Delta changes in the Pearl River estuary and its response to human activities (1954–2008)

Wu, Chuang; Yang, S.L.; Huang, Shichang; Mu, J B

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.04.009

Cited by 78 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…Previous studies have revealed that the changes in the sediment regime impacted the downstream morphology, as with the Yellow River (e.g., Liu et al, ; Wang et al, ) and Yangtze River (e.g., Dai & Liu, ; Yang et al, ; Yang et al, ). The Pearl River flows through the PRD and finally enters the SCS, and many previous studies have indicated the morphological changes of the river channel across the PRD (e.g., Luo et al, ; Zhang et al, ; Zheng et al, ) and subaqueous delta (Wu, Saito, et al, ; Wu, Yang, Huang, & Mu, ). However, these studies mainly focused on the morphological impacts of sand excavation on the river channel from the 1980s to the 1990s, and relatively less systemic knowledge is available on morphological changes of the river channel affected by alteration of the sediment regime in the Pearl River since the 1950s, which can influence the sediment source and sink of subaqueous delta (Wang et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent changes in the sediment regime of the Pearl River (South China): Causes and implications for the Pearl River Delta

Feng

Zhou

Guo

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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Riverine sediments have played an important role in the morphological evolution of river channels and river deltas. However, the sediment regime in the many world's rivers has been altered in the context of global changes. In this study, temporal changes in the sediment regime of the Pearl River were examined at different time scales, that is, annual, seasonal, and monthly time scales, using the Mann–Kendall test. The results revealed that precipitation variability was responsible for monthly and seasonal distribution patterns of the sediment regime and the long‐term changes in the water discharge; however, dam operation has smoothed the seasonal distribution of water discharge and resulted in decreasing trends in the annual, wet‐season, and dry‐season sediment load series since the 1950s. Due to the different regulation magnitudes of dam operation, differences were observed in sediment regime changes among the three tributaries. In addition, human activities have altered the hysteresis of seasonal rating curves and affected hysteresis differences between increasing and decreasing water discharge stages. Sediment supply is an important factor controlling river channel dynamics, affecting channel morphology. From the 1950s to the 1980s, siltation was dominant in river channels across the West River and North River deltas in response to the sediment increases; however, scouring occurred in the East River deltas due to sediment reduction. Significant erosion occurred in river channels in the 1990s, which was mostly due to downcutting of the river bed caused by sand excavations and partly because of the reduced sediment load from upstream. Although sand excavations have been banned and controlled by authority agencies since 2000, the erosion of cross sections was still observed in the 2000s because of reduced sediment caused by dam construction. Our study examines the different effects of human activities on the sediment regime and downstream channel morphology, which is of substantial scientific importance for river management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent changes in the sediment regime of the Pearl River (South China): Causes and implications for the Pearl River Delta

Feng

Zhou

Guo

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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“…Moreover, due to the uneven sand dredging effect between the West and North rivers, the divided flow ratio significantly increased by ∼8% at the SS station located at the apex of the North River channel networks from 1992 to 2000 (see Figure ). Near the estuarine outlets, the most influential human activities can be primarily attributed to the large‐scale land reclamations and dam constructions in the coastal area (Wu et al, ; Zhang et al, ). In particular, we showed that the alterations of tidal range at the BJ and HJ stations in the Jitimen Estuary is strongly related to the Baiteng dam constructed in the early 1970s, which is clearly identified by the 3rd EOF mode (see Figure e,f).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Near the estuarine outlets, the most influential human activities can be primarily attributed to the large-scale land reclamations and dam constructions in the coastal area (Wu et al, 2016;Zhang et al, 2015b).…”

Section: Causes Of the Long-term Evolution Of Tidal Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The evolution of tidal dynamics in the estuarine environment is affected by both natural (e.g., relative sea level rise and changing weather conditions) and human‐induced (e.g., dam constructions, dredging for navigational channels, sand excavation, and land reclamations) changes, which are two controlled factors that determine the long‐term change of tidal properties (Day & Giosan, ; Schuttelaars, de Jonge, & Chernetsky, ; Wang et al, ; Wu, Yang, Huang, & Mu, ; Zhang et al, ; Zhou et al, , ). Here, tidal dynamics refers to the general physics of vertical (i.e., the tidal current) and horizontal (i.e., the tide) water movement caused by the tidal forces of the moon and sun.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decadal variability of tidal dynamics in the Pearl River Delta: Spatial patterns, causes, and implications for estuarine water management

Cai

Huang

Niu

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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In this study, we examine the decadal variability of tidal dynamics in terms of the tidal range in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) from the 1950s to 2016. The Mann–Kendall trend test and Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) method are employed to identify the long‐term trends and spatial patterns of the annual tidal range series observed at 26 stations over the whole PRD, respectively. The results show that most stations display an increasing tidal range trend, except for some stations near estuarine outlets, which corresponds to the 1st EOF mode characterized by a rapid increase of the tidal range since the 1990s. This means that the cumulative impacts of human interventions reached their peak in the 1990s, exceeding the threshold of tidal dynamics in the PRD. To quantify human‐induced alternations of the tidal range, the tidal regime shift was subsequently explored by comparing the tidal ranges of the pre‐ and post‐1992 periods reconstructed from the EOF decomposition. The mechanism causing the tidal regime shift in the PRD can be attributed to the substantially reduced residual water level slope (hence, the effective bottom friction) that greatly enhances the tidal dynamics. Our study describes the shift of spatial–temporal tidal dynamics patterns in detail, which is particularly useful to guide effective and sustainable water management in the PRD and other river deltas that are subjected to intensive human interventions.

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“…The construction of dams and reservoirs are inevitable with the demands of flood control and hydroelectric development in the PRB. After Longtan Reservoir's operation in 2006, the sediment load in the Pearl River decreased from about 88.0 to 29.2 Mt/y [62]. Large-scale construction of water regulation projects, such as the Datengxia Gorge Water Conservancy Project that is scheduled to open in late 2019, will be another concern for the river sediment and erosion of the Pearl River Delta.…”

Section: Possible Future Changes and Outlooksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Variation of Annual Runoff and Sediment Load in the Pearl River during 1953–2017

Zhou

Wang

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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Anthropogenic activities have had a great impact on the characteristics of runoff and sediment load along the Pearl River in China in recent decades. We investigated the spatiotemporal variations, including the trends, abrupt changes, and periodicities of annual runoff and sediment load in the Pearl River by using the datasets from nine hydrological stations for the period of 1953–2017. We found that annual runoff was stable during the study period, with only two stations in the upper reach showing decreasing trends. Annual sediment load has generally experienced a significant decreasing trend, while one of the stations in the middle reach showed an opposite trend due to severe rocky desertification and soil erosion in the local karst terrain. Abrupt changes in sediment load were mainly between the 1990s and 2000s, when many hydraulic projects were conducted, implying the significant impact of anthropogenic activities on river sediment load. Results also indicate 2–4 year and 4–8 year periodicities in both annual runoff and sediment load, with long periodicities less significant than the short ones. Our study is conducive to water and soil resource management in the Pearl River basin, whilst provides a guide for other basins, particularly those characterized by karst terrains where local desertification and soil erosion might likewise cause increase in river sediment load.

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Delta changes in the Pearl River estuary and its response to human activities (1954–2008)

Cited by 78 publications

References 31 publications

Recent changes in the sediment regime of the Pearl River (South China): Causes and implications for the Pearl River Delta

Recent changes in the sediment regime of the Pearl River (South China): Causes and implications for the Pearl River Delta

Decadal variability of tidal dynamics in the Pearl River Delta: Spatial patterns, causes, and implications for estuarine water management

Spatiotemporal Variation of Annual Runoff and Sediment Load in the Pearl River during 1953–2017

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