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Three Gorges Dam controls sediment coarsening of the mud patch on the inner East China Sea shelf

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Abstract

The well-known Three Gorges Dam (TGD) within the Yangtze catchment launched its operation in 2003. The effect of the TGD operation on the sediment size on the East China Sea shelf is rarely known. High resolution (0.5 cm sampling) grain size analysis and 137Cs and 210Pb dating of the DH8-1 core were conducted with core collected from the distal part of a main sink for the modern Yangtze sediment entering the sea, the Min-Zhe Coastal Mud Deposits (MZCMD) on the inner East China Sea shelf. The 137Cs dating results show that the core DH8-1 formed during 1946–2012 with a mean deposition rate of 0.65 cm yr−1, indicating that the 0.5 cm sampling for grain size analysis in this local area could reflect environmental changes generally on a one-year time scale. The mean grain size of DH8-1 core sediment that deposited after 2003 is significantly larger than that deposited during 1988–2002. After ruling out other possible factors, we infer that the sediment coarsening of DH8-1 core after 2003 is attributed to the TGD operation which causes the erosion of the Yangtze subaqueous delta. Specifically, the TGD operation significantly intensifies the declining trend of the Yangtze sediment loads to the sea despite no decreased water discharge, which results in extensive erosion of the Yangtze subaqueous delta. The relatively coarse sediment of the subaqueous delta is eroded and resuspended by ocean dynamics and then transported by coastal current, finally depositing on the MZCMD area. In addition, the general sediment fining of core DH8-1 that deposited during 1988–2002, comparing with 1946–1987, is mainly caused by dam construction and soil and water conservation within the Yangtze catchment. Our findings are helpful for better understanding the effects of such a huge dam as the TGD on a sediment sink like the MZCMD of such a large river as the Yangtze River.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Geoscience, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, P. R. China

    Anyang Miao, Zhongxin Chu & Yingkun Li

  2. Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques of Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, P. R. China

    Anyang Miao, Zhongxin Chu & Yingkun Li

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  2. Zhongxin Chu
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Correspondence to Zhongxin Chu.

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Miao, A., Chu, Z. & Li, Y. Three Gorges Dam controls sediment coarsening of the mud patch on the inner East China Sea shelf. J. Ocean Univ. China 15, 414–422 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-016-2798-y

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