Advances in Earth Science ›› 2006, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (6): 551-563. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2006.06.0551

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Sediment Discharge of the Yellow River, China: Past, Present and Future—A Synthesis

Ren Meie   

  1. The Key Laboratory of Coast & Island Development of Ministry of Education,Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
  • Received:2005-08-29 Revised:2006-03-20 Online:2006-06-15 Published:2006-06-15

Ren Meie. Sediment Discharge of the Yellow River, China: Past, Present and Future—A Synthesis[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2006, 21(6): 551-563.

The Yellow River cut through Sanmenxia Gorge and flowed to North China Plain and the sea in 150 ka BP. Since that time, about 70 000×108 t sediment has been discharged through Sanmenxia Gorge. Based on land use-land cover changes in Loess Plateau and other available evidence, a rough estimate of the Yellow river sediment budget is presented: about 73% build North China Plain and 26% escape to the sea. In the present, < 0.2×108 t/a suspended sediment of the Yellow River enter the North Yellow Sea. Their transport pattern is chiefly determined by the current system. It has been shown that only 0.2×108~0.3×108 t/a suspended particles are carried to the East China Sea. They are chiefly resuspended sediment from erosion of the coast and subaqueous delta of the abandoned Yellow river. Since 1972, the lower Yellow river suffers from continuous no-flow. During 1996-2000, annual water flow and sediment discharge are only 19% of the normal years (i.e. average for 1950-1979). It is predicted that owing to global warming and increase of water diversion from the Yellow river for industrial and urban use, sediment flux of the Yellow river to the sea will most likely remain small in the next 2~3 decades. 

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