Global trends in water and sediment fluxes of the world’s large rivers

Water and sediment transport from rivers to oceans is of primary importance in global geochemical cycle.Against the background of global change,this study examines the changes in water and sediment fluxes and their drivers for 4307 large rivers worldwide(basin area!1000 km2)based on the longest available records.Here we find that 24%of the world’s large rivers experienced significant changes in water flux and 40%in sediment flux,most notably declining trends in water and sediment fluxes in Asia’s large rivers and an increasing trend in suspended sediment concentrations in the Amazon River.In particular,nine binary patterns of changes in water-sediment fluxes are interpreted in terms of climate change and human impacts.The change of precipitation is found significantly correlated to the change of water flux in 71%of the world’s large rivers,while dam operation and irrigation rather control the change of sediment flux in intensively managed catchments.Globally,the annual water flux from rivers to sea of the recent years remained stable compared with the long-time average annual value,while the sediment flux has decreased by 20.8%.

Features of sampling stream sediments of large river valleys under cryolithogenesis conditions in the Balygychan-Sugoy trough,North-East of Russia

Comprehensive research has been implemented to raise the efficiency of the geochemical survey of stream sediments(SSs)that formed under the cryolithogenesis conditions.The authors analysed the composition,structure and specific features of the formation of exogenous anomalous geochemical fields(AGFs)identified through SSs of large river valleys of IV order.In our case,these were the valleys of Maly Ken,Ken and Tap Rivers.These rivers are located in the central and southern parts of the Balygychan-Sugoy trough enclosed in the Magadan region,North-East of Russia.The authors proposed a new technique to sample loose alluvium of SSs in the large river valleys along the profiles.The profiles were located across the valleys.The AGFs of Au,Ag,Pb,Zn,Sn,Bi,Mo and W were studied.Correlations between elements have been established.These elements are the main indicator elements of Au-Ag,Ag-Pb,Sn-Ag,Mo-W and Sn-W mineralization occurring on the sites under study.The results obtained were compared with the results of geochemical surveys of SSs.It is concluded that the AGFs recognized along the profiles reflect the composition and structure of eroded and drained ore zones,uncover completely and precisely the pattern of element distribution in loose sediments of large water flows.The alluvium fraction<0.25 mm seems to be most significant in a practical sense,as it concentrated numerous ore elements.Sampling of this fraction in the river valleys of IV order does not cause any difficulty,for this kind of material is plentiful.The developed technique of alluvium sampling within large river valleys is efficient in searching for diverse mineralization at all stages of prognostic prospecting.It is applicable for geochemical survey of SSs performed at different scales both in the North-East of Russia,as well as other regions with similar climatic conditions,where the SSs are formed under the cryolithogenesis conditions.

Damming of Large River by Debris Flow: Dynamic Process and Particle Composition

The frequency and extent of debris flows have increased tremendously due to the extreme weather and the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. Previous studies focused on the debris flow from gullies damming the mountain streams. In this paper, an equation for the run-out distance of debris flow in the main river is proposed based on the dynamic equation of debris flow at different slopes given by Takahashi. By undertaking field investigations and flume experiments, a new calculation method of the volume of debris flow damming large river is obtained. Using the percolation theory and the renormalization group theory it was deduced that the large particles should comprise more than 50% for forming a stable debris flow dam. Hence, the criteria of damming large river by debris flow is presented in terms of run-out distance and grain composition which was then validated through the event of damming river by debris flow at Gaojia gully, the upper reaches of the Minjiang River, Sichuan, China, on July 3, 2011.

Comparative research on integrated development of large river basins:a case study of the Yangtze and the Rhone

Since 2001, the French and Chinese researchers have done a cooperative research on the comparison of integrated development of large fiver basins. The Yangtze River was chosen as a crux of this research and linked with other older river experiments like the Rhone, the Nile and the Mississippi. This research includes not only the environmental issues but also economic and social issues. One special issue journal has been published in French for our research results. Other two collective and comparative books in French and Chinese will be finished at the end of this year. In the future, the comparison should be widened to Italy （the Po）, Egypt （the Nile development planning） and the United States （the Mississippi Basin） and we would like to enlarge our research group and want to link up different teams and research projects, in order to get a global understanding of large fiver regions phenomenon.

Flow resistance in the channel-bar landscape of large alluvial rivers

Accurate approaches for estimating flow resistance in large alluvial rivers are fundamental for simulating discharge,sediment transport,and flood routing.However,methods for estimating riverbed resistance and additional resistance in the channel-bar landscapes remain poorly investigated.In this study,we used in situ river bathymetry,sediment,and hydraulic data from the Shashi Reach in the Yangtze River to develop a semi-empirical approach for calculating flow resistance.Our method quantitatively separates flow resistance into riverbed resistance and additional resistance and shows high accuracy in terms of deviation ratio(~20%),root-mean-square error(~0.008),and geometric standard deviation(~3).Additional resistance plays a dominant role under low-flow conditions but a secondary role under high flows,primarily due to the reduction in momentum exchange in channel-bar regions as discharge increases.Riverbed resistance first decreases and then increases,which might be attributed to bedform changes in the lower and transitional flow regimes as flow velocity increases.Overall,our findings further the understanding of dynamic changes in flow resistance in the channel-bar landscapes of large river systems and have important implications for riverine ecology and flood management.

Development of a phytoplankton-based index of biotic integrity for ecological health assessment in the Yangtze River

Background The application of index of biotic integrity(IBI)to evaluate river health can be an essential method for river ecosystem management.However,these types of methods were developed in small,low-order streams,and are therefore,infrequently applied to large rivers.To that end,phytoplankton communities and environmental variables were monitored in 30 sampling segments of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,China during the wet(July-August)and dry(November-December)seasons in 2017-2018.We developed a phytoplankton-based index of biotic integrity(P-IBI)and used the index to assess the ecological health of the Yangtze River.Relationships among P-IBI,its component metrics,and environmental factors were analyzed across different seasons.Results Results obtained from the P-IBI indicated that the phytoplankton-based ecological health of the Yangtze River was rated as“good”during both seasons,with an overall better condition in the dry season.During the wet season,there were scattered river segments with P-IBI ratings of“fair”or below.Water quality and land use appeared to shape the patterns of P-IBI.In the wet season,P-IBI negatively correlated with total phosphorus,nitrate,total suspended solids,turbidity,conductivity,and dissolved oxygen.In the dry season,P-IBI positively correlated with total nitrogen,ammonium,and nitrite,and negatively correlated with water temperature.Conclusions The ecological health of the Yangtze River as reflected by the P-IBI exhibited spatial and temporal variability,with the effect of water quality being greater than that of local land use.This study indicated the importance of considering seasonal effects in detecting large river ecological health.These findings enhanced our understanding of the ecological health and characterized potential benchmarks for management of the Yangtze River.These findings also may be applicable to other large rivers elsewhere.