Yellow River delta, China
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Summary
In the history of the formation of the Yellow River delta complex, several shifts in the lower river channel and in the tributary channels have occurred over the last 6000 years. Shifts in the tributary channels caused by silting up in the river mouth because of deposition of sediment which heightened the channel floor. Headward deposition as well as the formation of superlobes was also a driver for channel shifts in the tributaries. Superlobes can either be a result of lower channel shifts through movement of the river mouth or a result of formation of several delta lobes which in turn are caused tributary channel shifts (reinforcing feedback). The shifts in the lower river channel and in the distributaries led to complicated imbrication. Moreover, changes in the coastlines, and sea water depth took place because of these river channel shifts. Lower river channel shifts were brought under artificial control by dykes, or under natural conditions by formation of large crevasses due to deposition of sediment. A large crevasse was for example formed in 1855 and in 1128 a dyke was destroyed to check the advance of the Jin army.
Type of regime shift
Ecosystem type
- Freshwater lakes & rivers
Land uses
- Urban
- Small-scale subsistence crop cultivation
- Fisheries
Spatial scale of the case study
- Local/landscape (e.g. lake, catchment, community)
Continent or Ocean
- Asia
Region
- Shandong Province, China
Countries
- China, People's Republic of
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Key References
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Xue C. 1993. Historical Changes in the Yellow River delta, China. Marine Geology 113, 321-329.
