Fluvial-Coastal Zone Interactions
In the era of rapid environmental changes, large Asian river basins have seen dramatic intervention by humans such as land use/land cover alterations, reservoir and road construction, water diversion, sediment mining and channelisation. Some examples include Huanghe (Yellow River) and Changjiang (Yangtze River), two of the largest rivers in East Asia, which have experienced recent dramatic changes in water and sediment discharge. These changes in water discharge and sediment flux have detrimental effects on estuarine and coastal zones. As a result, many estuarine and coastal areas are suffering from freshwater shortage, seawater intrusion, sediment depletion, coastal erosion, wetland losses and wastewater pollution from industrial, agricultural and domestic activities. An effective means is required to predict how activities upstream impact the coastal zone. Therefore, research linking river basin development with the coastal zone is urgent.
This symposium provided an opportunity to exchange the latest research results in this field for worldwide academicians, scholars, engineers and decision makers. The attendees of this symposium had an opportunity to experience some of the changes of the Yangtze River estuary as a result of the closure of the Three Gorges Dam, the worldwide largest dam.
Themes of this symposium include, but not limited to:1) Effects of land cover/land use and climatic changes upper stream on water and sediment discharge to the seas, 2) Effects of reservoirs construction, water diversion and sediment mining on estuarine and coastal processes, 3) Effects of the upstream development on the ecological environment in the estuarine and coastal areas, 4) Water pollution in estuarine and coastal areas, salt water intrusion and mitigation, wetland and coastal protection.
This symposium was jointly organized by State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resource of Hohai University and National University of Singapore.
The Symposium was held on 9th -10th December, 2006 in Nanjing, China.
Links to previous sysmposium coverage:
Previous articles
Larger Asian rivers and their interactions with estuaries and coasts
Quaternary International, Volume 186, Issue 1, 1 August 2008, Pages 1-3
Response of land accretion of the Yellow River delta to global climate change and human activity
Quaternary International, Volume 186, Issue 1, 1 August 2008, Pages 4-11
Stream response to Quaternary tectonic and climatic change: Evidence from the upper Weihe River, central China
Quaternary International, Volume 186, Issue 1, 1 August 2008, Pages 123-131
A preliminary estimate of organic carbon transport by the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) and Thanlwin (Salween) Rivers of Myanmar
Quaternary International, Volume 186, Issue 1, 1 August 2008, Pages 113-122
Late Cenozoic surface uplift revealed by incision by the River Euphrates at Birecik, southeast Turkey
Quaternary International, Volume 186, Issue 1, 1 August 2008, Pages 132-163
Hydrogeochemistry and greenhouse gases of the Pearl River, its estuary and beyond
Quaternary International, Volume 186, Issue 1, 1 August 2008, Pages 79-90