Preliminary study on the depositional model in the wave-dominated delta evolution during the Anthropocene: a case study of the Hanjiang River Delta in China
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Abstract: The deltas serve as the primary interactive zone where terrestrial and marine environments converge, playing a pivotal role in the coastal deposition. In the Holocene, climate changes and sea level fluctuation are the principal driving factors in the evolution of deltas. However, human activities such as the construction of dams and reservoirs in the Anthropocene have significantly altered sediment transport in rivers, leading to depositional pattern variation during deltaic evolution. In this study, we have conducted a comparative analysis of the morphological variations (1986–2021) in the barrier system of the Hanjiang River Delta (HRD) using satellite remote sensing (SRS) method. Additionally, we have examined the lithological changes and facies alterations observed in eight boreholes on the present barrier spit. Our findings indicate that the intensification of anthropogenic activities led to a significant reduction in the sediment flux of the Hanjiang River (HR), resulting in depocenter landward migration at the estuary. SRS analysis reveals their periodical morphological characteristics and spatial variations of estuarine sandbars (1986–1992), barrier islands-lagoons (1993–2009), and barrier spits (2010–2021) during 1986 to 2021. The stratigraphy of boreholes demonstrates a south-to-north facies transition from lagoon to lagoon-barrier spit and barrier spit in vertical lithology. Therefore, the depositional evolution of the HRD barrier system is categorized into three phases: estuarine sandbar-barrier island phase (1986–1998); barrier island-lagoon phase (1999–2009); and barrier spit phase (2010–2021). During the estuarine sandbar-barrier island phase, fluvial processes played a predominate role in the deposition. Consequently, with a significant decrease in river sediment load, the dominant factors driving depositional processes shifted towards wave action and alongshore current. Based on the conceptual model in the Holocene, we propose a modified depositional model of wave-dominated deltas during Anthropocene that encompasses three evolutionary phases: estuarine sandbars and delta front platforms, barrier island-lagoon formation and landward migration of barrier spits. This pattern highlights that human-induced reduction in river sediment flux has led to a seaward deltaic progradation driven by barrier landward migration.
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Key words:
- Hanjiang River Delta /
- barrier spit /
- human activities /
- wave-dominated delta /
- depositional model
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Figure 1. Schematic map of the Hanjiang River Delta (HRD, a and b) and the borehole locations (LY1–LY8) on the barrier spit (c). The purple and yellow lines present the artificial coastlines in 1986 and 2021, and the blue and green lines present the natural coastlines in 1986 and 2021, respectively. HR: Hanjiang River; SCS: South China Sea; LYHR: Lianyanghe River; WSHR: Waishahe River; YFXR: Yifengxi River.
Figure 2. The variations of the runoff and sediment load of Hanjiang River (HR) and their regression curves during 1958 to 2019 (data from Zhao (2019)). The red lines and black lines present regression curves of the runoff and sediment load of HR, respectively. P1: Phase 1 (1986–1998), P2: Phase 2 (1999–2009), and P3: Phase 3 (2010–2021). The short blue dashed lines with numerical values represent the average sediment load of the three phases.
Figure 3. The geomorphic types identified by analysis of SRS images in HRD during 1986 to 2021 (for location see Fig. 1b). a. Estuarine sandbars; b. barrier island-lagoon system; c. barrier spits.
Figure 4. Variations of the perimeter and area of the HRD barrier system during 1986 to 2021. P1: Phase 1 (1986–1998), P2: Phase 2 (1999–2009), and P3: Phase 3 (2010–2021). The numbers in red and black font colors are their averages of the three phases, respectively.
Figure 5. Shoreline change revisit and their migration rates of the HRD barrier spit (1999 to 2019) (for location see Fig. 1c). a. Shoreline changes at 5-year intervals; b. the migration trajectories and average migration rates of different regions. A, B, and C represent the migration tracks of the northern, middle, and southern areas of the barrier spit.
Figure 6. Lithologic logs, Mz, and the standard deviation (S.D.) of the borehole sediments in the HRD barrier spit and their sedimentary facies. The red dashed line denotes the boundary between barrier and lagoon facies. The years in red font indicate the latest transition time of the two sedimentary facies.
Figure 7. Evolution of the barrier system in the HRD (1986–2021) (for location see Fig. 1b). The red dots represent the borehole locations (for location see Fig. 1c). The labeled black arrow marks illustrate the occurrence of the dominate facies at that time. LY1–LY8 represent the borehole locations. P1: Phase 1 (1986–1998), P2: Phase 2 (1999–2009), and P3: Phase 3 (2010–2021).
Figure 8. The conceptual depositional model of wave-dominated deltas (a) (after Vespremeanu-Stroe and Preoteasa, 2015; Preoteasa et al., 2016) and modified depositional model in the Anthropocene in this study (b). Lines of C-C' and D-D' present the transverse sections of two models.
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