Evolution of the gravel-bedded anastomosing river within the Qihama reach of the First Great Bend of the Yellow River

doi:10.1007/s11442-019-1598-x

Abstract

Abstract:

The anastomosing river that is present within the First Great Bend of the Yellow River is different from other sand-bedded rivers of this type because it contains gravel-bedded materials. It is therefore important to determine whether, or not, the specific characteristics of this anastomosing river are similar to those seen in sand-bedded forms, including the characteristics of erosion and deposition, and the stability of channel and interchannel wetlands. Four Landsat images from 1990, 2001, 2013, and 2016 alongside two Google Earth (GE) images from 2011 and 2013 were utilized in this study in tandem with field sampling and observations to select a 12 km main channel length section of the Qihama reach anastomosing river. This section was then used to determine variations in channel planform and sedimentary characteristics over a 26 year period. The results of this study show that this gravel-bedded anastomosing river has exhibited a high degree of stability overall, and that there has been no obvious channel and wetland bank erosion and deposition. Data also show that over the 26 years of this study, anastomosing belt area increased by 2.43%, while the ratio of land to water area remained almost equal. The number of wetlands has also increased along this river section at a rate as high as 62.16% because of the fragmentation of some small interchannel examples, while the talweg has alternately migrated to either the left or right over long periods of time at a relatively stable rate. Indeed, as a result of the migration of this line, there has been significant turnover in the number of islands within the main channel while bank shift has occurred at a rate of about 5 m/yr. The numerous anastomosing channels within this river section remained very stable over the course of this study, characterized by a mean annual migration rate of just 1 m/yr, while the sediments in bank columnar sections are mainly composed of fine sands or silts with a relatively high clay content. The sediment grain-size distribution curve for this river section contains multiple peaks, distinct from the muddy sediments within bank columnar sections from sand-bedded anastomosing rivers. The dense vegetation within riparian and interchannel wetlands alongside this river reach has also protected anastomosing channels from erosion and maintained their stability, a key feature of this gravel-bedded system.

Key words: gravel-bedded anastomosing river, anastomosing belt, wetlands, talweg, sediments, Yellow River

Chao GAO, Suiji WANG. Evolution of the gravel-bedded anastomosing river within the Qihama reach of the First Great Bend of the Yellow River[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2019, 29(2): 306-320.

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Date of image captured	Talweg length (km)	Sinuosity	Area of the anastomosing belt (km²)	Land area (km²)	Water area (km²)	Number of wetlands
July 8th, 1990	11.43	1.21	16.89	8.12	8.77	37
August 15th, 2001	12.83	1.36	17.00	8.27	8.73	40
July 23rd, 2013	12.72	1.35	17.17	9.12	8.05	60
July 15th, 2016	12.18	1.29	17.30	9.11	8.19	60

Site	Observation date	Latitude	Longitude	Channel and sediment characteristics
QP25	April 26th	33°22′51″N	102°01′20″E	The upper layer of the left main channel bank at this site is composed mainly of fine sand and silt, while the lower layer below 75 cm is gravel.
QP26	April 30th	33°22′33″N	102°00′36″E	The width of the right anastomosing channel is 60 m, the water width is 30 m, and the water depth is 1 m at this location. The bank height is 2 m, with 1 m mud layer on the top and 1m gravel layer on the bottom. The mean size of gravel is between 6 cm and 7 cm, ranging up to a maximum of 10 cm.
QP27	April 30th	33°22′43″N	102°00′40″E	The main channel width at this site is about 200 m and comprises two gravel bars in the center and one gravel bar adjacent to the right bank which had been eroded about 1 m.
QP28	April 30th	33°22′46″N	102°00′36″E	The width of the anastomosing channel adjacent to the main channel at this site is 15 m and an upward extending gravel bar with a maximum width of 30 m is next to the left bank of the main channel. The right bank at this site is about 1.6 m high and has a 1 m mud layer on the top and a 0.6 m gravel layer on its base. A large number of trees on the right bank were fallen, indicating that this right bank was washed back.