Sediment rating parameters and their implications: Yangtze River, China

This study examines the characteristics of sediment rating parameters recorded at various gauging stations in the Yangtze Basin in relation to their controls. Our findings indicate that the parameters are associated with river channel morphology of the selected reaches. High b-values (> 1.600) and low log(a) values (< − 4.000) occur in the upper course of the steep rock-confined river, characterizing high unit stream power flows. Low b-values (< 0.900) and high log(a) values (> − 1.000) occur in the middle and lower Yangtze River associated with meandering reaches over low gradients, and can be taken to imply aggradation in these reaches with low stream power. Higher b-values (0.900–1.600) and lower log(a)-values (− 4.000 to − 1.000) characterize the reaches between Yichang and Xinchang, immediately below the Three Gorges. These values indicate channel erosion and bed instability that result from changes in channel gradient from the upstream steep valley to downstream low slope flood plain settings. Differences in channel morphology accompany these changes. Confined, V-shaped valleys occur upstream and are replaced downstream by broad U-shaped channels. The middle and lower Yangtze shows an apparent increase in channel instability over the past 40 years. This inference is based on sediment rating parameters from various gauging stations that record increasing b-values against decreasing log(a)-values over that time. Analysis of the sediment load data also reveals a strong correlation between changes in sediment rating curve parameters and reduction of annual sediment budget (4.70 × 108 t to 3.50 × 108 t/year, from the 1950s to 1990s), largely due to the damming of the Yangtze and sediment load depletion through siltation in the Dongting Lake. Short-term deviations from the general trends in the sediment rating parameters are related to hydroclimatic events. Extreme low b-values and high log(a)-values signify the major flood years, while the reverse indicates drought events. When compared with rivers from other climate settings, it is evident that the wide range of values of the Yangtze rating parameters reflects the huge discharge driven by the monsoon precipitation regime of eastern China.