Abstract

Field data of sediment transport in middle reach Yangtze River since 1950 have been roughly analyzed in this paper. Noteworthy are the following: the late 1960’s cutoff of riverbends increased the flow discharging capacity and the sediment transport of the river channel there and farther while sediment deposition decreased in the Dongting Lake area; after the mid 1980’s both the middle Yangtze main stem and the Dongting Lake exit had the trend of decreasing annual sediment transport as the result of decreasing sediment release from the upper Yangtze; and the recent 3 years (2003-2006) of the Three Gorges reservoir first impoundment additionally reduced the sediment concentration in Middle Yangtze flow with a long time and a long distance for suspended sediment load future recovery while the distance for bedload recovery would be relatively shorter.

Keyword: Sediment transport Suspended sediment Sediment concentration