Effect of Check Dam on Sediment Load Under Vegetation Restoration in the Hekou-Longmen Region of the Yellow River

With years of vegetation restoration and check dam construction on the Loess Plateau, the sediment load of the middle reaches of the Yellow River have decreased sharply; however, the effects of check dam on this decrease of sediment load with such extensive vegetation restoration remains unclear. In order to further clarify the effects of check dam on sediment load reduction under vegetation restoration, we calculated vegetation coverage and check dam index based on multi-source remote sensing data, and calculated sediment reduction rate caused by human activities by Mann-Kendall statistical test and double cumulative curve, then established regression equations incorporating the check dam index and the sediment reduction rate using data from different geomorphic regions with different vegetation coverages. The results showed that sediment load in the Hekou-Longmen region and its 17 tributaries decreased significantly every year, and the change in sediment load could be divided into 3 typical periods: the base period (P1), the period mainly impacted by check dam construction (P2) and the period with comprehensive impact of check dam construction and vegetation restoration (P3). Compared with sediment load of the tributaries during P1, the sediment load decreased by 60.96% during P2 and by 91.76% during P3. Compared with the contribution of human activities to the reduction in sediment load in P2, the contribution of human activities in P3 increased significantly, while that of precipitation decreased slightly. The sediment reduction effect of check dams is greater in basins with low vegetation coverage than in basins with high vegetation coverage. There are differences in sediment reduction effect of vegetation restorations in different geomorphic regions, and the effect of vegetation restoration alone have certain upper limits. Such as, the upper limit of sediment reduction rate of vegetation restoration for rivers flowing through the sandstorm region is 47.86%. Hence, only combined the construction of check dam with vegetation restoration can it achieve more significant sediment reduction benefit and control soil erosion more effectively.

Predicting suspended sediment load in Peninsular Malaysia using support vector machine and deep learning algorithms

High loads of suspended sediments in rivers are known to cause detrimental effects to potable water sources, river water quality, irrigation activities, and dam or reservoir operations. For this reason, the study of suspended sediment load (SSL) prediction is important for monitoring and damage mitigation purposes. The present study tests and develops machine learning (ML) models, based on the support vector machine (SVM), artificial neural network (ANN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) algorithms, to predict SSL based on 11 different river data sets comprising of streamflow (SF) and SSL data obtained from the Malaysian Department of Irrigation and Drainage. The main objective of the present study is to propose a single model that is capable of accurately predicting SSLs for any river data set within Peninsular Malaysia. The ANN3 model, based on the ANN algorithm and input scenario 3 (inputs consisting of current-day SF, previous-day SF, and previous-day SSL), is determined as the best model in the present study as it produced the best predictive performance for 5 out of 11 of the tested data sets and obtained the highest average RM with a score of 2.64 when compared to the other tested models, indicating that it has the highest reliability to produce relatively high-accuracy SSL predictions for different data sets. Therefore, the ANN3 model is proposed as a universal model for the prediction of SSL within Peninsular Malaysia.

Could road constructions be more hazardous than an earthquake in terms of mass movement?

Roads can have a significant impact on the frequency of mass wasting events in mountainous areas. However, characterizing the extent and pervasiveness of mass movements over time has rarely been documented due to limitations in available data sources to consistently map such events. We monitored the evolution of a road network and assessed its effect on mass movements for a 11-year window in Arhavi, Turkey. The main road construction projects run in the area are associated with a hydroelectric power plant as well as other road extension works and are clearly associated with the vast majority (90.1%) of mass movements in the area. We also notice that the overall number and size of the mass movements are much larger than in the naturally occurring comparison area. This means that the sediment load originating from the anthropogenically induced mass movements is larger than its counterpart associated with naturally occurring landslides. Notably, this extra sediment load could cause river channel aggregation, reduce accommodation space and as a consequence, it could lead to an increase in the probability and severity of flooding along the river channel. This marks a strong and negative effect of human activities on the natural course of earth surface processes. We also compare frequency-area distributions of human-induced mass movements mapped in this study and co-seismic landslide inventories from the literature. By doing so, we aim to better understand the consequences of human effects on mass movements in a comparative manner. Our findings show that the damage generated by the road construction in terms of sediment loads to river channels is compatible with the possible effect of a theoretical earthquake with a magnitude greater than Mw = 6.0.

Appraisal of hydro-ecology, geomorphology, and sediment behavior during low and high floods in the Lower Indus River Estuary

The riverine ecosystem is beholden by the freshwater; however, morphological changes and sediment load destabilize the natural river system which deteriorates the ecology and geomorphology of the river ecosystem. The Lower Indus River Estuary (LIRE) geomorphological response was synthesized using satellite imagery (1986–2020) and evaluated against the field measurements. The estuary sinuosity index has an increasing trend from 1.84 (1986) to 1.92 (2020) and the estuary water area is increased from 101.41 km2 (1986) to 110.24 km2 (2020). The sediment load investigation at Kotri barrage indicated that the median size of bed material samples during the low-flow period falls between 0.100 and 0.203 mm and the bed material after the high flow has clay and silt (<0.0623 mm) ranging from 17–95% of the total weight of samples. The vegetated land loss on the banks is positively correlated with the peak runoff at Kotri barrage (r2=0.92). The bank erosion was computed with high precision (r2=0.84) based on an improved connection of the coefficient of erodibility and excess shear stress technique. This study will be helpful for policymakers to estimate the ecological health of LIRE, and sediment fluxes play an essential role in the mega-delta system and coastal management.

A Mass Balance Approach in Sediment Budgeting of Large Alluvial Rivers with special emphasis on the Brahmaputra in Assam

Morphology of an alluvial river channel is the consequence of erosion, sediment transport and sedimentation in a river. Sediment budget accounts for the sources, sinks and redistribution pathways of sediments, solutes and nutrients in a unit region over unit time. Human activities are the most important factors that affect the variation in the pattern of river sediment load. This paper discusses sediment budget of a few large rivers by review of literature and estimation of sediment budget of Brahmaputra River in Assam using mass balance approach. An attempt has also been made to discuss human and climatic impact on sediment load of major rivers of the world. Total sediment load in the Brahmaputra River at downstream location (India-Bangladesh border) was estimated to be 814×106 t/year. Considering 10% of sediment load of the Brahmaputra as bed load, suspended sediment load at downstream was estimated to be 733×106 t/year. Tributaries, bank erosion and scouring of river bed were found to contribute 52%, 27% and 21% respectively to sediment load of Brahmaputra at downstream locations. In spite of limitations of the dependable data, future complexity due to climate change impact and hydropower dam initiative in upstream of the River, the study is a simplified approach in sediment budgeting of the Brahmaputra.

Impact of land use-land cover change on spatio-temporal trends in seasonal stream flow and suspended sediment load of Godavari basin from 1969 to 2019

Assessment of long-term trend in stream flow and sediment load is important for adopting soil and water conservation measures and for predicting morphological changes in rivers. In the present study, detailed quantification of the nature of trend in stream flow and suspended sediment load of Godavari basin, India is reported for the period of 1969 to 2019. The Mann–Kendall test is used to check trend of stream flow and sediment load for different seasons, namely, spring, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter. The land use-land cover of the whole basin is prepared for four decades (1980–2020). The maximum and minimum water and sediment discharge is detected in monsoon and winter season, respectively. The stream flow is found significantly decreased during monsoon and post-monsoon season. The sediment load is significantly decreased for monsoon and spring season. The nature of trend in sediment load is attributed to the land use and land cover change of the basin. The significant reduction suspended sediment load is mainly due to increase in water bodies and planned agricultural area. The findings of the research would help to manage water resources as well as sustainable development in the Godavari basin.

Sediment Load Concentration and Resultant Channel Planform in the Lower Gandak Plain

Erosion, transportation and deposition by running water are closely related and these works are performed in association and not in isolation. One cannot be performed without others. These works are determined on other factors like topography, geology, structure and composition of rocks, slope, amount of water availability and its characteristics, climate etc. Huge catchment area of the Gandak River is lying in the Himalayan mountainous region. This region is receiving good amount of rainfall concentrated in four months of monsoonal period June to September (JJAS). This period has also high temperatures leading to large amount of glacial ice melt. Hence, enormous water is drained off the mountain steep slope. The Himalaya is very young and has fragile rocks and ecosystem. Anthropogenic activities in those areas are primary cause, apart from natural weathering, for generation of more and more shattered materials which are brought by running water downstream much easily. Therefore, highly sediment concentrated water brings large quantity of loads. It is deposited in suitable conditions along its paths in the plain and with flood water. It results the formation of flood plain. According to the erosion and deposition, different types of major and minor features are formed. In other words, water and sediment determine the layout of the plain appearance. In this background, it is attempted to (i) study sediment concentration in discharged water and (ii) illustrate the channel planform of the Gandak River in the plain. To achieve these aims, secondary data has been collected and analyzed. It is expected that this study will help in executing an integrated development plan for the flood affected area of Lower Gandak River Plain. Keywords: sediment load, channel bars, channel planform, meandering, braiding, slope/gradient and channel cutoff.