Huanghe River Delta Research Articles

Study on strength properties and soil behaviour type classification of Huanghe River Delta silts based on variable rate piezocone penetration test

Study on strength properties and soil behaviour type classification of Huanghe River Delta silts based on variable rate piezocone penetration test

Spatial differentiation and dynamic mechanism of micro-geomorphology based on acoustic spectrum data of the Huanghe (Yellow) River Delta

Spatial differentiation and dynamic mechanism of micro-geomorphology based on acoustic spectrum data of the Huanghe (Yellow) River Delta

Source apportionment of suspended sediment using grain-size end-member analysis

End-members mixing analysis (EMMA) was performed on in situ suspended sediment grain-size distribution (GSD) data from Haizhou Bay to estimate suspended sediment provenance and the relative contributions of different sediment sources to total seawater suspended sediment. The results show that the suspended sediment in Haizhou Bay can be expressed as a mixture of three EMs. End-member 1 represents fine-grained suspended sediment that was transported over long distances by advection; this shows a genetic connection with the old Huanghe River delta. End-member 2 represents resuspension of local sediment, while EM3 represents riverine suspended sediment. On average, advection, resuspension, and riverine input contributed 41.92%, 37.83%, and 20.25% of the total suspended sediment, respectively. Temporal changes in advection and resuspension caused considerable variability in these relative contributions. The application of EMMA herein demonstrates that it is a feasible approach to explore suspended sediment sources and their mixing processes using suspended sediment GSD data.

Effects of Organic Base Fertilizer and Inorganic Topdressing on Alfalfa Productivity and the Soil Bacterial Community in Saline Soil of the Huanghe River Delta in China

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is an important perennial legume forage that is cultivated in saline soil worldwide. This study aimed to clarify the effects of organic base fertilizer and inorganic topdressing on the productivity of alfalfa growing in saline soil. A three-year field study was conducted in which alfalfa was grown in the saline soil of the Huanghe River Delta with a control (no fertilizer) and three treatments: organic base fertilizer (Base), topdressing with urea fertilizer (Top), and combined base and topdressing fertilizers (BT). The productivity in the BT and Base treatments was 13.21 and 13.82 t·hm−2 in 3 years, significantly higher than that in the Top treatment and the control. The increased productivity in the BT and Base treatments were because organic matter promoted root growth of alfalfa seedlings in saline soil. The diversity of the soil bacterial community was not affected by the BT treatment, but the Base treatment increased the abundance of Acidobacteria, and the Top treatment increased the abundance of Gemmatimonadetes. Soil bacteria play an important role in improving the productivity of alfalfa growing in saline soil, and the mechanism by which soil microbes increase yield needs to be further studied.

Pollution characteristics and risk assessment of organophosphate esters in aquaculture farms and natural water bodies adjacent to the Huanghe River delta

Pollution characteristics and risk assessment of organophosphate esters in aquaculture farms and natural water bodies adjacent to the Huanghe River delta

CPT-Based estimation of undrained shear strength of fine-grained soils in the Huanghe River Delta

CPT-Based estimation of undrained shear strength of fine-grained soils in the Huanghe River Delta

Centennial Impacts of the East Asian Summer Monsoon on Holocene Deltaic Evolution of the Huanghe River, China

The Huanghe River (Yellow River) is the most sediment laden river system in the world, and many efforts have been conducted to understand modern deltaic evolution in response to anthropological impacts. However, the natural background and its linkage to climatic changes are less documented in previous studies. In this work, we studied the sediments of core YDZ–3 and marine surface samples by grain-size analysis to retrieve Holocene dynamics of the Huanghe River delta in detail. The main findings are as follows: The mean value of sediment grain size of the studied core is 5.5 ± 0.9 Φ, and silt and sand contents are 5.2 ± 2.3% and 8.2 ± 5.3%, respectively, while the variance of clay particles is relatively large with an average value of 86.4 ± 8.5%. All grain-size data can be mathematically partitioned by a Weibull-based function formula, and three subgroups were identified with modal sizes of 61.1 ± 28.9 μm, 30.0 ± 23.9 μm, and 2.8 ± 1.6 μm, respectively. There are eight intervals with abrupt changes in modal size of core YDZ–3, which can be correlated to paleo-superlobe migration of the Huanghe River in the Holocene. Based on these observations, the presence of seven superlobes in the history are confirmed for the first time and their ages are well constrained in this study, including Paleo-Superlobes Lijin (6400–5280 yr BP), Huanghua (4480–4190 yr BP), Jugezhuang (3880–3660 yr BP), Shajinzi (3070–2870 yr BP), Nigu (2780–2360 yr BP), Qikou (2140–2000 yr BP), and Kenli (1940–1780 and 1700–1650 yr BP). By tuning geomorphological events to a sedimentary proxy derived from core YDZ–3 and comparing to various paleoenvironmental changes, we proposed that winter climate dominated Holocene shifts of the Huanghe River delta on millennial timescales, while summer monsoons controlled deltaic evolution on centennial timescales.

Wave flume experiments on dynamics of the bottom boundary layer in silty seabed

The objectives of this study are carried out a series of controlled large wave flume experiments using fine-grained sediment from the Huanghe River Delta, exploring the complete sequence of sediment behavior in the bottom boundary layer (BBL) during wave-induced liquefaction. The results show that: (1) The BBL in silty seabed is exposed to a progressive wave, goes through a number of different stages including compaction before liquefaction, sediment liquefaction, and compaction after liquefaction, which determines the range and thickness of BBL. (2) With the introduction of waves, first, the sediment surface has settled by an amount S (S=1–2 cm) in the course of wave loadings with an insufficient accumulation of pore water pressure. And a thin high concentration layer formed the near-bed bottom. (3) Once the liquefaction sets in, the liquefied sediment with an ‘orbital motion’ and the sub-liquefied sediment form a two-layer-sediment region. The range of BBL extends downwards and stopped at a certain depth, subsequently, develops upwards with the compaction process. Meanwhile, re-suspended sediments diffuse to the upper water column. (4) During the dynamics process of the BBL beneath progressive waves, the re-suspended sediment increment ranked as sediment liquefaction > erosion before liquefaction > compaction after liquefaction.

Effects of key species mud snail Bullacta exarata (Gastropoda) on oxygen and nutrient fluxes at the sediment-water interface in the Huanghe River Delta, China

Since the mud snail Bullacta exarata was introduced for economic aquaculture in the Huanghe River (Yellow River) Delta in 2001, its quick population growth and expanded distribution make it a key-species in the intertidal zone of this area. This significantly contributed to the economic income of the local people, but its potential ecological impact on the benthic ecosystem remains unknown. A mesocosm study was conducted to test whether its bioturbation activities affect the microphytobenthos (MPBs; i.e., sedimentary microbes and unicellular algae) productivity and the nutrient exchange between the sediment-water interface. Our results show that the mud snail significantly impacted the dissolved oxygen (DO) flux across the sediment-water interface on the condition of normal sediment and light treatment, and significantly increased the ammonium efflux during recovery period in the defaunated sediment and dark treatment. The presence of micro- and meiofauna significantly increased the NH4-N flux in dark treatment. Whereas, in light treatment, these small animals had less effects on the DO and NH4-N flux between sediment-water interface. Our results provide better insight into the effect of the mud snail B. exarata on the ecosystem functioning via benthic fluxes.

The sedimentary facies and dynamic environment of the Diaokou lobe in the modern Huanghe River Delta of China

The Huanghe River captures the Diaokou River in 1964 and forms a deltaic lobe in the subsequent 12 a. The progradational process of the Diaokou lobe is in associated with complicated evolution of riverine sheet flooding, merging, and swinging. On the basis of 11 borehole cores and 210 km high resolution seismic reflection data set, the sedimentary sequence and dynamic environment of the Diaokou lobe (one subdelta lobe of the modern Huanghe River Delta) are studied. The stratigraphy of the lobe is characterized by an upward-coarsening ternary structure and forms a progradational deltaic clinoform. Totally six seismic surfaces are identifiable in seismic profiles, bounded six seismic units (SUs). These SUs correspond to six depositional units (DUs) in the borehole cores, and among them, SUs 4–6 (DUs D to F) consist of the modern Diaokou lobe. Lithological and seismic evidences indicate that the delta plain part of the Diaokou lobe is comprised primarily by fluvial lag sediments together with sediments from sidebanks, overbanks, fluvial flood plains and levees, while the delta front part is a combination of river mouth bar sands (majority) and distal bar and deltaic margin sediments (minority). As a result of the high sedimentation rate and weak hydrodynamic regime in the Huanghe River Delta, the sediments in the delta front are dominated by fine-grained materials. The grain size analysis indicates the Huanghe River hyperpycnal-concentrated flow shows the suspension, transportation and sedimentation characteristics of gravity flow, and the sediment transportation is primarily dominated by graded suspension, while uniform suspension and hydrostatic suspension are also observed in places. The strength of the hydrodynamic regime weakens gradually offshore from riverbed, river mouth bar, sidebank, distal bar subfacies to delta lateral margin and flooding plain subfacies.

Динамика современной дельты р. Хуанхэ в последние десятилетия: исследование по космическим снимкам

Space images from Landsat-5, -7, -8 satellites were used to investigate the changes of the Huanghe River delta for 1995–2015, after overlapping Quingshuigou channel, active in 1976–1996, turning the river to the East, and forming a new channel and promontory Chahe. In the work with images strong attention was paid to tidal activity. Compiled schemes of modern delta promontories dynamics show the growth of the new promontory of Chahe and the erosion of the old promontory of Quingshuigou. Before the 2000-s the data of the new delta promontory growth exceeded that of the old one, but after this time the erosion became stronger than the accumulation. In spite of sediments discharge reducing, the whole delta continues its growth, although the tendency for its future reducing is emerging.

Динамика современной дельты р. Хуанхэ в последние десятилетия: исследование по космическим снимкам

Space images from Landsat-5, -7, -8 satellites were used to investigate the changes of the Huanghe River delta for 1995–2015, after overlapping Quingshuigou channel, active in 1976–1996, turning the river to the East, and forming a new channel and promontory Chahe. In the work with images strong attention was paid to tidal activity. Compiled schemes of modern delta promontories dynamics show the growth of the new promontory of Chahe and the erosion of the old promontory of Quingshuigou. Before the 2000-s the data of the new delta promontory growth exceeded that of the old one, but after this time the erosion became stronger than the accumulation. In spite of sediments discharge reducing, the whole delta continues its growth, although the tendency for its future reducing is emerging.

Sediment consolidation settlement of Chengbei Sea area in the northern Huanghe River subaqueous delta, China

One of the most important factors controlling the morphology of the modern Huanghe (Yellow) River delta is consolidation settlement, which is impacted by fast deposition, high water content, and low density of seafloor sediment. Consolidation settlement of the Huanghe River subaqueous delta was studied based on field data, laboratory experiments on 12 drill holes, and the one-dimensional consolidation theory. Results show that vertical sediment characteristics varied greatly in the rapidly forming sedimentary bodies of the modern Huanghe River subaqueous delta. Sediments in the upper parts of drill holes were coarser than those in the deeper parts, and other physical and mechanical properties changed accordingly. On the basis of the one-dimensional consolidation theory and drilling depth, the final consolidation settlement of drill holes was between 0.6 m and 2.8 m, and the mean settlement of unit depth was at 1.5–3.5 cm/m. It takes about 15–20 years for the consolidation degree to reach 90% and the average sedimentation rate within the overlying 50 m strata was at 5 cm/a to 12 cm/a. This study helps to forecast the final consolidation settlement and settlement rate of the modern Huanghe River subaqueous delta, which provides key geotechnical information for marine engineers.

Environmental characteristics and land-use pattern changes of the Old Huanghe River delta, eastern China, in the sixteenth to twentieth centuries

The interaction between human and land in estuarine–coastal areas has become a focus of the global change research. Since the sixteenth century, the Old Huanghe River delta has experienced rapid accretion, the formation of rich ecological resources and diverse land use pattern changes; such information, in combination with a large number of historical documents, provides a unique research area for revealing the processes for ecosystem–human changes. We use historical documents and adopt multidisciplinary methods, to identify the relationship between ecosystem changes and human activities, on the basis of spatial and temporal analysis, for in the Old Huanghe River delta region. The results indicate that, in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, the long-term monopolistic development pattern under the government leadership, which occupied large quantities of ecological resources, controlled the coastal salt industry and marsh land exploitation. However, along with the delta ecosystem change and population growth, the development pattern became gradually unsustainable, i.e., the salt industry migrated toward the north, while the farming activities migrated toward the south with enhanced intensity of marsh reclamation. The government monopoly collapsed in the late nineteenth century, which enlarged the independent development space for the local residents, which, to a large extent, improved the land-use efficiency and reduced the population pressure.

Paleo-environmental evolution based on high-resolution phytolith since 26 ka B. P. in Huanghe River Delta

The Huanghe River Delta is one of the world's large rivers, the Huanghe River Delta paleoenvironmental evolution in the Huanghe River has been a hot issue since the Last Glacial. Based on the core time series established by combining AMS 14C dating of Core DYZK1 sediments in submerged of Huanghe River Delta and acoustic sequence on sub-bottom profile, phytolith analyses are carried out on 96 sediment samples. The grain size parameters, magnetic susceptibility are combined with the vertical changes of biostratum to reconstruct the paleo-sedimentary and climatic conditions in the Huanghe River Delta. The study results show that there is a significant vertical change law in the index parameters, and that sedimentary environment of Huanghe River Delta experienced an evolutionary process of fluvial facies-sealand transition facies-tidal flat facies-neritic faciesdelta facies since 26.0 ka B. P.. The phytolith analyses results are as following. Firstly, The phytoliths are divided into lanceolate, smooth-elongated, spiny-elongated, rondel, long rectangular, bulliform and other types. In different sedimental environment, the phytolith content changes regularly, indicating that the phytolith assembles in the same sedimentary environment has a certain degree of stability. Secondly, The lanceolate, smooth-elongated and spiny-elongated categories of phytoliths have greater contents in the tidal flat facies and delta deposition, while have a smaller contents in the neritic facies and fluvial facies environment. Thirdly, Through comparative analysis of variation coefficient, the content of major phytolith categories in the sediment has a greater change amplitude in the sealand transition facies and fluvial facies deposition, while being more stable in the tidalflat facies and delta facies deposition.

Wave-induced seepage and its possible contribution to the formation of pockmarks in the Huanghe (Yellow) River delta

Wave-induced seepage and its possible contribution to the formation of pockmarks in the Huanghe (Yellow) River delta were investigated experimentally and numerically. Laboratory experiments were carried out to explore the response of a layered silty seabed with various saturation conditions under cyclic wave loads, in which the pore pressure and seepage-related phenomena were particularly monitored. Numerical models to simulate wave-induced seepage in the seabed were presented and evaluated, then applied to the Huanghe River delta. The experimental results show that the excess pore pressure decreases more rapidly at the surface layer, while the seepage-related phenomena are more pronounced when large cyclic loads are applied and the underlying layer is less saturated. The proposed numerical models were verified by comparing with the experiments. The calculated seepage depth agreed well with the depth of the pockmarks in the Huanghe River delta. The experimental and numerical results and the existing insitu investigations indicate that the wave-induced seepage may be a direct cause of the pockmarks in the Huanghe River delta. Extreme storm waves and the dual-layered structure of hard surface layer and weak underlying layer are essential external and internal factors, respectively. Wave- or current-induced scour and transport are possible contributors to the reformation of pockmarks at a later stage.

Mapping soil salinity using a similarity-based prediction approach: A case study in Huanghe River Delta, China

Spatial distribution of soil salinity can be estimated based on its environmental factors because soil salinity is strongly affected and indicated by environmental factors. Different with other properties such as soil texture, soil salinity varies with short-term time. Thus, how to choose powerful environmental predictors is especially important for soil salinity. This paper presents a similarity-based prediction approach to map soil salinity and detects powerful environmental predictors for the Huanghe (Yellow) River Delta area in China. The similarity-based approach predicts the soil salinities of unsampled locations based on the environmental similarity between unsampled and sampled locations. A dataset of 92 points with salt data at depth of 30–40 cm was divided into two subsets for prediction and validation. Topographical parameters, soil textures, distances to irrigation channels and to the coastline, land surface temperature from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVIs) and land surface reflectance data from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery were generated. The similarity-based prediction approach was applied on several combinations of different environmental factors. Based on three evaluation indices including the correlation coefficient (CC) between observed and predicted values, the mean absolute error and the root mean squared error we found that elevation, distance to irrigation channels, soil texture, night land surface temperature, NDVI, and land surface reflectance Band 5 are the optimal combination for mapping soil salinity at the 30–40 cm depth in the study area (with a CC value of 0.69 and a root mean squared error value of 0.38). Our results indicated that the similarity-based prediction approach could be a vital alternative to other methods for mapping soil salinity, especially for area with limited observation data and could be used to monitor soil salinity distributions in the future.

High resolution records of flood deposition in the mud area off the Changjiang River mouth during the past century

This paper presents a paleoflood study to determine the flood frequency of the Changjiang River, based on core cj0702, taken from the Changjiang River subaqueous delta. We identified flood deposits by means of high-resolution grain-size variation, sensitive population, geochemical indexes and magnetic susceptibility. The core covers a time span of 120 years by 210Pb dating and was sampled at 1–2 cm intervals. Grain size, geochemical elements, and physical parameters were analyzed. The results indicate that the sediment of the core is mainly composed of silt and clay, as well as groups of interbedded silt, clay silt, and clay. Vertically, the grain size pattern was controlled by seasonal variations in water discharge and by the sediment input in winter from the abandoned Huanghe River delta. River flooding caused extreme values in all our measured parameters. We identified more than 20 flood events that occurred since 1887 using the physical parameter analysis method. The environmentally sensitive component of sediment grain size (14.32–96.39 μm) contribution>30%, Zr/Rb ratio>1.5, and magnetic susceptibility>16 were selected as the criteria for flood identification generally. We also found that floods that had taken place in the upstream, midstream, or downstream parts of the river were clearly identified by these indexes while the large-scale floods that covered the whole drainage area did not leave clear indications in the sediment record. This study for identification of flood events is of great significance for understanding hyperpycnal current sedimentation as well as for forecasting of floods.

Tidal flat erosion of the Huanghe River Delta due to local changes in hydrodynamic conditions

An ideal nature system for the study of post-depositional submarine mass changing under wave loading was selected in the inter-tidal platform of the subaqueous Huanghe River Delta, a delta formed during period from 1964 to 1976 as the Huanghe River discharged into the Bohai Gulf by Diaokou distributary. A road embankment constructed for petroleum recovery on the inter-tidal platform in 1995 induced the essential varieties of hydrodynamic conditions on the both sides of the road. With both sides sharing similarities in (1) initial sedimentary environment, (2) energetic wave loading, (3) differential hydrodynamic conditions in later stages, (4) enough long-range action, and (5) extreme shallow water inter-tidal platforms; the study is representative and feasible as well. Two study sites were selected on each side of the road, and a series of measurements, samplings, laboratory experiments have been carried out, including morphometry, hydrodynamic conditions, sediment properties, granularity composition, and fractal dimension calculation of the topography in the two adjacent areas. It was observed that in the outer zone, where wave loading with high magnitude prevailed, the tidal flat was bumpy and exhibited a high erosion rate and high fractal dimension. Further, the fractal dimension diminished quickly, keeping with the enlarging of calculative square size. However in the inner zone, where the hydrodynamic condition was weak, the tidal flat was flat and exhibited a low erosion rate and low fractal dimensions; the fractal dimension diminished with the enlarging of calculative square size. The fractal dimensions in the different hydrodynamic areas equalized increasingly as the calculative square size accreted to threshold, indicating that the hydrodynamic condition plays a significant role in topography construction and submarine delta erosion process. Additionally, the later differentiation of sediment properties, granularity composition, microstructure characteristics, and mineral composition induced by the different hydrodynamic conditions can also contribute to the variation of topography and sea-bed erosion in the two adjacent areas.

The distribution and variation of elements in sediments off the Huanghe (Yellow) River mouth

Surface sediment samples collected off the Huanghe (Yellow) River mouth during the period 2007–2009 were analyzed for major and trace element concentrations. Concentrations of 16 elements were measured using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Results demonstrate that sediment grain size is the dominant factor controlling the spatial variations of elemental concentrations. Correlation and cluster analyses allowed classification of the study area into four geochemical regions: Regions I and III are characterized by high concentrations of Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, Na2O, K2O, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn, and contain fine-grained sediments with mean grain size (M z)<22 μm; and; Regions II and IV contain mostly coarse-grained sediments, and are characterized by high concentrations of SiO2, Na2O, and Zr. The sediment entering the sea from the Huanghe River and its tributaries is enriched in Ca. Thus, the Ca/Al ratio was used as an indicator of the proportion of sediments in the study area that originated from the Huanghe River. Ca/Al ratios decrease from Regions I and II (located in the nearshore zone of the Huanghe River delta) to Regions III and IV (distributed in the offshore zone of the northern Huanghe River delta, southern and southeastern Laizhou Bay area).