Study of Jingjiang Beach Morphodynamics in the Tidal Reach of the Yangtze River

Abstract

Large marginal sandbanks in tidal rivers experience periodic splitting processes. In this paper, the morphodynamic evolution of Jingjiang Beach, a sandbank on the Yangtze tidal river, has been investigated based on measured data. The results show that the duration of the splitting process in the middle and lower sections of Jingjiang Beach is 4–6 years. The periodical evolution occurred both in flood season and dry season, with a slight difference in the initial stage of splitting. This paper focuses on the evolution characteristics related to strong human activities since 2003. Ever since the second stage of the 12.5 m Deepwater Channel Project (DCP), the volumes above the 10 m and 12.5 m isobaths of Jingjiang Beach have been generally decreasing. The elevation data in recent years have demonstrated that the upper section, and nearshore side of the middle section, of Jingjiang Beach have tended to be stable. Moreover, the migration distance for a splitting sand body at the tail of Jingjiang Beach appears to have shortened. With the operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir, the number of days with discharge less than 15,000 m3/s has shown a decreasing trend; thus, the development scale of Jingjiang Beach could decline in the future.