Influence of the Hanjiang River’s Inlet Sediment Decrease on Modern Sedimentation in the Underwater Delta

Abstract

The Hanjiang River is the second-largest river in Guangdong Province, China. The modern sedimentation pattern of the Hanjiang subaqueous delta has been significantly affected by changes in the sediment delivered by the Hanjiang River. Based on multiperiod charts and columnar samples from the Hanjiang subaqueous delta, the influence of a sharp decrease in the sediment flux from the Hanjiang River on the deposition of the Hanjiang subaqueous delta in the past 60 years was studied through a combination of chart-based analysis of the evolution of erosion and deposition and the analysis of sediment samples. The results showed that the significant reductions in sediment fluxes from the Hanjiang River and Rongjiang River had obviously spatially differentiated effects on the deposition pattern of the Hanjiang subaqueous delta. The significant decreases in sediment fluxes from the Hanjiang River and the Rongjiang River caused the sediment grain size of the columnar samples in the near-estuary area of the Hanjiang River subaqueous delta to coarsen upward, the deposition rate to decrease, and the depositional state to change to an erosional state. Since the sediments discharged into the ocean after reservoir impoundment are mainly fine-grained suspended sediments, the supply of coarse-grained sediments in the Hanjiang subaqueous delta decreased, resulting in the upward fining of the columnar samples. The spatial response pattern of the Hanjiang subaqueous delta to the sharp decrease in sediment flux into the sea differed significantly from those of the Yangtze and Yellow subaqueous deltas.