Optimal reservoir operation using multi-objective evolutionary algorithms for potential estuarine eutrophication control.

This study analyzed bathymetric changes of the 77-km Yangtze River Estuary in China over the past ten years in order to understand the impacts of recent human activities on the estuary of a large alluvial river. Morphological changes were assessed by analyzing digitized bathymetric data of the estuarine channels from 2002 to 2013. Additionally, multi-beam bathymetric measurements made in 2012, 2014 and 2015 were utilized to investigate microtophographic bedforms of the lower reach of the estuary. Our results showed that the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River Estuary experienced substantial channel bed erosion in the past 10 years, and that the recent human activities have contributed to the change. These included the construction of a 70 km2 reservoir along the Yangtze River Estuary, the Qingcaosha Reservoir, for drinking water supply for the City of Shanghai, which has caused progressive bed erosion in the North Channel. The net volume of channel erosion in the Hengsha Passage from 2002 to 2013 was 0.86 × 108 m3. A large amount of the eroded sediment was trapped downstream, causing overall accretion in the upper reach of the North Passage. The middle and upper reaches of the South Passage also experienced intense erosion (0.45 × 108 m3) in the past ten years, while high accretion occurred in the lower reach because of the Deepening Waterway Project. The channel dredging left a large range of dredging marks and hollows in the North Passage. The increasing saltwater intrusion found in the Yangtze River Estuary may have been a consequence of either dredging or erosion, or both combined.

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Decadal changes in bathymetry of the Yangtze River Estuary: Human impacts and potential saltwater intrusion

Evolution of the Jiuduansha wetland and the impact of navigation works in the Yangtze Estuary, China

The morphology of the Yangtze Estuary has changed substantially at decadal time scales in response to natural processes, local human interference and reduced sediment supply. Due to its high sediment load, the morphodynamic response time of the estuary is short, providing a valuable semi-natural system to evaluate large-scale estuarine morphodynamic responses to interference. Previous studies primarily addressed local morphologic changes within the estuary, but since an overall sediment balance is missing, it remains unclear whether the estuary as a whole has shifted from sedimentation to erosion in response to reduced riverine sediment supply (e.g. resulting from construction of the Three Gorges Dam). In this paper we examine the morphological changes of two large shoals in the mouth zone (i.e. the Hengsha flat and the Jiuduan shoal) using bathymetric data collected between 1953 and 2016 and a series of satellite images. We observe that the two shoals accreted at different rates before 2010 but reverted to erosion thereafter. Human activities such as dredging and dumping contribute to erosion, masking the impacts of sediment source reduction. The effects of local human intervention (such as the construction of a navigation channel) are instantaneous and are likely to have already resulted in new dynamic equilibrium conditions. The morphodynamic response time of the mouth zone to riverine sediment decrease is further suggested to be >30 years (starting from the mid-1980s). Accounting for the different adaptation time scales of various human activities is essential when interpreting morphodynamic changes in large-scale estuaries and deltas.

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Decadal morphological evolution of the mouth zone of the Yangtze Estuary in response to human interventions

River discharge contribution to sea-level rise in the Yangtze River Estuary, China

The results from both the field measurements and numerical simulation were reported to comprehensively analyze the sediment siltation in the upper reach of the Deepwater Navigation Channel Project in the Yangtze Estuary after the project has been implemented. In this research, firstly some basic information about the river evolution in the Yangtze Estuary is analyzed, including the variations of water depths in the Hengsha Passage and the inlet cross-sections of the North Passage and the South Passage, and changes of diversion ratios of ebb flow and sediment flux in the North Passage and the South Passage. Then the Delft3D-FLOW model is applied to simulate the hydrodynamics and sediment transport in the Yangtze Estuary. This model has been calibrated and the simulated results agree well with the measured data of the tidal levels, flow velocities and suspended sediment concentration (SSC), indicating that the model can well simulate the hydrodynamics and sediment transport of the Yangtze Estuary caused by the Deepwater Navigation Channel Project. The research results show that the development of the Hengsha Passage and decrease of diversion ratio of ebb flow and sediment flux in the North Passage are the main reasons of sediment siltation in the upper reach of the Deepwater Navigation Channel in the Yangtze Estuary.

Lu-lu He

Papers

Comprehensive analysis on the sediment siltation in the upper reach of the deepwater navigation channel in the Yangtze Estuary