Temporal and spatial changes in coastline movement of the Yangtze delta during 1974–2010

• Published in: Journal of Asian earth sciences Vol. 66; pp. 166 - 174
• Main Authors: Chu, Zhongxin, Yang, Xuhui, Feng, Xiuli, Fan, Dejiang, Li, Yingkun, Shen, Xing, Miao, Anyang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 08.04.2013
• Subjects: Human impacts; Shoreline change; Yangtze (Changjiang) delta; Shoreline change; Human impacts; Yangtze (Changjiang) delta
• ISSN: 1367-9120; 1878-5786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2013.01.002

► We present the Yangtze delta shoreline changes during 1974–2010. ► The Yangtze shoreline experienced progradation despite substantial decrease in river sediment input. ► The causes for the Yangtze shoreline progradation are discussed. ► An important (probably dominant) reason for the shoreline progradation is coastal engineering. The evolution of the Yangtze delta, where the largest economic zone (e.g. Shanghai) in China is located, directly affects the regional economic development and ecoenvironment. The mean high tide lines as the coastline delineated from multi-temporal remote sensing data of Landsat during 1974–2010 at intervals of about 8years were used to examine the shoreline progradation and recession of the Yangtze delta in the past four decades. Our results show that significant parts of the shoreline in the Yangtze delta in the past four decades and particularly after the operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), the world’s largest hydropower project ever built, experienced continual progradation despite a substantial decrease in the Yangtze sediment input. During 1974–2010, the area of the Yangtze subaerial delta increased by 667km2 with a net progradation rate of 18.5km2/yr, and the maximum progradation occurred at the eastern parts of Chongming Island and Nanhui bank, where the coastline advanced seaward about 8 and 6km, respectively, with mean net progradation rates of 0.22 and 0.17km/yr, respectively. An important (probably dominant) reason for the Yangtze shoreline progradation despite markedly decreased riverine sediment supply is coastal engineering, such as sea reclamation works, filling project, and wharf constructions.