Spatial assessment of hydrologic alteration across the Pearl River Delta, China, and possible underlying causes.

The article presents a research which investigated the alterations of the water levels across the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in China. The alterations were examined using a range of variability approach (RVA) based on a monthly water level datasets taken from 17 gauging stations. Researchers revealed that changes in hypsography resulting to substantial hydrologic alternations were due to extensive and intensive human activities. Results demonstrated that river channels characterized by altered water levels are those that have highly intensive sand dredging.