Variation Tendency of Coastline under Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbance around the Abandoned Yellow River Delta in 1984–2019

Abstract

The coast around the Abandoned Yellow River Delta underwent significant changes under anthropogenic disturbance. This study aims to reveal the variation of the coastline, tidal flat area, and intertidal zone slope before, during, and after extensive reclamation during the period of 1984–2019 using satellite remote sensing images. In order to eliminate the influence of the varying water level, a new coastline correction algorithm had been proposed under the condition of insufficient accurate slope and water level data. The influence of seawalls on slope estimation were considered in it. The spatiotemporal evolution of coast had been analyzed and confirmed to be reasonable by comparing with the observed data. The results show that the coast can be roughly divided into a north erosion part and a south deposition part. Affected by reclamation, their tidal flat area in 2019 is reduced to only 43 and 27% of original area in 1984, respectively, which results in a continuous decrease in the tidal flat width. The adjustment of the tidal flat profile makes the slopes steeper in the erosion part, while the slopes in the deposition part remain stable. The reclamation has stimulated a cumulative effect as the disappearance of the intertidal zone, which may lead to the destruction of biological habitats.

Keywords

• Abandoned Yellow River Delta
• remote sensing images
• spatiotemporal changes
• correction algorithm
• coastline
• tidal flat