Abstract
The modern Yellow River delta is formed near the estuary of the Yellow River with the characteristics of short formation time, efficient sedimentation rate and loose structure which make sediments prone to be compacted and consolidate under the geostatic stress and overburden stress. It is one of the key areas with land subsidence disasters in China, bringing a series of safety hazards to production and living. Based on the data of massive surface cores and ten drill holes ranging from 12 to 40 m obtained from the northern modern Yellow River subaqueous delta, the inversion method suitable for the calculation of consolidation settlement characteristics of the modern Yellow River subaqueous delta is discussed, and the consolidation settlement characteristics of the delta sediments are inversed and predicted in this paper. The actual void ratio of the delta sediments at the depth from 3 to 15 m shows a significant power function relationship with the depth, while the void ratio of the sediments below 15 m changes little with depth. The pre-consolidation settlement (from deposition to sampling) of the delta sediments is between 0.91 and 1.96 m, while the consolidation settlement of unit depth is between 9.6 and 14.0 cm m−1. The post-consolidation settlement (from sampling to stable) of the subaqueous delta sediments is between 0.65 and 1.56 m in the later stage, and the consolidation settlement of unit depth is between 7.6 and 13.1 cm m−1 under the overburden stress. The delta sediments with a buried depth of 3 to 7 m contribute the most to the possible consolidation settlement in the later stage.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, J. R. L., 1999. Geological impacts on coastal wetland landscapes: Some general effects of sediment autocompaction in the Holocene of northwest Europe. Holocene, 9 (1): 1–12.
Asselen, S. V., Stouthamer, E., and Asch, T. W. J. V., 2009. Effects of peat compaction on delta evolution: A review on processes, responses, measuring and modeling. Earth-Science Reviews, 92 (1-2): 35–51.
Bie, J., Huang, H. J., Fan, H., and Bi, S. P., 2006. Ground subsidence of the modern Yellow River delta and its causes. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 26 (4): 29–35 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Chen, Q. H., Liu, C. Y., Lu, H. Y., Wang, G. M., and Li, G. X., 2002. Character of sedimentary sequence and structural settlement of shallow layers in the Yellow River delta. Geotectonica et Metallogenia, 26 (4): 386–389.
Chu, Z. X., Ma, X. H., Zhang, J. Q., Dong, M. M., and Gao, Y. H., 2005. Comparison of mean high tide line and 2 M isobath reflecting erosion and accretion of the Yellow River delta. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 25 (4): 23–27 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Cui, C. Q., Shi, J. T., and Zhang, Q. D., 2001. Modern characteristics of the ancient Yellow River delta coast–Research on the space-time lineage of the Yellow River delta tidal-flat coast. Marine Science Bulletin, 20: 46–52 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Du, T. Q., Huang, H. J., and Bie, J., 2011. Land subsidence in the modern Yellow River delta and its impacts upon its evolvement. Marine Sciences, 35 (9): 78–84 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Gao, M. S., Xun, C. T., Ye, S. Y., Yuan, H., Zhao, G., and Ding, X., 2010. The computation and analysis of compactional subsidence of sediments in the modern Huanghe River delta. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 32 (5): 34–40 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Gao, T., Li, G. X., Shi, J. H., and Liu, J., 2010. A flume test on erosion mechanism for an abandoned section of the Huanghe (Yellow) River delta. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 28: 684–692.
Gili, J., Corominas, J., and Rius, J., 2000. Using global postioning system techniques in landslide monitoring. Engineering Geology, 55: 167–192.
Hsin, T., and Jyr-Ching, H., 2012. Assessments of serious anthropogenic land subsidence in Yunlin County of central Taiwan from 1996 to 1999 by Persistent Scatterers InSAR. Tectonophysics, 578 (20): 126–135.
Jia, Y. G., Liu, X. L., Shan, H. X., Zheng, J. W., and Huo, S. X., 2011. The effects of hydrodynamic conditions on geotechnical strength of the sediment in the Yellow River delta. International Journal of Sediment Research, 26: 318–330.
Kooi, H., 2000. Land subsidence due to compaction in the coastal area of the Netherlands: The role of lateral fluid flow and constraints from well-log data. Global and Planetary Change, 27 (1-4): 207–222.
Li, G. X., Zhuang, K. L., and Jiang, Y. C., 2000. Engineering instability of the deposition bodies in the Yellow River delta. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 20 (2): 21–26 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Li, P., Du, J., Du, N., and Gao, W., 2016. Paleo-environmental evolution based on high-resolution phytolith since 26 ka B. P. in Huanghe River delta. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 35: 79–85.
Liu, J., Li, P., Liu, X., Xu, Y. Q., and Gao, W., 2015. The characteristics of consolidation settlement and its contribution to the topographical change in the northern modern Huanghe River subaqueous delta in China. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 34 (9): 136–142.
Liu, Y., Li, P. Y., Feng, A. P., and Huang, H. J., 2014. Groundwater dynamic evolutions and relationship between groundwater level and land subsidence in the Yellow River delta. Earth Science–Journal of China University of Geosciences, 39 (11): 1655–1665 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Ma, Y. Y., and Li, G. X., 2010. Evolution history and trend of the modern Huanghe River delta. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 29: 40–52.
Meckel, T. A., Brink, U. S. T., and Williams, S. J., 2007. Sediment compaction rates and subsidence in deltaic plains: Numerical constraints and stratigraphic influences. Basin Research, 19 (1): 19–31.
Parcharidis, I., Foumelis, M., Kourkouli, P., and Wegmuller, U., 2009. Persistent Scatterers InSAR to detect ground deformation over Rio-Antirio area (western Greece) for the period 1992–2000. Journal of Applied Geophysics, 68: 348–355.
Ren, R. X. Z., and Chen, S. L., 2012. Sediment dynamics in the littoral zone of the Yellow River delta. Shanghai Land & Resources, 33 (2): 62–68 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Shi, C. X., Zhang, D. D., and You, L. Y., 2003. Sediment budget of the Yellow River delta, China: The importance of dry bulk density and implications to understanding of sediment dispersal. Marine Geology, 199 (1-2): 13–25.
Shi, C. X., Zhang, D., You, L. Y., Li, B. Y., Zhang, Z. L., and Zhang, O. Y., 2007. Land subsidence as a result of sediment consolidation in the Yellow River delta. Journal of Coastal Research, 23 (1): 173–181.
Su, Y. K., Sun, X. S., Wang, L. J., and Li, X. L., 2010. Analysis of subsiding on control-points in the Yellow River delta zoom based on GIS methods. Hydrographic Surveying and Charting, 30 (5): 32–35 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Tan, J. Y., Huang, H. J., and Liu, Y. X., 2014. Estimation of sediment compaction and its contribution to land subsidence in the Yellow River delta. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 34 (5): 33–38 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Teatini, P., Tosi, L., Strozzi, T., Carbognin, L., Wegmuller, U., and Rizzetto, F., 2005. Mapping regional land displacements in the Venice coastland by an integrated monitoring system. Remote Sensing of Environment, 98 (4): 403–413.
Terzaghi, K., 1925. Erdbaumechanik auf Bodenphysikalischer Grundlage. Franz Deuticke, Vienna, Austria, 212–214.
Tornqvist, T. E., Wallace, D. J., Storms, J. E. A., Wallinga, J., van Dam, R. L., Blaauw, M., Derksen, M. S., Klerks, C. J. W., Meijneken, C., and Snijders, E. M. A., 2008. Mississippi delta subsidence primarily caused by compaction of Holocene strata. Nature Geoscience, 1 (3): 173–176.
Wang, Z. W., Ren, J. L., Zhang, G. L., Liu, S. M., Zhang, X. Z., Liu, Z., and Zhang, J., 2015. Behavior of dissolved aluminum in the Huanghe (Yellow River) and its estuary: Impact of human activities and sorption processes. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 153: 86–95.
Wu, X., Bi, N. S., Yuan, P., Li, S., and Wang, H. J., 2015. Sediment dispersal and accumulation off the present Huanghe (Yellow River) delta as impacted by the Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme. Continental Shelf Research, 111: 126–138.
Xue, C. T., 1994. Division and recognition of modern Yellow River delta lobes. Geographical Research, 13 (2): 59–66 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Yang, Z. S., Dai, H. M., and Wang, K. R., 2005. Daily variations of water discharge and sediment discharge into the sea from Yellow River from 1950 to 2000 and relevant influential factors that generate these changes. Periodical of Ocean University of China, 35 (2): 237–244 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zhang, J. Z., Huang, H. J., Bi, H. B., and Wang, Q., 2016. Monitoring ground subsidence in the modern Yellow River delta based on SBAS Time-series analysis. Geomatics and Information Science of Wuhan University, 41 (2): 242–249 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Acknowledgements
This paper was financially supported by the Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (No. MGQNLM-KF20 1715), the National Natural Science Foundation of China-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (No. U1606401), the Special Fund of Chinese Central Government for Basic Scientific Research Operations in Commonweal Research Institutes (No. 2015G08), and the National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (No. 41206054).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, X., Liu, J. & Feng, X. Inversion and Prediction of Consolidation Settlement Characteristics of the Fluvial Sediments Based on Void Ratio Variation in the Northern Modern Yellow River Subaqueous Delta, China. J. Ocean Univ. China 17, 545–554 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-018-3393-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-018-3393-1