transport equilibrium, on the caliber of sediment mantling the channel bed, as well as changes in characteristic water discharge and sediment load. We find that regulated, coarse gravel- and cobble-bed alluvial rivers dominated by bedload transport are predicted and observed to preserve the value of a dimensionless ratio of characteristic water discharge, channel slope, width, and size of sedimentary particles mantling the bed associated with the critical conditions required for the onset of significant sediment transport. The covariant geomorphic adjustment of such rivers to regulation is independent of the degree of sediment impoundment, although the nature and rate of changes in any specific characteristic appear to be sensitive to changes in sediment supply. In contrast, covariant geomorphic changes in sand- and fine gravel-bed alluvial rivers dominated by weak suspension transport are predicted and observed to be dependent on the degree of sediment impoundment and commensurate with the change in the sediment concentration of characteristic, formative flows. In both cases, specific geomorphic characteristics of alluvial rivers exhibit varied responses to regulation in different rivers, but across all rivers a systematic covariation in channel slope, width, and grain size is observed that, for a given mode of sediment transport, preserves a characteristic value of the Shields number.

Sediment load and storage in the lower yellow river during the late holocene

.The Yellow River is one of the largest riverine sediment routing system in the world. Like many other rivers, the sediment load of the Yellow River can not be regarded as constant in its long history due to changes in climate and human activities. This study determined sediment storage on the floodplains of the lower Yellow River in five historical periods after the year 602 bc mainly based on data of 93 boreholes, 182 radiocarbon dates in the Huang‐Huai‐Hai Plain and maps of historical changes of the lower Yellow River channel. Furthermore, the mean annual sediment outputs from the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River were calculated in the five periods through investigating the sediment delivery ratio of the lower Yellow River under different conditions of artificial levees. Our findings suggest that the sediment output from the upper and middle Yellow River increased slowly before the year around 1128, but was lower than half of the current value on average. It has been in the past about 1000 years that the sediment output from the upper and middle Yellow River escalated. The Loess Plateau is the principal sediment source of the Yellow River. The comparison of historical changes in sediment load of the lower Yellow River with those in the natural conditions and in human activities on the plateau reveals that the changes in sediment yield from the plateau could be attributed mainly to the variations of population, cultivating area, and climate changes on the plateau.

Recent changes of water discharge and sediment load in the Yellow River basin, China

The Yellow River basin contributes approximately 6% of the sediment load from all river systems globally, and the annual runoff directly supports 12% of the Chinese population. As a result, describing and understanding recent variations of water discharge and sediment load under global change scenarios are of considerable importance. The present study considers the annual hydrologic series of the water discharge and sediment load of the Yellow River basin obtained from 15 gauging stations (10 mainstream, 5 tributaries). The Mann-Kendall test method was adopted to detect both gradual and abrupt change of hydrological series since the 1950s. With the exception of the area draining to the Upper Tangnaihai station, results indicate that both water discharge and sediment load have decreased significantly (p<0.05). The declining trend is greater with distance downstream, and drainage area has a significant positive effect on the rate of decline. It is suggested that the abrupt change of the water discharge from the late 1980s to the early 1990s arose from human extraction, and that the abrupt change in sediment load was linked to disturbance from reservoir construction.

Change in sediment load of the Yangtze River after Wenchuan earthquake

On May 12, 2008, an earthquake of 8.0 magnitude on the Richter scale and its numerous aftershocks devastatingly hit Wenchuan County and its nearby region along the Longman Mountains in Sichuan Province, China. The heavy ruined area was up to 30,000 km2 and 13% of its land surface was denuded by the extremely terrible quakes. The mountain collapses, landslides and debris flows induced by the earthquake not only scared the landscape at the immense scale, but also poured 1.66-billion-m3 sediment combined with offscourings and rubble into the Yangtze River and its breaches. This amount of sediments is 3 times more than the normal amount discharged into the Yangtze River, and will significantly increase sediment transportation of rivers and decrease storage capacities of reservoirs downstream. The dramatic increase in sediment load will imperil the engineering safety and impact the operation of the giant Three-Gorge Hydro-power Station if no proper prevention measures are taken.

Evaluating cell-based components of DANSAT for predicting surface and subsurface transport of pesticides

Accurate simulation of cell-based processes is important for evaluating the impacts of best management practices (BMPs) on surface and ground water. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cell-based component of the Dynamic Agricultural Non-point Source Assessment Tool (DANSAT) for simulating water, sediment, and pesticide movement both in surface and through the soil profile. DANSAT was applied to a maize field in Virginia cultivated by conventional tillage. The model performed well in predicting seasonal and total surface runoff, sediment load, and pesticides loads. Movements of percolated water and pesticides in the soil profile were also well reproduced by the model with 0.57 and 0.82 average index of agreements, respectively. However, the model had difficulty in predicting the temporal changes in sediment load using the dynamic erodibility approach for estimating daily variable rill and interrill erodibility parameters. The overall result showed that the cell-based component of DANSAT could be used for further evaluation of BMP impacts on surface and ground water at the watershed-scale.

Multiscale variability of sediment load and streamflow of the lower Yangtze River basin: Possible causes and implications

Long monthly streamflow and sediment load series observed at the Datong station located in the lower Yangtze River basin were analyzed using the scanning t-test, F-test and coherency analysis techniques. The results indicated that: (1) different changing properties of the first and the second moments of the hydrological series on different time scales were observed, reflecting different driving factors influencing the hydrological processes of the lower Yangtze River basin; (2) a generally decreasing trend can be identified after the mid-1980s. Significant abrupt changes in sediment load were analyzed in the sediment load series. However, more complicated changing patterns can be observed in the changes in streamflow. Generally decreasing sediment load and increasing streamflow gave rise to anti-phase relations between sediment load and the streamflow on longer time scales. In-phase relations between sediment load and streamflow on shorter time scales may imply a considerable influence of the hydrological dynamics on sediment transport; and (3) human activities, particularly the construction of water storage reservoirs, exerted a massive influence on sediment load variations. Construction of a large amount of water reservoirs on the tributaries of the Yangtze River and the Gezhouba Dam on the mainstem of the Yangtze River seem to be the main factors responsible for abrupt changes in the sediment load. Construction of the Three Gorges Dam causes a sharp decrease and unstable variability in sediment load variations, which may pose new challenges for the ecological environment conservation and the deltaic management of the Yangtze Delta region.

Historical changes in sediment and phosphorus loading to the upper Mississippi River: mass-balance reconstructions from the sediments of Lake Pepin

Long-term changes in sediment and phosphorus loading to the upper Mississippi River were quantified from an array of 25 sediment cores from Lake Pepin, a large natural impoundment downstream of the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. Cores were dated and stratigraphically correlated using 210Pb, 137Cs, 14C, magnetic susceptibility, pollen analysis, and loss-on-ignition. All cores show a dramatic increase in sediment accumulation beginning with European settlement in 1830. Accumulation rates are highest and show the greatest post-settlement increases in the upper end of the lake. Present-day sediment-phosphorus concentrations are roughly twice those of pre-settlement times, and the Fe/Al-bound fraction makes up a greater portion of the total. Diatom assemblages record a marked increase in nutrient availability over the last 200 years, changing from clear-water benthic forms and mesotrophic planktonic taxa in pre-settlement times to exclusively planktonic assemblages characteristic of highly eutrophic conditions today. Lake-water total-phosphorus concentrations, estimated by weighted averaging regression and calibration, increased from 50 to 200 μg l−1 during this period. Sediment loading to Lake Pepin from the Mississippi River has increased by an order of magnitude since 1830. Modern fluxes are about 900,000 metric tons annually, and are more than 80% detrital mineral matter. About 17% of the lake’s volume in 1830 has been replaced by sediment, and at current accumulation rates the remainder will be filled in another 340 years. Phosphorus accumulation in Lake Pepin sediments has increased 15-fold since 1830, rising from 60 to 900 metric tons annually. This rise represents a sevenfold increase in phosphorus loading from the Mississippi River coupled with more efficient retention of phosphorus inflows by bottom sediments. More efficient trapping of phosphorus in Lake Pepin over the last century resulted from higher rates of sediment burial. The most dramatic changes in nutrient and sediment inputs to Lake Pepin have occurred since 1940, although gradual increases began shortly following European settlement. Sediment accumulation rates rose sharply between 1940 and 1970 and then leveled off, while phosphorus inflows record their largest increases after 1970.

River incision and terrace formation in the Late Cenozoic of Europe

Late Cenozoic environmental changes which affected European rivers are reviewed, focusing especially on those of mid-Pleistocene times (c.1.2–0.8 Ma or around MIS 22) and thereafter. These involved dominating but fluctuating cold-climate (periglacial) conditions, shorter but major episodes of glaciation, and brief interglacials. There were also related sea-level and tectonic responses. The known history of European rivers in this period is individually varied, but is predominantly marked by multiple stages of episodic incision the form of which changed in style at around the ‘mid-Pleistocene transition’. It is suggested that the nature of climatic oscillations, the dating of incision episodes and the processes that achieve this incision are as yet insufficiently understood. Fluvial process studies suggest that the onset of incision may broadly relate to changes in slope, discharge, sediment load and calibre, and bedrock erodibility, and these may all have been transformed as the direct or indirect result of mid-Pleistocene climatic changes. Common properties of basal sediments on strath terraces suggest that it was during the extended but variable cold-stage episodes that both valley deepening and lateral widening occurred, and that climatic change was the principal driver of episodic deep valley incision.

Watershed land use and aquatic ecosystem response: Ecohydrologic approach to conservation policy

Summary Land use activities change the natural functions of a watershed impacting the flow of water and water quality, and impair aquatic ecosystems. Optimal allocation of land use depends on attributes related to terrestrial and aquatic environments. A dynamic model that links land use, overland flow, suspended sediment, and an aquatic species is used to evaluate alternate land use policies. The dwarf wedge mussel that is classified as endangered in the region is used as an indicator species of aquatic health in a watershed in Massachusetts. The simulation model is used to evaluate spatial nature of processes and land use policies. Spatial and temporal changes in runoff, sediment loading, and mussel population are modeled over a period of 4 years. Ten policy scenarios represent combinations of best management practices and development of agriculture and urban land at spatial locations of headwaters, main stem regions, riparian, and entire watershed. Increasing the proportion of agriculture and high density residential land use increased runoff, while increasing the frequency and magnitude of peak flows in the watershed. Sediment loading increased with an increased proportion of agriculture area and decreased with an expansion of high density residential area. Scenarios with an increase in sediment loading above the baseline mean exhibited an irregular recovery of the mussel population from high loading events. Policy implications include the need for best management practices to decrease runoff and sediment loading in the watershed, through education and incentive programs.

Hydrological responses to precipitation variation and diverse human activities in a mountainous tributary of the lower Xijiang, China

Hydrological regimes of river systems have been changing under the impacts of both climate variation and human activities in the global context. The Luodingjiang River, a mountainous tributary of the lower Xijiang in South China, was chosen to investigate the hydrological responses to the precipitation variation and diverse human activities (land use change, water diversion, reservoir construction, and in-channel damming) in this study. Two non-parametric statistical methods, Mann–Kendall and Pettitt test, were employed to detect the long-term changes in the time series of water discharge and sediment load (1959–2002) at the annual, monthly and seasonal scales. Significant increasing changes were detected in the water discharge time series in the dry season. To the contrary, significant decreasing changes were detected in the annual sediment load and sediment load time series in the wet-season. The impacts of precipitation variation and human activities on water discharge and sediment load were discerned and quantified using double mass curve and linear regression methods. By taking the period 1959–1968 as the reference period, the contribution of human activities to the increasing trend of dry-season water discharge in the period 1969–2002 was estimated to be 80%. Because the change of sediment load during the period 1969–2002 was not monotonic with an abrupt change around 1986, the contribution estimations were made for the two periods before and after 1986 respectively. For the period 1969–1985, human activities, particularly deforestation during the period 1981–1985, contributed 43% to the increasing change of sediment load and for the period 1986–2002, the impact of human activities dominated the decreasing change of sediment load with the contribution slightly higher than 100% because of the opposite role of precipitation variation. The operation of reservoirs and hydropower stations is considered to be responsible for the observed increasing trends of water discharge in the dry-season and decreasing trends of sediment load after 1986, and for the latter, reforestation program in the catchment is another contributing factor. The distinct seasonal changing patterns of both water discharge and sediment load in this study highlight the importance of involving monthly or seasonal time series in the change detection in hydrological data.

Cyanobacterial blooms in natural waters in southern Portugal: a water management perspective

This synthesis of 3 studies from 2 regions of southern Portugal (Alentejo and Algarve) was part of a workshop focusing on cyanobacteria held at the SAME 10. The first study monitored impacts of the large Alqueva dam on the Guadiana estuary since 1996, revealing changes in sediment load, nutrient regime and phytoplankton succession. Prior to dam construction, dense cyanobacterial blooms occurred in the upper estuary during summer and fall. After dam construction, chlorophyll concentration, phytoplankton diversity and abundances of cyanobacteria decreased, contrary to predictions. Mycrocystins remained at low levels in the seston and undetectable in water samples, except during summer 2003 when the particulate fraction contained 1 µg l -1 , while chlorophyll concentrations and abundances of potentially toxic cyanobacteria remained low. Algarve reservoirs studied since 2001 revealed differences in phytoplankton dynamics. In the western mesotrophic reservoirs (Bravura and Funcho), 40 to 50% of surface samples contained cyanobacter- ial concentrations of ≥2000 cells ml -1 , while over 80% of samples from the eastern oligotrophic reservoirs (Odeleite and Beliche) exceeded this value. Spring blooms were dominated by Oscillatori- ales in Odeleite and Beliche and by Chroococcales in Bravura and Funcho. Bloom composition seemed to depend on water temperature and management strategies, while toxin concentrations reflected the increased biomass of toxic species. Finally, phytoplankton communities and microcystin production in 5 Alentejo freshwater reservoirs were studied from May to December 2005 and April to July 2006. Cyanobacterial blooms occurred, with varying intensities, not only during summer but also occasionally in winter. Microcystins were detected in 23% of the samples (n = 51), but without correlation with cyanobacterial biomass. Although Microcystis aeruginosa seemed to be the major producer of microcystins, other potentially toxic species were found. In summary, the varying pattern of cyanobacterial bloom occurrence and toxicity requires a systematic approach to monitoring programs for adequate risk assessment.

Periodicity of sediment load and runoff in the Yangtze River basin and possible impacts of climatic changes and human activities / Périodicité de la charge sédimentaire et de l'écoulement dans le bassin du Fleuve Yangtze et impacts possibles des changements climatiques et des activités humaines

Periodicity of the runoff and the sediment load, and possible impacts from human activities and climatic changes, in the Yangtze River basin during 1963–2004 are discussed based on the monthly sediment and runoff data, and using the wavelet approach. Research results indicated that: (a) Sediment load changes are severely impacted by the different types of human activity (e.g. construction of water reservoirs, deforestation/afforestation); and the runoff variability is the direct result of climatic changes, e.g. the precipitation changes. (b) The impacts of human activity and climatic changes on the sediment load and runoff changes are greater in smaller river basins (e.g. the Jialingjiang River basin) than in larger river basins. The response of sediment load and runoff changes to the impacts of human activities and climatic changes are prompt and prominent in the Jialingjiang River basin relative to those in the mainstem of the Yangtze River basin. (c) Construction of the Three Gorges Dam has already had obvious impacts on the sediment transport process in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin, but shows no obvious influence on the runoff changes. Construction of the Three Gorges Dam will result in further re-adjustment of the scouring/filling process within the river channel in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin, and have corresponding effects on the altered sediment load because of the Dam's operation for the river channel, ecology, sustainable social economy and even the development of the Yangtze Delta. This will be of concern to local governments and policy makers.

Climatic Modulation of Timing of Systems-Tract Development with Respect to Sea-Level Changes (Middle Pleistocene of Crotone, Calabria, Southern Italy)

Abstract Climate change has traditionally played a secondary role in the literature behind eustasy and tectonics, with eustasy regarded as the main controlling factor in development of sedimentary sequences. Here, we emphasize the role of the interaction of climate-modulated sediment supply and sea-level change, particularly its potential impact on sequence development. We discuss a case history from the lower–middle Pleistocene of the highly subsiding Valle di Manche shelf area (Crotone Basin, Calabria, southern Italy), where a stack of cyclothems spanning from late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 22 to full MIS 18 preserves a full record of eustatic cycles, glacials included. Tectonics certainly played a critical role in the creation of local accommodation, ultimately controlling the preservation of an almost complete sedimentary record. However, its role as a factor controlling the sediment flux on Milankovian scale can be ruled out. Direct comparisons between data concerning δ18O, pollen, and physical stratigraphy demonstrate that climate-induced changes in sediment load caused significant deviations from the predicted timing and magnitude of the responses to sea-level changes in the traditional sequence model. A phase lag occurred in the timing of systems tracts, leading to a significant delay of one-quarter of a sea-level cycle. Specifically, climate-driven sediment discharge during sea-level rise triggered progradation of shelf-margin wedges, which should thus be considered lowstand in their architecture and transgressive in their timing. This was generated by a shift toward drier conditions, leading to extensive deforestation and consequent lowering of the threshold for slope erosion and mass-wasting processes in the source area. Due to the reduced extent of the transfer zone, sedimentary signals were conveyed rapidly from source to sink with little apparent attenuation, suggesting that the Milankovitch-scale climate changes can lead to rapid source-to-sink responses on tectonically active margins fed by high-gradient, short-headed streams. The studied case history demonstrates that the impact of Milankovitch-scale climatic forcing on sediment supply in an icehouse world can be more supluential than sediment redistribution due to corresponding sea-level fluctuations. These findings emphasize that a reconstruction of the timing of systems-tract development with respect to sea-level changes based on a sequence-stratigraphic approach may be misleading, whenever independent chronological and climatic constraints are not available.