GRAVITY-DRIVEN SEDIMENTATION ON THE NORTHWESTERN CONTINENTAL SLOPE IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA:RESULTS FROM HIGH-RESOLUTION SEISMIC DATA AND PISTON CORES

A distinct echo-character was assigned to sedimentation processes, which were then verified using data from surface sediment samples and piston cores. of echo types on the continental slope perfectly reflecting both sediment erosion and deposition, four edimentary types have been recognized:(1) submarine clides distributed on the shelfbreak and characterized by high silt and water conten, loose struture, poor consolidation and low shearing strength; (2) slumps occurring on the shelfbreak, middle slope channel and reef margin near Dongsha Islands, but having different origins; (3) debris flow occurring either in sea areas around Dongsha Atoll, or on the continental slope’s three channels, where the transparent debris flow deposits often overlie or abruptly truncate highly stratified hemipelagic sediments;are of limited to local extent, ranging from a few square kilometers to hundreds of square kilometers in area; but on the lowr slope, usually occur as 1000 km2, about 100 km2 individual complexes; and (4) turbidites, limited on the continental slope; are occurring as migrating waves of sediments at the the of the slope, and are rhythmically-bedded, coarse-grained. Their migration is a result of overbank flow downslope through the submarine channel at the west. The slope faces are dominated by mass wasting deposition, and a few turbidite current sediments. As wasting is an important process. Some debris flow eomplexes on the west are buried by well-stratified confomable sediments, whereas others on the east appear on the present seafloor and therefore are relatively recent.

Characteristics and control factors of feldspar dissolution in gravity flow sandstone of Chang 7 Member,Triassic Yanchang Formation,Ordos Basin,NW China

To clarify the formation and distribution of feldspar dissolution pores and predict the distribution of high-quality reservoir in gravity flow sandstone of the 7^(th) member of Triassic Yanchang Formation(Chang 7 Member)in the Ordos Basin,thin sections,scanning electron microscopy,energy spectrum analysis,X-ray diffraction whole rock analysis,and dissolution experiments are employed in this study to investigate the characteristics and control factors of feldspar dissolution pores.The results show that:(1)Three types of diagenetic processes are observed in the feldspar of Chang 7 sandstone in the study area:secondary overgrowth of feldspar,replacement by clay and calcite,and dissolution of detrital feldspar.(2)The feldspar dissolution of Chang 7 tight sandstone is caused by organic acid,and is further affected by the type of feldspar,the degree of early feldspar alteration,and the buffering effect of mica debris on organic acid.(3)Feldspars have varying degrees of dissolution.Potassium feldspar is more susceptible to dissolution than plagioclase.Among potassium feldspar,orthoclase is more soluble than microcline,and unaltered feldspar is more soluble than early kaolinized or sericitized feldspar.(4)The dissolution experiment demonstrated that the presence of mica can hinder the dissolution of feldspar.Mica of the same mass has a significantly stronger capacity to consume organic acids than feldspar.(5)Dissolution pores in feldspar of Chang 7 Member are more abundant in areas with low mica content,and they improve the reservoir physical properties,while in areas with high mica content,the number of feldspar dissolution pores decreases significantly.

Characteristics and formation of high quality reservoirs in sediment gravity flows of Gangzhong area,Huanghua depression

Reservoirs can be developed in the sediment gravity flows.However,high quality reservoirs are found widespread in sediment gravity flows of Gangzhong area,Huanghua depression,Bohai Bay Basin,East China.Characteristics and formation of these reservoirs are key problems to be solved.Through comprehensive analysis of thin section petrography,scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction,two distinct rules were obtained.1) These high quality reservoirs have apparent characteristics:lithology consists mainly of medium-fine grained sands; moderately-well sorted and rounded; intergranular pores dominating >70% of the entire pores,surface per unit pore volume reaches 15%; average porosity is 21% and average permeability is 55×10-3 μm2.2) Types of sedimentary microfacies and dissolution strongly control on the formation of high quality reservoirs.Main channels and sandy braided bars have the best reservoir properties.Because that sediments are mainly medium-fine grained sands in high-energy environments.The favorable primary porosity and permeability may promote calcite cementation and help to produce more secondary pores.Besides,at the depth of 2500-3200 m,basically matching threshold of oil generation,organic acid expelled when organic matter became mature,and H+ released during clay mineral transformation.These both result in the dissolution of calcite cements and create large volume pores,then physical properties improve correspondingly.Moreover,deep hydrothermal fluid intrusion may also have impacts on the development of secondary pores.

Experimental Investigation on Flow Characteristics at Leeside of Suspended Flexible Curtain for Sedimentation Enhancement

A new patent registered device- suspended flexible curtain （SFC） for sedimentation enhancement is proposed in this paper, which consists of two parts： a light-weight curtain with sediment-passing windows and a heavy pillar for the device stability. The mechanism of trapping nearbed sediment by the SFC is such that a primary and a secondary circulations with horizontal hubs would be formed at the leeside when it is placed on beds in running flow; the velocities within the sediment-passing windows are locally accelerated, the nearbed sediments would be brought by the flow through the windows, and then settled down within the primary circulation zone. Experimental tests on hydraulic characteristics are conducted in a laboratory flume with rigid bed. It is found that the dimensions of the curtain and the sediment-passing windows determine the characteristics of the primary and the secondary circulations. The intensity of the primary and the secondary circulations is dominated by the size of the sediment-passing window. Whether the secondary circulation would contact the bed or not depends on the level of the sediment-passing window. The length and the height of the primary circulation zone demonstrate quasi linear relationships with the effective height of the SFC. And the tests on sandy bed flume show that the sediment deposition happens just in the primary circulation zone.

Regulation effect of the grille spacing of a funnel-type grating water–sediment separation structure on the debris flow performance

The size of pores or the grille spacing of water–sediment separation structures directly affects their regulation effect on the debris flow performance.A suitable pore size or grille spacing can effectively improve the water–sediment separation ability of the structure.The new funnel-type grating water–sediment separation structure(FGWSS)combines vertical and horizontal structures and provides a satisfactory water–sediment separation effect.However,the regulation effect of the grille spacing of the structure on the debris flow performance has not been studied.The regulation effect of the structure grille spacing on the debris flow performance is studied through a flume test,and the optimal structure grille spacing is obtained.An empirical equation of the relationship between the relative grille spacing of the structure and the sediment separation rate is established.Finally,the influence of the water–sediment separation structure on the regulation effect of debris flows is examined from two aspects:external factors(properties of debris flows)and internal factors(structural factors).The experimental results show that the gradation characteristics of solid particles in debris flows constitute a key factor affecting the regulation effect of the structure on the debris flow performance.The optimum grille spacing of the FGWSS matches the particle size corresponding to the material distribution curves d85~d90 of the debris flow.The total separation rate of debris flow particles is related to the grille spacing of the structure and the content of coarse and fine particles in the debris flow.

Numerical simulation on flow field,wind erosion and sand sedimentation patterns over railway subgrades

The railway subgrades in the sandy areas act as an obstacle interfering wind-blown sand,causing sand erosion and sedimentation,which can disrupt the safe and stable operation of the railway system.Most previous studies mainly focus on the flow field around railway subgrades,however,the real erosion and sedimentation patterns are rarely studied.This study aims to analyze the erosion and sand sedimentation patterns of wind-blown sand over the subgrades with different heights and steel rails using the ratio of the wall shear stress to the critical value of erosion shear stress.Results show that wind erosion near the top of the upwind slope of the embankment and the shoulder on the upwind side are more severe,and the severity increases with an increase in the height of the embankment.With the increase of wind velocity,sand sedimentation both on the windward and leeside of the subgrade decreases and wind erosion by reverse flow occur.This study indicates that railways in sandy areas should be constructed with a moderate subgrade height(4 m).

Flow Rate Measurement of Gravity Infusion Set and Functional Evaluation of Drop Counter: A Pilot Study

Developing a novel drop counter by introducing the Internet of Things concept has been vigorously conducted in recent years. Understanding the newly introduced drop counter’s flow rate control accuracy and flow rate count feature is essential for improving safety in infusion management. This study aimed to verify if the new drop counters could secure accurate flow rate and drip count by conducting actual flow rate measurements using gravimetry and functional evaluation. A drop counter was attached to each drip chamber of the infusion set, and an IV drip was conducted at the 100 ml/h flow rate. The weight of discharged physiological saline was measured to plot trumpet curves. Next, three different types of drop counters were evaluated to determine if they maintained drip count accuracy according to the changes in their position angles. The flow rate errors in all conditions indicated trumpet-like curves, exhibiting an overall error range within ±10% in all observation windows. Although every drop counter successfully detected and measured dripping, it was challenging in some counters to detect dripping when the drip chamber was tilted. In comparing adult and pediatric IV sets, the adult IV set was found to be less likely to detect dripping in the angled position. No significant differences in results were confirmed between high and low flow rates, suggesting that the drop count function would not be affected by the flow rate in the ranges of typical infusion practices. Doppler sensors have a wide range of measurements and high sensitivity;the dripping was detected successfully even when the drip chamber was tilted, probably due to the advantages of these sensors. In contrast, miscounts occurred in those equipped with infrared sensors, which could not detect light intensity changes in tilted positions. Understanding the tendencies in flow rate errors in infusion can be valuable information for infusion management.

Sedimentation motion of sand particles in moving water(Ⅰ):The resistance on a small sphere moving in non-uniform flow

In hydraulics,when we deal with the problem of sand particles moving relative to the surrounding water,Stokes'formula of resistance has usually been used to render the velocity of sedimentation of the particles.But such an approach has not been proved rigorously,and its accuracy must be carefully considered.In this paper,we discuss the problem of a sphere moving in a non-uniform flow field,on the basis of the fundamental theory of hydrodynamics.We introduce two assumptions:i)the diameter of the sphere is much smaller than the linear dimension of the flow field,and ii)the velocity of the sphere relative to the surrounding water is very small.Using these two assumptions,we solve the linearized Navier-Stokes equations and equations of continuity by the method of Laplace transform,and finally we obtain a formula for the resistance acting on a sphere moving in a non-uniform flow field.

Wave-Enhanced Sediment-Gravity Flows in Bohai Bay Lacustrine Basin, Eastern China

Sequences of wave-enhanced sediment-gravity flows(WESGFs) have been widely recognized in the marine shelf environment. In this study, we show observations of WESGF deposits in lacustrine settings using well core and thin section data from the Paleogene in the Jiyang sub-basin, Bohai Bay basin, eastern China. The findings of this study include the following: 1) the sequence of WESGFs in the lacustrine basin is similar to that of marine; it consists of three units, MF1 unit: siltstone with basal erosion surface, MF2 unit: silt-streaked claystone, and MF3 unit: silty-mudstone; and 2) prodelta sand sheets are found in the lacustrine WESGF sequence and are classified as the MFd unit: clay-streaked siltstone. However, because the system size and variability in hydrodynamic conditions are different between the lacustrine and marine basins, lacustrine WESGFs do appear to have three distinguishable features: 1) the sediment grain size and sand content are slightly higher than those of the marine WESGFs; 2) lacustrine WESGFs may contain prodelta sediments or sedimentary sequences of other types of gravity flows, such as hyperpycnal flows; and 3) the scale of the sedimentary structures for lacustrine WESGFs is smaller. The WESGFs found in the continental lacustrine basin provide a new model for sediment dispersal processes in lake environments and may be helpful to explain and predict the distribution of sandy reservoirs for oil and gas exploration.

Criteria for Distinguishing Floc Sedimentation and Gel-Like Network Sedimentation of Cohesive Fine-Grained Sediment in a Turbulent Flow

The study on the criteria used to distinguish floc sedimentation and gel-like network sedimentation of cohesive fine-grained sediment in a turbulent flow has rarely been carried out. In this preliminary study, we derive three criteria to distinguish these two different sedimentation phases by considering the comparison of the time that a characteristic floc takes to settle through mean distance between characteristic flocs and the time that it takes to move through the same distance under the influence of a turbulent flow. These criteria incorporate physical and chemical factors that have been verified to have some influences on the sediment flocculation in some published literatures, and a simple analysis result is found to be consistent with our qualitative understandings of flocculation phenomenon of cohesive fine-grained sediment.

Status and Trends in Research on Deep-Water Gravity Flow Deposits

Deep-water gravity flows are one of the most important sediment transport mechanisms on Earth. After 60 years of study, significant achievements have been made in terms of classification schemes, genetic mechanisms, and depositional models of deep-water gravity flows. The research history of deep-water gravity flows can be divided into five stages： incipience of turbidity current theory; formation of turbidity current theory; development of deep-water gravity flow theory; improvement and perfection of deep-water gravity flow theory; and comprehensive development of deep-water gravity flow theory. Currently, three primary classification schemes based on the sediment support mechanism, the rheology and transportation process, and the integration of sediment support mechanisms, rheology, sedimentary characteristics, and flow state are commonly used.Different types of deep-water gravity flow events form different types of gravity flow deposits. Sediment slump retransportation mainly forms muddy debris flows, sandy debris flows, and surge-like turbidity currents. Resuspension of deposits by storms leads to quasi-steady hyperpycnal turbidity currents （hyperpycnal flows）. Sustainable sediment supplies mainly generate muddy debris flows, sandy debris flows, and hyperpycnal flows. Deep-water fans, which are commonly controlled by debris flows and hyperpycnal flows, are triggered by sustainable sediment supply; in contrast, deep-water slope sedimentary deposits consist mainly of debris flows that are triggered by the retransportation of sediment slumps and deep-water fine-grained sedimentary deposits are derived primarily from fine- grained hyperpycnal flows that are triggered by the resuspension of storm deposits. Harmonization of classification schemes, transformation between different types of gravity flow deposit, and monitoring and reproduction of the sedimentary processes of deep-water gravity flows as well as a source-to-sink approach to document the evolution and deposition of deep-water gravity flows are the most important research aspects for future studies of deep-water gravity flows study in the future.

Gravity Flow on Slope and Abyssal Systems in the Qiongdongnan Basin,Northern South China Sea

The study of new seismic data permits the identification of sediment gravity flows in terms of internal architecture and the distribution on shelf and abyssal setting in the Qiongdongnan Basin （QDNB）. Six gravity flow types are recognized： （1） turbidite channels with a truncational basal and concordant overburden relationship along the shelf edge and slope, comprising laterally-shifting and vertically-aggrading channel complexes; （2） slides with a spoon-shaped morphology slip steps on the shelf-break and generated from the deformation of poorly-consolidated and high water content sediments; （3） slumps are limited on the shelf slope, triggered either by an anomalous slope gradient or by fault activity; （4） turbidite sheet complexes （TSC） were ascribed to the basin-floor fan and slope fan origin, occasionally feeding the deep marine deposits by turbidity currents; （5） sediment waves occurring in the lower slope-basin floor, and covering an area of approximately 400 km2, were generated beneath currents flowing across the sea bed; and （6） the central canyon in the deep water area represents an exceptive type of gravity flow composed of an association of debris flow, turbidite channels, and TSC. It presents planar multisegment and vertical multiphase characteristics. Turbidite associated with good petrophysical property in the canyon could be treated as a potential exploration target in the QDNB.

Vertical Migration of Fine-Grained Sediments from Interior to Surface of Seabed Driven by Seepage Flows–‘Sub-Bottom Sediment Pump Action'

A scientific hypothesis is proposed and preliminarily verified in this paper: under the driving of seepage flows, there might be a vertical migration of fine-grained soil particles from interior to surface of seabed, which is defined as ‘sub-bottom sediment pump action' in this paper. Field experiments were performed twice on the intertidal flat of the Yellow River delta to study this process via both trapping the pumped materials and recording the pore pressures in the substrate. Experimental results are quite interesting as we did observe yellow slurry which is mainly composed of fine-grained soil particles appearing on the seabed surface; seepage gradients were also detected in the intertidal flat, under the action of tides and small wind waves. Preliminary conclusions are that ‘sediment pump' occurs when seepage force exceeds a certain threshold: firstly, it is big enough to disconnect the soil particles from the soil skeleton; secondly, the degree of seabed fluidization or bioturbation is big enough to provide preferred paths for the detached materials to migrate upwards. Then they would be firstly pumped from interior to the surface of seabed and then easily re-suspended into overlying water column. Influential factors of ‘sediment pump' are determined as hydrodynamics(wave energy), degree of consolidation, index of bioturbation(permeability) and content of fine-grained materials(sedimentary age). This new perspective of ‘sediment pump' may provide some implications for the mechanism interpretation of several unclear geological phenomena in the Yellow River delta area.

Experimental investigation of the effect of flow turbulence and sediment transport patterns on the adsorption of cadmium ions onto sediment particles

The mechanism of flow turbulence, sediment supply conditions, and sediment transport patterns that affect the adsorption of cadmium ions onto sediment particles in natural waters are experimentally simulated and studied both in batch reactors and in a turbulence simulation tank. By changing the agitation conditions, the sediment transport in batch reactors can be categorized into bottom sediment-dominated sediment and suspended sediment-dominated sediment. It is found that the adsorption rate of bottom sediment is much less than that of suspended sediment, but the sediment transport pattern does not affect the final （equilibrium） concentration of dissolved cadmium. This result indicates that the parameters of an adsorption isotherm are the same regardless of the sediment transport pattern. In the turbulence simulation tank, the turbulence is generated by harmonic grid-stirred motions, and the turbulence intensity is quantified in terms of eddy diffusivity, which is equal to 9.84F （F is the harmonic vibration frequency） and is comparable to natural surface water conditions. When the turbulence intensity of flow is low and sediment particles stay as bottom sediment, the adsorption rate is significantly low, and the adsorption quantity compared with that of suspended sediment is negligible in the 6 h duration of the experiment. This result greatly favors the simplification of the numerical modeling of heavy metal pollutant transformation in natural rivers. When the turbulence intensity is high but bottom sediment persists, the rate and extent of descent of the dissolved cadmium concentration in the tank noticeably increase, and the time that is required to reach adsorption equilibrium also increases considerably due to the continuous exchange that occurs between the suspended sediment and the bottom sediment. A comparison of the results of the experiments in the batch reactor and those in the turbulence simulation tank reveals that the adsorption ability of the sediment, and in particular the adsorption rate, is greatly over-estimated in the batch reactor.

Coupled Model of Two-phase Debris Flow,Sediment Transport and Morphological Evolution

The volume fraction of the solid and liquid phase of debris flows, which evolves simultaneously across terrains, largely determines the dynamic property of debris flows. The entrainment process significantly influences the amplitude of the volume fraction. In this paper, we present a depth-averaged two-phase debris-flow model describing the simultaneous evolution of the phase velocity and depth, the solid and fluid volume fractions and the bed morphological evolution. The model employs the Mohr–Coulomb plasticity for the solid stress, and the fluid stress is modeled as a Newtonian viscous stress. The interfacial momentum transfer includes viscous drag and buoyancy. A new extended entrainment rate formula that satisfies the boundary momentum jump condition （Iverson and Ouyang, 2015） is presented. In this formula, the basal traction stress is a function of the solid volume fraction and can take advantage of both the Coulomb and velocity-dependent friction models. A finite volume method using Roe’s Riemann approximation is suggested to solve the equations. Three computational cases are conducted and compared with experiments or previous results. The results show that the current computational model and framework are robust and suitable for capturing the characteristics of debris flows.

Effects of sediment load on the abrasion of soil aggregate and hydraulic parameters in experimental overland flow

The breakdown of soil aggregates under rainfall and their abrasion in overland flow are important processes in water erosion due to the production of more fine and transportable particles and,the subsequent significant effect on the erosion intensity.Currently,little is known about the effects of sediment load on the soil aggregate abrasion and the relationship of this abrasion with some related hydraulic parameters.Here,the potential effects of sediment load on soil aggregate abrasion and hydraulic parameters in overland flow were investigated through a series of experiments in a 3.8-m-long hydraulic flume at the slope gradients of 8.7 and 26.8%,unit flow discharges from 2×10^-3 to 6×10^-3 m^2 s^-1,and the sediment concentration from 0 to 110 kg m-3.All the aggregates from Ultisols developed Quaternary red clay,Central China.The results indicated that discharge had the most significant(P<0.01)effect on the aggregates abrasion with the contributions of 58.76 and 60.34%,followed by sediment feed rate,with contributions of 39.66 and 34.12%at the slope gradients of 8.7 and 26.8%,respectively.The abrasion degree of aggregates was found to increase as a power function of the sediment concentration.Meanwhile,the flow depth,friction factor,and shear stress increased as a power function along with the increase of sediment concentration at different slope gradients and discharges.Reynolds number was obviously affected by sediment concentration and it decreased as sediment concentration increased.The ratio of the residual weight to the initial weight of soil aggregates(Wr/Wi)was found to increase as the linear function with an increasing flow depth(P=0.008)or Reynolds number(P=0.002)in the sediment-laden flow.The Wr/Wi values followed a power function decrease with increasing friction factor or shear stress in the sediment-laden flow,indicating that friction factor is the best hydraulic parameter for prediction of soil aggregate abrasion under different sediment load conditions.The information regarding the soil aggregate abrasion under various sediment load conditions can facilitate soil process-based erosion modeling.

Probability of Sediment Incipient Motion Under Complex Flows

Presented in this paper is a mathematical model to calculate the probability of the sediment incipient motion, in which the effects of the fluctuating pressure and the seepage are considered. The instantaneous bed shear velocity and the pressure gradient on the bed downstream of the backward-facing step flow are obtained according to the PIV measurements. It is found that the instantaneous pressure gradient on the bed obeys normal distribution. The probability of the sediment incipient motion on the bed downstream of the backward-facing step flow is given by the mathematical model. The predicted results agree well with the experiment in the region downstream of the reattachment point while a large discrepancy between the theory and experiment is seen in the region near the reattachment point. The possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.

Influence of Fine Sediment on the Fluidity of Debris Flows

Debris flows include a great diversity of grain sizes with inherent features such as inverse grading, particle size segregation, and liquefaction of fine sediment. The liquefaction of fine sediment affects the fluidity of debris flows, although the behavior and influence of fine sediment in debris flows have not been examined sufficiently. This study used flume tests to detect the effect of fine sediment on the fluidity of laboratory debris flows consisting of particles with various diameters. From the experiments, the greatest sediment concentration and flow depth were observed in the debris flows mixed with fine sediment indicating increased flow resistance. The experimental friction coefficient was then compared with the theoretical friction coefficient derived by substituting the experimental values into the constitutive equations for debris flow. The theoretical friction coefficient was obtained from two models with different fine-sediment treatments： assuming that all of the fine sediments were solid particles or that the particles consisted of a fluid phase involving pore water liquefaction. From the comparison of the friction coefficients, a fully liquefaction state was detected for the fine particle mixture. When the mixing ratio and particle size of the fine sediment were different, some other eases were considered to be in a partially liquefied transition state. These results imply that the liquefaction of fine sediment in debris flows was induced not only by the geometric conditions such as particle sizes, but also by the flow conditions.

A Higher-Efficient Non-Hydrostatic Finite Volume Model for Strong Three-Dimensional Free Surface Flows and Sediment Transport

In order to accurately simulate strong three-dimensional （3-D） free surface flows and sediment transport, the fully 3- D non-hydrostatic pressure models are developed based on the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and convection-diffusion equation of sediment concentration with the mixing triangle and quadrilateral grids. The governing equations are discretized with the unstructured finite volume method in order to provide conservation properties of mass and momentum, and flexibility with practical application. It is shown that it is first-order accurate on nonuniform plane two-dimensional （2-D） grids and second-order accurate on uniform plane grids. A third-order approximation of the vertical velocity at the top-layer is applied. In such a way, free surface zero stress boundary condition is satisfied maturely, and very few vertical layers are needed to give an accurate solution even for complex discontinuous flow and short wave simulation. The model is applied to four examples to simulate strong 3-D free surface flows and sediment transport where non-hydrostatic pressures have a considerable effect on the velocity field. The newly developed model is verified against analytical solutions with an excellent agreement.

Numerical simulations of flow and sediment transport within the Ning-Meng reach of the Yellow River,northern China

Effective management of a river reach requires a sound understanding of flow and sediment transport generated by varying natural and artificial runoff conditions. Flow and sediment transport within the Ning-Meng reach of the Yellow River（NMRYR）, northern China are controlled by a complex set of factors/processes, mainly including four sets of factors：（1） aeolian sediments from deserts bordering the main stream;（2） inflow of water and sediment from numerous tributaries;（3） impoundment of water by reservoir/hydro-junction; and（4） complex diversion and return of irrigation water. In this study, the 1-D flow ＆ sediment transport model developed by the Yellow River Institute of Hydraulic Research was used to simulate the flow and sediment transport within the NMRYR from 2001 to 2012. All four sets of factors that primarily control the flow and sediment transport mentioned above were considered in this model. Compared to the measured data collected from the hydrological stations along the NMRYR, the simulated flow and sediment transport values were generally acceptable, with relative mean deviation between measured and simulated values of 〈15%. However, simulated sediment concentration and siltation values within two sub-reaches（i.e., Qingtongxia Reservoir to Bayan Gol Hydrological Station and Bayan Gol Hydrological Station to Toudaoguai Hydrological Station） for some periods exhibited relatively large errors（the relative mean deviations between measured and simulated values of 18% and 25%, respectively）. These errors are presumably related to the inability to accurately determine the quantity of aeolian sediment influx to the river reach and the inflow of water from the ten ephemeral tributaries. This study may provide some valuable insights into the numerical simulations of flow and sediment transport in large watersheds and also provide a useful model for the effective management of the NMRYR.