Hydro-geomorphological regime of the lower Yellow river and delta in response to the water-sediment regulation scheme: Process, mechanism and implication

The water and sediment regulation schemes (WSRS) orientated by dams have profoundly adjusted the hydrological process and geomorphological evolution of the lower Yellow River and delta. Two decades since the implementation of WSRS, the observed multidisciplinary datasets allowed us to systematically evaluate the impacts of this unprecedented engineering effort on the river-coastal system. The sediment fluxes transported to the sea showed a notable rebounded and coarsened process due to the erosion of the riverbed during the WSRS periods. The average median grain size of suspended sediment increased from 17.7 mu m in the 1990 s to 26 mu m in 2002-2009. The natural rhythm of hydrological process is fundamentally altered by WSRS, about 50% and 30% of annual sediments and water delivered to the sea for only 20 days. The water discharge system is more temporally dynamic and complex with higher dimensionality after the operation of WSRS. The erosion pattern has been a dominant feature in all the channel segments downstream the Xiaolangdi Reservoir, with an average total erosion volume of 1.02 x 108 m3/a after the WSRS. However, the erosion efficiency of the lower river showed a decreased trend, due to the riverbed had formed a coarse armored substrate for the continued scouring since 2002. The YRD has changed from the pattern of erosion to progradation for the increase of sediment supply, and the average growth rate of subaerial delta was about 6.89 km2/a during 2003-2014. The lessons learned from the operation of WSRS may provide a valuable reference for the management of global large river systems.

Automated summary

The water and sediment regulation schemes conducted through dams have had profound effects on the hydrological processes and geomorphological evolution of the lower Yellow River and delta. These schemes have led to riverbed erosion, increased sediment fluxes, altered hydrological processes, and widespread erosion downstream. However, the efficiency of erosion in the lower river has shown a decreasing trend due to the formation of a coarse armored substrate, resulting in a shift from erosion to progradation in the Yellow River Delta.