Yellow River Flood Research Articles

The collapse of the North Song dynasty and the AD 1048–1128 Yellow River floods: Geoarchaeological evidence from northern Henan Province, China

From AD 1048 to 1128, Yellow River flooding killed over a million people, left many more homeless and destitute, and turned parts of the once fertile North China Plain into a silted-up agricultural wasteland. Brought on in part by climate change and the Northern Song dynasty’s (AD 960–1127) mismanagement of the environment, the Yellow River floods likely hastened the collapse of the Northern Song dynasty. Despite the magnitude of this flood event, no sedimentary deposits have yet been linked to these historically recorded floods. In this research paper, we provide archaeological, sedimentary, and radiocarbon evidence of the AD 1048–1128 Yellow River floods at the Dazhanglongcun, Xidacheng, and Daguxiancun sites in Neihuang County, Henan Province. Based on our data, we argue that the AD 1048–1128 Yellow River floods deposited over 5 m of alluvium on villages in the North China Plain, radically changing both the physical and political landscape of Northern Song dynasty China.

Response and recovery measures for two floods in north China during the nineteenth century: a comparative study.

BackgroundThe process of human response to natural disasters and its mechanisms as revealed by historical events still has a broad significance for modern society. This study analyzed the disaster relief process and the social response for two floods in China: the Yongding River flood in 1801 and the Yellow River flood in 1841. These two floods reflect the different response processes between the national and provincial capitals during a stage of climate cooling and social transition in the Qing dynasty. ResultsApplying methods of historical documents analysis and qualitatively comparative analysis to the materials such as Relief Chronicles Authorized by the Emperor in XinYou and Flood Description in Bian Liang, it shows that: (1) In 1801, the central government took on a lead position, from flood surveying to relief processes. However, local government and gentries played an important role in 1841. (2) In 1801, the government successfully undertook a series of relief measures addressing production, housing, food prices, taxes, and water conservancy and administration. In 1841, the response measures were relatively simple, focusing mainly on providing shelter and food for victims. (3) The government carried out long-term disaster prevention measures such as dredging channels after the flood in 1801. In 1841, however, the efforts were focused mainly on emergency rescue. (4) Refugees in the 1801 flood were effectively managed by a centralized authority. In 1841, regulation of the flooding was delayed by corruption and conflicts between officers, leading to an expansion of the disaster’s impact. ConclusionsAbove results have led to the conclusion that disaster relief systems and response measures had a significant effect on the consequences of those floods. Various flood relief measures and natural disasters management regimes have implications for contemporary flood hazard mitigation.

A MAR to address the water with high content of suspended solid with a case study in the Yellow River flood plain, China

Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) system is often adapted to alleviate drawdown cone and increase the water supply. In this study, an Open channel-Underground perforated pipe-Shaft system which included three identical subsystems was designed on the basis of local ditches, and applied at the Yellow River flood plain, Linqing city in North China. Three anti-clogging methods of the filter tank, inclined underground perforated pipe and shaft were adopted to lower the amount of fine suspended particles in source water. The dimensions and materials of each subsystem were tested and then determined by analytical method, numerical method and laboratory physical model experiment. The filter tank bottom area is 4m2, perforated pipe diameter of 30cm, length of 200m made from plastic blind drains wrapped with geo-textile and 20cm of coarse sand filled around, slope of 1/500, and the shaft depth of 10m. A pilot project was constructed in the study area covering 5.4hm2. Field recharge experiment and tracer test were conducted so as to monitor groundwater level and flow rate in perforated pipe. The measurements showed that the total infiltration amount attained from the field recharge experiment was 65,925m3, which was close to the simulation results by analytical and numerical methods; the average velocity in the perforated pipe between the inlet and the shaft was 150m/h approximately by both tracer test and theoretical calculation. This MAR project has the advantages of no energy consumption, no land occupation, managed groundwater recharge and water logging control. Therefore, its wider application in the location with similar conditions can be expected in future.

Geochemistry of sediments from the Huaibei Plain (east China): Implications for provenance, weathering, and invasion of the Yellow River into the Huaihe River

The sediments of the Huaibei Plain in semi-humid mid-eastern China represent valuable geological records with respect to eolian–fluvial interactions, depositional environments, and climate change in this region. Provenance and weathering conditions are often reconstructed using sedimentary geochemistry methods. In this study, an 8-m core from Huainan and a set of loess samples from northern and southern China were analyzed for major, trace, and rare earth elements (REEs). Results were compared to determine the samples’ provenance. The major, trace, rare earth elements contents, and grain size distribution were found to fluctuate widely in the 2–8m section of the Huainan core and more narrowly closer to the surface (0–2m). This suggests a provenance shift at a depth of 2m. The TiO2/Al2O3, SiO2/Al2O3, Th/Nb, La/Nb values and REE patterns in the upper core (0–2m) are similar to those found in samples from the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). These results suggest that the CLP in northern China is likely to be the primary origin of the upper part (0–2m) of the Huainan core. Compared with CLP samples, the upper part of the Huainan core exhibits lower K2O/Al2O3 values and higher chemical alteration indices. This is indicative of the material’s substantial weathering during transportation and re-deposition and implies that these sediments could reasonably be classified as typical recycled loess. The sediments may have been transported from the CLP to Huainan as Yellow River flood events, probably during the last deglaciation (∼13.2ka) as a result of increased precipitation, along with glacier and snow melt in the upper reaches of the Yellow River catchment during this period. This suggests that the Yellow River may have migrated into the Huaihe River catchment much earlier than the earliest historical records (361 BCE) suggest. The implications of this would be profound with respect to Chinese history.

The Application of Asphalt Cold Recycling Technology in Lower Yellow River Flood Control Project

Asphalt cold recycling technology has many advantages, such as rapid construction, energy saving, and environmental protection. In this article, the works based on the flood control dike road repair of lower Yellow River flood control project and cold asphalt recycling technology. Combined with the current flood control dike road in Liaocheng, the old pavement rehabilitation program was designed and the program was successfully implemented. It provided a successful reference cases for application of asphalt cold recycling technology for flood control dike road repair in the lower Yellow River flood control project.

Between War and Water: Farmer, City, and State in China's Yellow River Flood of 1938–1947

This article examines how the catastrophic Yellow River flood of 1938–1947 impacted rural communities and state-society relations in the inundated area. The flood, which occurred when China’s Nationalist government deliberately breached a major Yellow River dike in a desperate attempt to use flooding to slow the advance of the Japanese Imperial Army, turned millions of Chinese farmers into refugees and killed over eight hundred thousand people. This essay explores the human and social sides of the flood through the eyes of local observers, missionaries, and the wartime Chinese media. It compares rural and urban experiences of the disaster and examines local perspectives on the efficacy of the flood relief projects organized by the Chinese government. This paper finds that while the wartime Nationalist state did not abandon the inundated area, its state-building efforts there exhausted and disillusioned flood refugees rather than integrating them more fully into the modern nation state.

Burial fluxes and sources of organic carbon in sediments of the central Yellow Sea mud area over the past 200 years

Long-term changes of composition, sources and burial fluxes of TOC (total organic carbon) in sediments of the central Yellow Sea mud area and their possible affecting factors are discussed in this paper. Firstly, similarity analysis is employed to confirm that the carbon burial features resulted from two collected cores are typical in the central Yellow Sea mud area where YSWC (Yellow Sea Warm Current) is prevalent. On this basis, the burial flux of TOC here was considered to be 235.5–488.4 μmol/(cm2∙a) since the first industrial revolution, accounting for about 70%–90% among burial fluxes of TC (total carbon) in the sediments. Compared TOC/TC ratio in the two cores with that in other marine sediments worldwide, we suggest that the growth of calcareous/non-calcareous organisms and dissolution of IC (inorganic carbon) are important factors controlling the TOC/TC ratio in sediment. Results of two-end mixed model based on δ13C data indicate that marine-derived organic carbon (OCa) is the main part among total burial organic carbon which accounts for a ratio over 85%. Due to the high TOC/TC ratio in the two cores, TC in the sediments also mainly exists as OCa, and the proportion of OCa is about 60%–80%. Away from the shore and relatively high primary production in upper waters are the main reasons that OCa is predominant among all burial OC in sediments of the central Yellow Sea mud area. Burial of OC in this mud area is probably mainly influenced by the human activities. Although the economic development during the late 19th century caused by the first industrial revolution in China did not obviously increase the TOC burial fluxes in the sediments, the rise of industry and agriculture after the founding of new China has clearly increased the TOC burial flux since 1950s. Otherwise, we also realize that among TC burial fluxes, TIC account for about 10%–30% in sediments of the central Yellow Sea mud area, so its burial could not be simply ignored here. Distinct from TOC burial, long-term TIC burial fluxes variations relate with climate changes more closely: the East Asian summer monsoon may influence the strength of the Huanghe River (Yellow River) flood, which could further affect the transport of terrestrial IC from land to the central Yellow Sea as well as the burial of these IC in the sediments.

Environmental changes inferred from lacustrine sediments and historical literature: A record from Gaoyou Lake, eastern China

Gaoyou Lake is located in the lower reaches of the Huai River and west of the Jing-Hang Grand Canal in eastern China. Based on the temporal sequence of core sediments taken from Gaoyou Lake, multiple proxies of lacustrine sediments, such as particle size, magnetic susceptibility, TOC and C/N, were analyzed to reconstruct the environmental changes of Gaoyou Lake over the past 1100 years, along with verification from historical records. The study focused on the response of lake evolution to climate changes as well as to regional events and human activities. The results show that Gaoyou Lake experienced a stage of low water level during AD 900–1300 and then began to expand under the influence of frequent Yellow River floods after AD 1300. Subsequently, the water levels dropped because of the dry climate during AD 1600–1900. During the modern time after AD 1900, Gaoyou Lake was greatly influenced by warming climate as well as from anthropogenic forcing such as reclamation and deforestation in the catchment. Major regional events such as catastrophic floods and course changes of the Yellow River were interpreted to be related to abrupt changes of sediment characteristics. The human-induced factors, including levee construction and implementation of a river management strategy in order to guarantee the shipping on the Grand Canal, also have contributed greatly to the evolution process of Gaoyou Lake.

临清市地下水漏斗区含水层补给的数值模拟研究

黄泛平原区引黄灌区末端采用井渠结合灌溉方式，引黄时间和量均受到上游限制，且该区浅层地下水超采严重。本文在工程技术上探讨如何在有限的引黄时间内，加大地下水的补给量，缓解地下水位长期下降的趋势。基于Hydrus-2D模型对临清市地下水漏斗区实施的明沟–地下滤水管–竖井含水层补给系统分别进行了明沟补给和地下滤水管补给两种情景下的数值模拟，实际工程和数值模拟中引水时间均为7天。模拟结果表明：整个模拟期内，情景一中明沟底部的地下水位上升了约13 m；情景二中滤水管底部水位抬升了8.5 m，两根滤水管之间的地下水位抬升了2.3 m；地下滤水管的布置有效的增加了地下水的补给量，至模拟期末，明沟的7天的入渗量为18,026 m 3 ，滤水管7天的入渗量为56,224 m 3 ，3根滤水管的入渗量占总入渗量的75.7%，与实际工程中监测的入渗量基本相符。因此该系统对漏斗区的地下水补给能起到良好的作用。 Well-canal combined irrigation mode is adopted in the lower reaches of irrigated area in the Yellow River flood plain. The diversion time and volume are limited by the upper reaches. In addition, the shallow groundwater overdraft is serious in this area. In this study, based on the engineering technology, how to increase the recharge volume of groundwater in the limited diversion time to ease the long-term downward trend of water table was discussed. The numerical simulation was carried out to the open canal-underground perforated pipe-shaft system which was implemented in the groundwater funnel area in Linqing city based on Hydrus-2D model in two scenarios: the open canal and underground perforated pipe respectively; the diversion time was 7 days in the actual engineering operation and numerical simulation. The simulation results show that: during the whole simulation period, the level which is under the open canal rose 13 m in scenario one; the level which is under the perforated pipe rose 8.5 m and the level between two pipes rose 2.3 m in scenario two. In the meantime, the perforated pipe can efficiently increase the recharge volume of underground water. To the end of the simulation, the recharge volume of the open canal was 18,026 m 3 , and that of three perforated pipes was 56,224 m 3 which was 75.7% of the total recharge volume. The result was basically accorded with the actual monitoring value. Therefore the system plays a good role in recharging underground water in the groundwater funnel area.

Numerical Analysis of Natural Foundation Settlement under Different Subgrade Height in the Yellow River Flood Area

Foundation subsidence is an important factor affecting the life of the highway, as well as one of the important evaluation indicators of the foundation disposal measures. In this paper, by selecting typical foundations of Jile express highway, FLAC3D was used to simulate the natural foundation settlement under different subgrade height considering the impact of groundwater levels in the Yellow River flood area. The relationship between the time T (Month) from subgrade construction completed to stabilization and the subgrade height H was found as: T=0.36H2-1.63H+33.47, and the appropriate value of time was got to be placed under different circumstances.

Study on New Technology of Treatment of Capillary Water in Subgrade with Soft Permeable Pipe Filled with Sand

The technique took into account the high underground water level silty soil with stronger capillarity, subgrade soil easy water softened in Yellow River flood plain areas. It seriously affected the stability of subgrade. If lay a layer of gravel cushion in the ground, and then buried soft permeable pipes in the lower part of embankment, the permeable pipes filled with sand, the top of pipes sealed with geotextile, it would form the vertical drainage channel for the capillary water. So capillary water would along the vertical drainage channels formed by sand core soft permeable pipe and horizontal drainage channels formed by gravel cushion flowed out of the subgrade. The reliability of the method is verified by seep/w module in GEO-studio. This technique could effectively improve the strength and stability of subgrade, reduce the adverse effects of capillary water on the roadbed.

From “Nourish the People” to “Sacrifice for the Nation”: Changing Responses to Disaster in Late Imperial and Modern China

This article seeks to spark a conversation about shifting conceptualizations of disaster under modernizing states. It employs case studies of two major disasters, the North China Famine of 1876–79 and the Yellow River flood of 1938–47, to map changes and continuities in Chinese responses to disaster. State approaches to the late-Qing famine both drew on a millennium of Chinese thinking about disaster causation and anticipated new issues that would become increasingly important in twentieth-century China. The catastrophic Yellow River flood occurred when China's Nationalist government deliberately breached a major dike in a desperate attempt to “use water instead of soldiers” to slow the brutal Japanese invasion. The Nationalist state's technologization of disaster, its rejection of cosmological interpretations of calamity, and its depiction of flood victims as heroes sacrificing for the nation mark departures from late-imperial responses to disaster, but foreshadow features of the devastating Mao-era Great Leap Famine of 1958–62.

Thorium isotopes (228Th, 230Th, 232Th) and applications in reconstructing the Yangtze and Yellow River floods

In the past decades, the floods of the Yangtze and Yellow River introduced unexpected changes of the ecological community and sedimentary dynamics in the East China Sea (ECS). To reconstruct the flood events in the ECS, 228Th, 230Th and 232Th have been examined in a sediment core. The specific activities of three thorium isotopes have good positive relations with fine fractions (<63 μm), indicating that Th activity concentrations heavily depend upon the sediment grain size. The size-normalized activities of 228Th, 230Th and 232Th showed significant variations. Coincidences between the higher Th activities and historical floods of the Yangtze and Yellow River demonstrated that size-normalized Th recorded the two rivers' flood events. The activity ratios of thorium isotopes, i.e. 230Th/232Th and 228Th/232Th, also showed similar patterns to the historical river floods. In three periods (1740s, 1840–1860s and 1930–1960s), characterized by frequent floods, the thorium activity ratios were fairly low and close to the Yangtze and Yellow River estuary sediments, coinciding with the less oceanic 228Th and 230Th contributions during the flooding periods. Accordingly, these results support the size-normalized Th activity and thorium ratios as proxies of the river floods in coastal seas.

Spatiotemporal Variation of Wind Erosion Climatic Factor in Shandong Province

With Mann-Kendall non-parametric test and spatial interpolation methods, the research has explored the spatial and temporal characteristics of changes of wind erosion climatic factor C within 58 years in Shandong province. The annual average C value of the province is 163.57 with the peak value occurred both in Yantai, Weihai cities and the central area. The Yellow River flood plain, which is the most serious wind erosion district, only lies between 50 ~200. The average C value has shown a significant downward trend in the entire province for 58 years, and the peak occurred in 1962 and valley value occurred in 1990. The C value has shown a downward trend in most area of the province, among which the decrease of areas centered on Ji’ning is the greatest and reach -7/a. On the Yellow River flood plain, the C value also shows a regional difference declining trend.

The Alluvial Geoarchaeology of the Sanyangzhuang Site on the Yellow River Floodplain, Henan Province, China

The Sanyangzhuang site, Henan Province, China, has a 12‐m‐deep stratigraphic sequence with remains from the Tang (A.D. 618–907), late Western Han (ca. 140 B.C.–A.D. 23), Warring States (475–221 B.C.), Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age (ca. 5000–1500 B.C.), Middle Holocene, and Early Holocene times. All of the paleosols are deeply buried. We investigate four issues relevant to the archaeology of the lower Yellow River Valley. First, we confirm that the Yellow River flowed north toward Bohai Bay throughout most of the Holocene. Second, we expand understanding of Holocene paleoenvironments. Long episodes of landscape stability punctuated by brief periods of Yellow River flooding represent the dominant environmental pattern. Third, we investigate how the complex relationships between climate, culture, and the environment affect Yellow River flooding, which in turn shapes Chinese civilization and history. Flooding in late Western Han times affected a vast area of north‐central China; this catastrophe contributed to the downfall of the late Western Han Dynasty. Finally, this research sheds light on the role of Yellow River alluviation in site burial and preservation. Rapid alluviation in the region has buried many archaeological sites. Settlement pattern research needs to take seriously the limitations placed on site visibility in quickly aggrading floodplains. However, gentle alluviation has also preserved settlements and entire landscapes providing unparalleled opportunities to explore the archaeological and historical record of the lower Yellow River Valley.

Sanyangzhuang: early farming and a Han settlement preserved beneath Yellow River flood deposits

The authors present the discovery of a Han period farming site sealed beneath 5m of flood deposits, where courtyard houses have been excavated belonging to the Western Han Dynasty and Wang Mang period (c. 140 BC–AD 23). Preservation is exceptional, both at the village of Sanyangzhuang itself and, by dint of satellite reconnaissance, over a vast landscape contemporarily covered by the flood. Deep profiles show that here land surfaces of the Neolithic and Warring States periods also lie buried. The potential for the study of the early agricultural sequence and a deeper knowledge of Han society is truly outstanding. The discoveries also offer a vivid account of the way a settlement was overwhelmed by flooding.

Test Study of Pore Water Pressure during Dynamic Compaction at the Subgrade of Highway in the Yellow River Flood Area

The Yellow River flood area mainly consisted of silt and silty clay. Water level observing holes and pore water pressure gauges were embedded in the test section. The observation results showed that: The pore water pressure of 3m and 5m grew slowly at the beginning. With the increase of ramming strike and the total ramming strike energy, the fourth hit pore water pressure mutated and then grew slowly. The pore water pressure of 7m and 9m grew slowly all the time. Because of the well point dewatering, the excess pore water pressure dissipated very soon. 70~75% of the excess pore water pressure of the first pass dissipated 3 hours after ramming strike, then the excess pore water pressure dissipated slowly. The excess pore water pressure of 3m and 5m grew significantly, so the effective reinforcing depth of dynamic compaction was 5m.

Study on Discharge and Diffusion of Raised Dust during Subgrade Construction in the Yellow River Flood Area

The construction process of subgrade construction was divided into several operating units：oil material loading and unloading, vehicle transportation and wind erosion dust. For each operational unit during each stage of subgrade construction, different Gaussian diffusion models were chosen respectively according to the transmission and diffusion of raised dust from different source (point source, line source and area source). Finally, based on one contract section on a freeway in the Yellow River flood area, the concentration distribution was calculated using atmospheric estimation software in different pattern of point source, line source and area source. It was shown that with the increasing of distance, point source and area source emission increased to the maximum value and then decreased to the stable value, while line source emission presented a distribution pattern which changed decreasingly.

The Corresponding Numerical Analysis of Dike Typical Diseases and Electrolog Data

Dike is an important component of Yellow River flood control system, but its security situation is not optimistic. High-density electrical method is an effective mean of dike typical diseases detection, we use steady-state current transfer analysis of software ANSYS to establish the numerical simulation model to analyze the detection resolution effects of dike typical diseases depth and scale changes on different detection devices of high-density electrical method, establish the correspondence of dike typical disease and electrolog data.

The Corresponding Theory Study of Dike Typical Diseases and Electrolog Data

Dike is an important component of Yellow River flood control system, but its security situation is not optimistic. High-density electrical method is an effective mean of dike typical diseases detection, we establish theoretical model to analyze the detection resolution effects of depth and scale changes of dike typical diseases on different detection devices of high-density electrical method, establish the correspondence of dike typical diseases and electrolog data.