Collapses on the riverbank: what happened to the Lower Yellow River?

Riverbank collapses frequently occur in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, China, which result in a great loss of farmland and significant hydro-morphological evolution in the channel. A combination of field investigation and remote sensing analysis was conducted to understand the current status of riverbank collapse in the Shandong Reaches of the lower Yellow River. The results show that the planar failure and upward-concave collapse were the main types of river failures in these reaches. Taking the Jiyang section as an example, the average lateral dynamic displacements in the Jiyang section were 2.8 and 11.4 m, the retreat areas were 248.8 and 835.0 m² and the maximum lateral dynamic displacement were 7.4 and 26.0 m during the periods 3/31/2016-4/18/2017 and 04/18/2017-5/10/2018, respectively. Factors such as the soil properties, upstream river-control works, and channel bends may change the probability of downstream riverbank collapse. Building materials that are effective, low-cost and environmental friendly, and easy to use, are anticipated in the river management projects to protect the riverbanks and improve the ecological environment in the study area.