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Influence of major water conservation projects on river channels and shorelines in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

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Abstract

To understand the influence of major water conservation projects on river channels and shorelines in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, current study comprehensively analyzed the historical underwater topography and water level data, field measurements of main channel, and laboratory testing. Some new progresses have been made. Firstly, a multi-mode sensor system is innovatively constructed to integrate the measurements of land and underwater hydrodynamic, sedimentary, and geomorphic characteristics and data acquisition. Secondly, it is found that the main channel of the Yangtze River experienced strong erosion, arc collapse, and strip collapse. Thirdly, the suspended sand and bed sand were coarsened. The resistance of the river bed declined, forming the erosional-type “chain bead”-shaped sand wave. The piers of the Yangtze River Bridges in Nanjing, Dashengguan, and Tongling were subjected to serious erosion. Finally, the tidal limit obviously moved up, and the geomorphology of the river changed significantly. From these findings, we put forward relevant suggestions and countermeasures. These outcomes are of great significance to the protection and restoration of the bank and beach of the Yangtze River, the waterway regulation, the coastal flood control, and the maintenance of the piers of the Yangtze River Bridge.

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Acknowledgments

This work is granted by the China Geological Survey Program“Geological Environment Comprehensive Survey Project of the Yangtze River Economic Zone” (No. 0531), Nanjing-Shanghai-Wenzhou town planning area 1:50,000 environmental geology survey project of China geological survey (DD20160246) and Comprehensive evaluation of geological resources and environment in Yangtze river economic zone (DD20190260). Thanks to one or more of the highly qualified native English speaking editors at EditSprings for editing the manuscript for proper English language, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and overall style.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing, 210016, Jiangsu, China

    Yue-hua Jiang, Quan-ping Zhou, Yun Li, Guo-qiang Yang, Yang Jin, Shi-jia Mei, Xuan Gu & Hong Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China

    He-qin Cheng

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  1. Yue-hua Jiang
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  2. He-qin Cheng
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  3. Quan-ping Zhou
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  8. Xuan Gu
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Correspondence to Quan-ping Zhou.

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Jiang, Yh., Cheng, Hq., Zhou, Qp. et al. Influence of major water conservation projects on river channels and shorelines in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Arab J Geosci 14, 884 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07288-9

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