The Land Subsidence and Relative Sea Level Rise in Chinese Delta Areas

Based on some experts’ research effort, the problems of land subsidence and relative sea level rise in three Chinese delta areas (Huanghe, Changjiang and Zhujiang Delta) are analyzed and discussed in this paper. The authors’ opinion is that the land subsidence is mainly induced by human activity and has made the greater contributions to the relative sea level rise and become one of the geological hazards in these areas. In Tianjin and Shanghai areas where had ever existed serious land subsidence problem, due to the positive and effective control methods, the ratio of man-induced land subsidence to relative sea level rise decreased from 80%-90% in 1960s-1970s to less than 60% at present. But it is estimated that in the next tens of years this ratio will still be considerable. So human being must keep its eyes on this phenomenon and take more positive countermeasures to control the land subsidence.

Estimation of Ecological Water Requirements Based on Habitat Response to Water Level in Huanghe River Delta,China

In recent years,wetland ecological water requirements (EWRs) have been estimated by using hydrological and functional approaches,but those approaches have not yet been integrated for a whole ecosystem.This paper presents a new method for calculating wetland EWRs,which is based on the response of habitats to water level,and determines water level threshold through the functional integrity of habitats.Results show that in the Huanghe (Yellow) River Delta water levels between 5.0 m and 5.5 m are required to maintain the functional integrity of the wetland at a value higher than 0.7.One of the dominant plants in the delta,Phragmites australis,tolerates water level fluctuation of about ± 0.25 m without the change in wetland functional integrity.The minimum,optimum and maximum EWRs for the Huanghe River Delta are 9.42×106 m3,15.56×106 m3 and 24.12×106 m3 with water levels of 5.0 m,5.2 m and 5.5 m,corresponding to functional integrity indices of 0.70,0.84 and 0.72,respectively.A wetland restoration program has been performed,which aims to meet these EWRs in attempt to recover from losses of up to 98% in the delta's former wetland area.

Research on the human resource development of the Three Gorges Region,China

The Three Gorgers＇ Region （TGR） is an economic region of China, and lies in the western part of Yangtze economic belt. It takes the Three Gorges Project as leading. Chongqing and Yichang City as main body, the Three Gorges Reservoir as ligament. It covers about 700 km of the Yangtze River valley from Chongqing to Yichang, including Chongqing City, Yichang City and Enshi District of Hubei Province. Since the construction of Three Gorges Project and establishment of Chongqing as municipality directly under the Central Government. the regional economy, culture, education, technology, etc., all developed harmoniously and rapidly, and the diathesis of the rgional human resources also got an exaltation. While compared with the eastern region of China. the economy, science and technology in this region still fall behind, and the current situation is of no optimism. Based on the theory of human resources development, this paper analyzes current situation and problems in the human resources development oJ the TGR, and puts forward the countermeasures such as planning human resources development program based on ＂anaphase support＂policy,developing echucation and training husiness,reasonably organizing labor export,etc.

Why the Yangzi Delta Did Not Become Industrialized： A Comparative Analysis of Economic Developments in China＇s Yangzi Delta Region and Great Britain

The development of the family-based handicraft industry in the Yangzi delta provided supplementary income and employment opportunities to auxiliary family members. But it did not replace subsistence farming as the primary method in which peasants made their living, and more importantly, it did not allow China to close the gap in the great divergence with the West. So why didn＇t the cotton-based handicraft industry catapult the Yangzi delta region into the modem era of industrialization？ Why did the handicraft industry merely serve as a supplementary rather than an alternative means of livelihood？ To understand the reasons why the handicraft industry did not transform China into an industrial and urban nation, it is important to examine the constraints in which population growth and land intensification had imposed on the peasants of the delta. These factors combined with the favorable geographical environment and commercial opportunities for trade in other regions, forced peasants to adopt the family-based handicraft industry as a supplementary source of income for survival. While the impact-response model may have suggested that it was the inability of the handicraft spinners and weavers to compete against British machines and the subsequent drop in cotton prices, a China-centered approach advocated by Paul Cohen would suggest domestic factors such as rapid population growth due to changes in taxation policies and the diminishing rate of return in labor, and the insufficient production office and grain may have been the real reasons that prevented the handicraft industry from developing into an alternative for farming.

Holocene delta evolution and sequence stratigraphy of the Pearl River Delta in South China

We analyzed the sedimentary characteristics and chronostratigraphy of the Pearl River Delta in South China, and discussed the Holocene stratigraphic characteristics and the filling process since the Holocene, based on 90 boreholes. Our results showed that the maximum transgressive surface of the Pearl River Delta was located in the soft marine silt horizons, whereas it was shown as an erosion surface in areas with tidal scour. From bottom to top, Holocene sedimentary sequences were fluvial facies, floodplain-estuary facies, and estuary-delta facies in the paleo-valley, while the paleo-interfluve sequences were described as littoral facies, estuary facies, and delta facies. Vertical accumulation sequences of Holocene sediments were shown primarily as positive tapering-shaped sequences with no typical foreset, topset, or other sedimentary sequences of the Gilbert Delta. The paleo-Pearl River estuary had different evolution models in the highstand systems tract (HST) compared with other large deltas worldwide, in that it is dominated by a unique and complex geomorphologic boundary, and that it is a multi-sourced delta compounded by the independent and parallel development of fluvial sedimentary bodies with different scales. A huge estuary was formed in the present Pearl River Delta area when the post-glacial transgression reached maximum at about 6 ka BP. The estuary was divided into two parts by obstruction of a series of islands, an upper part composed of the semi-enclosed inner paleo-bay connected to rivers and a lower part consisting of the outer paleo-bay connected to the ocean. Both of these areas were interlinked by only a few narrows, in which the fluvial sediments are accumulated primarily in the inner paleo-bay. During 6-2 ka BP, the sedimentation in various regions of the inner paleo-bay occurred simultaneously with independent development under the remodeling and transformation effect of complex boundaries on river and ocean dynamics. After 2 ka BP, the evolution of the delta is no longer a simple natural process, but rather a common remodeling process accomplished by nature and humans.

Significant downward trend of SO_2 observed from 2005 to 2010 at a background station in the Yangtze Delta region,China

SO2 is an important gas in atmosphere with great environmental and climate implications.SO2 emission in China has been receiving great attention as the economy grows and the amount of coal consumption has increased in the past few decades.SO2 has been observed from July 2005 to June 2010 at Linan WMO GAW regional station(30.3 °N,119.73 °E,138 m a.s.l.) located in the Yangtze Delta region in eastern China.These observation data are analyzed to understand the trend of regional SO2 background concentration.Strict quality controls are conducted to ensure the temporal comparability of the data.Significant downward trend with ?2.4 ppb/yr(P < 0.0001) of surface SO2 is observed from 2005 to 2010,especially after 2008.The average concentration of SO2 from July 2005 to June 2008 is 14.2±3.1 ppb,which is slightly higher than the mean values of 13.5±5.1 ppb during 1999?2000 and is two folds of the average value(7.1±3.1 ppb) from July 2008 to June 2010.More than 50% of the SO2 has been cut down after 2008 in the Yangtze Delta region due to the implementation of stricter emission control measures.The peak SO2 concentration appears around 10 o'clock in the morning after 2009 while appears at night before 2009.These diurnal variations of SO2 might indicate that after 2009,more SO2 is from the vertical exchange process than from the local accumulation.

Transition and Transplantation in China＇s Local Development： The Case of the Yangtze River Delta Region

In the past nearly 30 years, the emergence of the market economies in China was characterised by geographical concentration of economic activities. The particularly successful cases happened in the Yangtze River Delta, namely, the two most famous models for local developments in China＇s economic transformation and market development： the ＂ South Jiangsu Model＂ in south Jiangsu and the ＂Wenzhou model＂ in southeast Zhejiang. Although there have been debates upon the two development models for a considerably long time, both models keep being open in and compatible to local development and globalization. The two models influence each other, keep being in institutional transition through bilateral paths transplantation, i.e. learning from each other and employing cooperation in their developments. Transition and transplantation are adaptation mechanisms for local developments of the two models to participate in global economies with industrial division and labour division, and also for the two models to continuously further contribute to China＇s nationwide market transition and economic development.