PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ma, Hongbo AU - Nittrouer, Jeffrey A. AU - Naito, Kensuke AU - Fu, Xudong AU - Zhang, Yuanfeng AU - Moodie, Andrew J. AU - Wang, Yuanjian AU - Wu, Baosheng AU - Parker, Gary TI - The exceptional sediment load of fine-grained dispersal systems: Example of the Yellow River, China AID - 10.1126/sciadv.1603114 DP - 2017 May 01 TA - Science Advances PG - e1603114 VI - 3 IP - 5 4099 - http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/5/e1603114.short 4100 - http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/5/e1603114.full SO - Sci Adv2017 May 01; 3 AB - Sedimentary dispersal systems with fine-grained beds are common, yet the physics of sediment movement within them remains poorly constrained. We analyze sediment transport data for the best-documented, fine-grained river worldwide, the Huanghe (Yellow River) of China, where sediment flux is underpredicted by an order of magnitude according to well-accepted sediment transport relations. Our theoretical framework, bolstered by field observations, demonstrates that the Huanghe tends toward upper-stage plane bed, yielding minimal form drag, thus markedly enhancing sediment transport efficiency. We present a sediment transport formulation applicable to all river systems with silt to coarse-sand beds. This formulation demonstrates a remarkably sensitive dependence on grain size within a certain narrow range and therefore has special relevance to silt-sand fluvial systems, particularly those affected by dams.