Fingerprinting sediment sources of the largest desert reservoir in Asia and its environmental implications

IF 6.3 1区地球科学 Q1 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal of Hydrology Pub Date : 2025-09-17 DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134257

Guoxiang Chen , Zheng Chi , Zhibao Dong , Aimin Liang , Xiaokang Liu , Guang Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Reservoir siltation poses a significant challenge to water resource management and ecological balance, particularly in arid regions affected by water and wind erosion. Quantifying sediment sources in reservoirs is crucial for the sustainable operation and management of reservoir systems. The Hongyashan Reservoir (HYSR), the largest desert reservoir in Asia, has experienced severe siltation due to the combined effects of fluvial and aeolian processes. However, little is known about their respective source contributions. To this end, this study quantitatively elucidates the contributions of the Shiyang River and Gobi area to the HYSR siltation based on geochemical indicators and the FingerPro mixing model, and proposes sustainable soil and water conservation strategies. Quantitative provenance identification was determined based on robust geochemical indicators using the conservativeness index (CI), consensus ranking (CR) and consistent tracer selection (CTS) methods, revealing that both fluvial and aeolian sediments are potential material sources for the HYSR siltation. The results indicate that aeolian processes contribute more to the HYSR than fluvial processes, with average contributions of 51.18% and 48.82%, respectively. The accuracy of source apportionments was validated through the goodness-of-fit (GOF) and virtual mixtures (VM) methods. The spatial distribution of source contributions within the HYSR demonstrates notable heterogeneity, with the southern region dominated primarily by fluvial sediments, while the northern area is influenced by wind-driven deposition. The spatial heterogeneity of source contributions highlights the combined influence of fluvial and aeolian processes. This study provides critical insights into sustainable water resource management in the Shiyang River Basin (SRB) and offers implications for desertification prevention and ecosystem protection in the basin. The fingerprinting method and findings presented in this study offer a transferable framework for quantifying mixed fluvial-aeolian sediment sources in arid reservoir systems globally.

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亚洲最大沙漠水库沉积物来源的指纹图谱及其环境意义

水库淤积对水资源管理和生态平衡构成重大挑战，特别是在受水蚀和风蚀影响的干旱地区。水库泥沙来源的定量研究对水库系统的可持续运行和管理至关重要。洪崖山水库是亚洲最大的沙漠水库，在河流和风成过程的共同作用下，淤积严重。然而，人们对它们各自的来源贡献知之甚少。为此，本研究基于地球化学指标和FingerPro混合模型，定量阐述了石羊河和戈壁地区对HYSR淤积的贡献，并提出了可持续的水土保持策略。采用保守指数（CI）、共识排序（CR）和一致示踪选择（CTS）方法，在稳健的地球化学指标基础上进行了物源定量鉴定，表明河流和风成沉积物都是HYSR淤积的潜在物质来源。结果表明，风成过程对HYSR的贡献大于河流过程，平均贡献率分别为51.18%和48.82%。通过拟合优度（GOF）和虚拟混合（VM）方法验证了源分配的准确性。海带内源贡献的空间分布具有明显的非均质性，南部以河流沉积为主，北部以风力沉积为主。来源贡献的空间异质性突出了河流和风成过程的综合影响。该研究为石羊河流域水资源可持续管理提供了重要见解，并对该流域的荒漠化防治和生态系统保护具有重要意义。指纹识别方法和研究结果为全球干旱水库系统中河流-风沙混合沉积物来源的量化提供了一个可转移的框架。

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来源期刊

Journal of Hydrology 地学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

11.00

自引率

12.50%

发文量

1309

审稿时长

7.5 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Hydrology publishes original research papers and comprehensive reviews in all the subfields of the hydrological sciences including water based management and policy issues that impact on economics and society. These comprise, but are not limited to the physical, chemical, biogeochemical, stochastic and systems aspects of surface and groundwater hydrology, hydrometeorology and hydrogeology. Relevant topics incorporating the insights and methodologies of disciplines such as climatology, water resource systems, hydraulics, agrohydrology, geomorphology, soil science, instrumentation and remote sensing, civil and environmental engineering are included. Social science perspectives on hydrological problems such as resource and ecological economics, environmental sociology, psychology and behavioural science, management and policy analysis are also invited. Multi-and interdisciplinary analyses of hydrological problems are within scope. The science published in the Journal of Hydrology is relevant to catchment scales rather than exclusively to a local scale or site.