Calculating the sediment flux of the small coastal watersheds: a modification of global equations

Gaocong Li; Qiong Xia; Dongyang Fu; Chunhua Zeng; Zhiqiang Li; Shu Gao

doi:10.1007/s13131-020-1615-z

Volume 40 Issue 1

Feb. 2021

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2021 > 40(1): 147-154

Gaocong Li, Qiong Xia, Dongyang Fu, Chunhua Zeng, Zhiqiang Li, Shu Gao. Calculating the sediment flux of the small coastal watersheds: a modification of global equations[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2021, 40(1): 147-154. doi: 10.1007/s13131-020-1615-z

Citation:

Gaocong Li, Qiong Xia, Dongyang Fu, Chunhua Zeng, Zhiqiang Li, Shu Gao. Calculating the sediment flux of the small coastal watersheds: a modification of global equations[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2021, 40(1): 147-154. doi: 10.1007/s13131-020-1615-z

Citation:

PDF( 903 KB)

Calculating the sediment flux of the small coastal watersheds: a modification of global equations

doi: 10.1007/s13131-020-1615-z

Gaocong Li¹,
Qiong Xia^{1, 2
,
,},
Dongyang Fu¹,
Chunhua Zeng³,
Zhiqiang Li^{1
,
,},
Shu Gao⁴

1.
Department of Marine Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
2.
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China
3.
College of Ocean Engineering, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
4.
State Key Laboratory for Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200046, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41625021, 41676079 and 41906021; the Project of Enhancing School with Innovation of Guangdong Ocean University under contract No. Q18307; the Program for Scientific Research Start-up Funds of Guangdong Ocean University under contract No. 060302112010.

More Information

Corresponding author: E-mail: xiaqiong2014@gmail.com; qiangzl1974@163.com
Received Date: 2020-03-17
Accepted Date: 2020-05-03

Available Online: 2021-04-21

Publish Date: 2021-01-25

Abstract

Abstract

Two kinds of regression equations are used to reproduce the sediment flux of the 26 small coastal watersheds in southeastern China. The first kind is the global equations suggested by Milliman and Syvitski (1992), Mulder and Syvitski (1996), Syvitski et al. (2003), and Syvitski and Milliman (2007). The second kind is the modified equations revised by the characteristics of the coastal watersheds, including the drainage area, mean water discharge, and mean sediment discharge. Compared with the observations of the hydrometric stations, the global equations overestimate the sediment flux by 1–2 orders of magnitude. By using the modified equations, the accuracy of the estimated sediment flux is significantly improved, with the relative error in the range of 7%–24%. The reason for the overestimation mainly caused by different parameters’ domain and regression coefficients between global rivers and study coastal watersheds. This study demonstrates that modification needs to be considered when using global regression equations to reproduce the sediment flux of the small coastal watersheds in southeastern China.
- sediment flux,
- global equation,
- modified equation,
- small coastal watersheds,
- southeast China

FullText(HTML)

References(47)

References

[1]	Bianchi T S, Allison M A. 2009. Large-river delta-front estuaries as natural “recorders” of global environmental change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(20): 8085–8092. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812878106
[2]	Chen Bin. 1988. Water and sediment characteristics and channel evolution in the lower reach of the Mulan River. Water Science & Technology (in Chinese), 74(1): 47–51
[3]	Chen Shengjing. 2007. Analysis on the sediment status and changes in the streams of the East Fujian province. Subtropical Soil and Water Conservation (in Chinese), 19(4): 20–23
[4]	Chen Shihao. 2010. Hydrological characteristics of the Rong River catchment. Pearl River (in Chinese), 4: 10, 11, 41
[5]	Chen Hongwen, Chen Wenle. 2006. Hydrological characteristics of the Moyang River Catchment. Guangdong Water Resources and Hydropower (in Chinese), 2: 60–62, 65
[6]	Chen Yining, Chen Nengwang, Li Yan, et al. 2018. Multi-timescale sediment responses across a human impacted river-estuary system. Journal of Hydrology, 560: 160–172. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.02.075
[7]	Dadson S J, Hovius N, Chen H, et al. 2003. Links between erosion, runoff variability and seismicity in the Taiwan orogen. Nature, 426(6967): 648–651. doi: 10.1038/nature02150
[8]	Day J W, Agboola J, Chen Zhongyuan, et al. 2016. Approaches to defining deltaic sustainability in the 21st century. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 183: 275–291. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2016.06.018
[9]	Editorial Board of Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China. 2013. Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China: Section of Zhujiang River Basins (in Chinese). Beijing: China Water Conservancy and Hydropower Press, 1–200
[10]	Editorial Board of Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China. 2014. Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China: Section of River Basins in Southeast Region and Taiwan (in Chinese). Beijing: China Water Conservancy and Hydropower Press, 1–100
[11]	Gao Shu. 1988. P-A relationships of tidal inlets along the East China Sea coast. Marine Sciences (in Chinese), (1): 15–19
[12]	Gao Shu, Collins M B. 2014. Holocene sedimentary systems on continental shelves. Marine Geology, 352: 268–294. doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2014.03.021
[13]	Gao Jianhua, Shi Yong, Sheng Hui, et al. 2019. Rapid response of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River and East China Sea source-to-sink conveying system to human induced catchment perturbations. Marine Geology, 414: 1–17. doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2019.05.003
[14]	Gao Shu, Zhou Liang, Li Gaocong, et al. 2016. Processes and sedimentary records for Holocene coastal Environmental changes, Hainan Island: an overview. Quaternary Sciences (in Chinese), 36(1): 1–17
[15]	Giosan L, Syvitski J, Constantinescu S, et al. 2014. Climate change: protect the world’s deltas. Nature, 516(7529): 31–33. doi: 10.1038/516031a
[16]	Guo Leicheng, Su Ni, Townend I, et al. 2019. From the headwater to the delta: A synthesis of the basin-scale sediment load regime in the Changjiang River. Earth-Science Reviews, 197: 102900. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102900
[17]	Holeman J N. 1968. The sediment yield of major rivers of the world. Water Resources Research, 4(4): 737–747. doi: 10.1029/WR004i004p00737
[18]	Huang Zhiming. 2010. Hydrological characteristics of the Jian River Catchment. Modern Technology (in Chinese), 9(3): 37–39
[19]	Jia Jianjun, Gao Jianhua, Cai Tinglu, et al. 2018. Sediment accumulation and retention of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) subaqueous delta and its distal muds over the last century. Marine Geology, 401: 2–16. doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2018.04.005
[20]	Li Gaocong, Gao Shu, Wang Yaping, et al. 2018. Sediment flux from the Zhoushan Archipelago, eastern China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 28(4): 387–399. doi: 10.1007/s11442-018-1479-8
[21]	Li Gaocong, Zhou Liang, Qi Yali, et al. 2019. Threshold sediment flux for the formation of river deltas in Hainan Island, southern China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 29(1): 146–160. doi: 10.1007/s11442-019-1589-y
[22]	Milliman J D, Farnsworth K L. 2013. River Discharge to the Coastal Ocean: A Global Synthesis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–20
[23]	Milliman J D, Farnsworth K L, Albertin C S. 1999. Flux and fate of fluvial sediments leaving large islands in the East Indies. Journal of Sea Research, 41(1–2): 97–107
[24]	Milliman J D, Meade R H. 1983. World-wide delivery of river sediment to the oceans. The Journal of Geology, 91(1): 1–21. doi: 10.1086/628741
[25]	Milliman J D, Syvitski J P M. 1992. Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: The importance of small mountainous rivers. The Journal of Geology, 100(5): 525–544. doi: 10.1086/629606
[26]	Molliex S, Kettner A J, Laurent D, et al. 2019. Simulating sediment supply from the Congo watershed over the last 155 ka. Quaternary Science Reviews, 203: 38–55. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.11.001
[27]	Mulder T, Syvitski J P M. 1996. Climatic and morphologic relationships of rivers: Implications of sea-level fluctuations on river loads. The Journal of Geology, 104(5): 509–523. doi: 10.1086/629849
[28]	Nienhuis J H, Ashton A D, Giosan L. 2015. What makes a delta wave-dominated?. Geology, 43(6): 511–514. doi: 10.1130/G36518.1
[29]	Shao Hengfang. 1991. Variation on sediment load of three major rivers of Fujian Province, China. Fujian Soil and Water Conservation (in Chinese), (1): 42–46
[30]	Sun Ying, Cai Tilu, Chai Jialong, et al. 1983. The runoff characteristic and its influence on erosion and accretion of mountain rivers estuaries in Zhejiang and Fujiang Provinces. Donghai Marine Science (in Chinese), (2): 29–35
[31]	Syvitski J P M, Kettner A J, Overeem I, et al. 2009. Sinking deltas due to human activities. Nature Geoscience, 2(10): 681–686. doi: 10.1038/ngeo629
[32]	Syvitski J P M, Milliman J D. 2007. Geology, geography, and humans battle for dominance over the delivery of fluvial sediment to the coastal ocean. The Journal of Geology, 115(1): 1–19. doi: 10.1086/509246
[33]	Syvitski J P M, Peckham S D, Hilberman R, et al. 2003. Predicting the terrestrial flux of sediment to the global ocean: A planetary perspective. Sedimentary Geology, 162(1–2): 5–24
[34]	Syvitski J P M, Vorosmarty C J, Kettner A J, et al. 2005. Impact of humans on the flux of terrestrial sediment to the global coastal ocean. Science, 308: 376–380. doi: 10.1126/science.1109454
[35]	Tessler Z D, Vörösmarty C J, Overeem I, et al. 2018. A model of water and sediment balance as determinants of relative sea level rise in contemporary and future deltas. Geomorphology, 305: 209–220. doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.09.040
[36]	Wang Wenjie, Huang Jinsen, Mao Shuzen. 1991. Modern Deposition of Coastal and Offshore in South China (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press: 1–125
[37]	Water Resources Department of People’s Republic of China (WRD). 2016. China River Sediment Bulletin (in Chinese). Beijing: China Water Conservancy and Hydropower Press: 1–63
[38]	Xia Xiaoming. 2012. China Island (Reef) List (in Chinese). Beijing: China Ocean Press, 1–200
[39]	Xie Tian. 2013. On the stormy flood characteristics of the Jiuzhou River Catchment during the August 2013. Gansu Water Resources and Hydropower Technology (in Chinese), 49(11): 6–8
[40]	Xu Guoqiong, Ou Lanfang. 2007. Sediment dynamics of the Nanliu River and its relationship with human activities (in Chinese). In: The 2007 Symposium of the China Hydroelectric Engineering Society of Hydrology and Sediment. Hangzhou: China Society for Hydropower Engineering, 69–75
[41]	Shanghai Typhoon Institute of China Meteorological Administration. 2006. Climatological Atlas of Tropical Cyclones Affecting China (1951–2000) (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 177
[42]	Yang Zhihong, Jia Jianjun, Wang Xinkai, et al. 2013. Characteristics and variations of water and sediment fluxes into the sea of the top three rivers of Hainan in recent 50 years. Marine Science Bulletin (in Chinese), 32(1): 92–99
[43]	Yang Chuanxun, Zhang Zhengdong, Zhang Qian, et al. 2017. Characteristics of multi-scale variability of water discharge and sediment load in the Hanjiang River during 1955–2012. Journal of South China Normal University (Natural Science Edition) (in Chinese), 49(3): 68–75
[44]	Zhang Zhangxin. 2000. Analysis of hydrological characteristics of Minjiang River basin. Hydrology (in Chinese), 20(6): 55–58
[45]	Zhang Xuqun, Chen Yaoqiang, Chen Haokun, et al. 2013. Evaluation on soil erosion of Huanggang river basin in eastern Guangdong based on GIS and RUSLE. Soil and Water Conservation in China (in Chinese), (2): 34–37
[46]	Zhang Wei, Mu Shousheng, Zhang Yanjing, et al. 2011. Temporal variation of suspended sediment load in the Pearl River due to human activities. International Journal of Sediment Research, 26(4): 487–497. doi: 10.1016/S1001-6279(12)60007-9
[47]	Zhang Bohu, Wu Xiuguang, Xie Dongfeng. 2015. Variation of water and sediment in rivers to sea in recent five decades in Zhejiang Province. Journal of Sediment Research (in Chinese), (6): 21–26