Observation of shoreline dynamics

The coastline of the Yellow River Delta was observed as very dynamic during the last decades (Fig.1). This is caused by high sediment inflow rate of the upstream river and by relocation of the river bed in the delta and river mouth relocation. Remote sensing data from all Landsat satellites were used to derive the Yellow River Delta coastline between 1976 and 2013. During almost four decades of available satellite imagery the Yellow River relocated three times (Fig. 2) – mainly by anthropogenic control of the river.

In the observed period from 1976 to 2013 the delta shoreline relocated through erosion in the northern part of the delta and mainly through accretion in the eastern part at current river mouth location (Fig.2). Further information and quantitative analyses on coastal zone monitoring of the Yellow River Delta can be found in Kuenzer et al. 2014 (see under Publications – Journal Papers).

Fig.1: Observed shoreline dynamics at the coast of the Yellow River Delta between 1976 – 2013 (source: Kuenzer et al. 2014).

Fig.2: Shoreline dynamics at Yellow River Delta – accretion and erosion of sediments along the coast between 1976 – 2010 (source: Kuenzer et al. 2014).