Man's Influence on the Erosion and Transport of Sediment by Asian Rivers: The Yellow River (Huanghe) Example

Abstract

During the Holocene sediment input from the Yellow River to the Yellow Sea and adjacent areas has amounted to about 3000 $$km^{3}$$. Detailed records from river gauging stations over the past 70 yrs, together with estimates based on earlier historic records, suggest that the river has contributed 2300 $$km^{3}$$ of sediment during the last 2300 yrs, an average discharge of $$1 km^{3}/yr (1 X 10^{9} t/yr)$$. Prior to extensive agricultural use of the loess plateau in northern China (beginning about 200 BC), therefore, the river's load must have been about $$0.1 km^{3}/yr$$, an order of magnitude lower than that at present. A broad delta 20 m below sea level suggests that early Holocene rates were higher than the pre-agricultural average and therefore that middle Holocene loads were low.