Dramatic Inundation Changes of China’s Two Largest Freshwater Lakes Linked to the Three Gorges Dam

Feng, Lian; Hu, Chuanmin; Chen, Xiaoling; Zhao, Xi

doi:10.1021/es4009618

Cited by 189 publications

(144 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…As the major water bodies of global priority eco-regions [12], Poyang and Dongting Lakes play an important role in maintaining the water resources of the Yangtze River and healthy aquatic ecosystems in the region [13]. During recent decades, however, the water inundations of these two lakes have undergone remarkable spatiotemporal changes [14][15][16] that have resulted in significant hydrological, ecological and economic consequences [7,17,18]. Consequently, water inundation changes in the two lakes have received considerable scientific attention [14,[19][20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Dynamics of Inundation Patterns of Two Largest River-Connected Lakes in China: A Comparative Study

Liu

2016

Remote Sensing

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Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake are the two largest freshwater lakes in China. The lakes are located approximately 300 km apart on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and are differently connected through their respective tributary systems, which will lead to different river-lake water exchanges and discharges. Thus, differences in their morphological and hydrological conditions should induce individual lake spatio-temporal inundation patterns. Quantitative comparative analyses of the dynamic inundation patterns of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake are of great importance to basic biogeochemical and ecological studies. In this study, using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery and a geographic information system (GIS) analysis method, we systematically compared the spatio-temporal inundation patterns of the two river-connected lakes by analyses of the lake area, the inundation frequencies (IFs) and the water variation rates (WVRs). The results indicate that there was a significant declining trend in the lakes' inundation area from 2000 to 2011. The inundation areas of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, decreased by 54.74% and 40.46%, with an average annual decrease rate of 109.74 km 2 /y and 52.37 km 2 /y, respectively. The alluvial regions near Dongting Lake expressed much lower inundation frequencies, averaged over multiple years, than the alluvial regions near Poyang Lake. There was an obvious spatial gradient in the distribution of water inundation for Poyang Lake; the monthly mean IF slowly increased from north to south during the low-water, rising, and high-water periods. However, Dongting Lake expressed a clear zonal distribution of water inundation, especially in the low-water and rising periods. In addition, the WVRs of the two lakes differently changed in space throughout the year, but were in good agreement with the changing processes of water expansion or shrinkage. The different inundation frequencies and water variation rates in the two lakes may possibly depend on many intrinsic factors, including surface discharges from their respective tributaries, river-lake water exchanges and the lakes' topographical characteristics. These findings are valuable for policymakers because they may lead to different decisions and policies for these two complex river-lake systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Dynamics of Inundation Patterns of Two Largest River-Connected Lakes in China: A Comparative Study

Liu

2016

Remote Sensing

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“…For simple water balance equations, there are no parameters to be calibrated. Feng et al (2013) defined stream flow as the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration. SMEC (2007) determined the stream flow of the ungauged zone based on a lake water balance equation using measured lake water levels and inflow discharges from the upstream gauged catchment.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stream flow simulation and verification in ungauged zones by coupling hydrological and hydrodynamic models: a case study of the Poyang Lake ungauged zone

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. To solve the problem of estimating and verifying stream flow without direct observation data, we estimated stream flow in ungauged zones by coupling a hydrological model with a hydrodynamic model, using the Poyang Lake basin as a test case. To simulate the stream flow of the ungauged zone, we built a soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model for the entire catchment area covering the upstream gauged area and ungauged zone, and then calibrated the SWAT model using the data in the gauged area. To verify the results, we built two hydrodynamic scenarios (the original and adjusted scenarios) for Poyang Lake using the Delft3D model. In the original scenario, the upstream boundary condition is the observed stream flow from the upstream gauged area, while, in the adjusted scenario, it is the sum of the observed stream flow from the gauged area and the simulated stream flow from the ungauged zone. The experimental results showed that there is a stronger correlation and lower bias (R 2 = 0.81, PBIAS = 10.00 %) between the observed and simulated stream flow in the adjusted scenario compared to that (R 2 = 0.77, PBIAS = 20.10 %) in the original scenario, suggesting the simulated stream flow of the ungauged zone is reasonable. Using this method, we estimated the stream flow of the Poyang Lake ungauged zone as 16.4 ± 6.2 billion m 3 a −1 , representing ∼ 11.24 % of the annual total water yield of the entire watershed. Of the annual water yield, 70 % (11.48 billion m 3 a −1 ) is concentrated in the wet season, while 30 % (4.92 billion m 3 a −1 ) comes from the dry season. The ungauged stream flow significantly improves the water balance with the closing error decreased by 13.48 billion m 3 a −1 (10.10 % of the total annual water resource) from 30.20 ± 9.1 billion m 3 a −1 (20.10 % of the total annual water resource) to 16.72 ± 8.53 billion m 3 a −1 (10.00 % of the total annual water resource). The method can be extended to other lake, river, or ocean basins where observation data is unavailable.

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“…Poyang Lake is a shallow and water-carrying seasonal lake, and catchment inflows and water levels observed at the Hukou station along the Yangtze River undergo significant fluctuations. Complex hydrological behaviors controlled by the combined effects of hydraulic interactions between upstream watershed runoff and the downstream Yangtze River and the complex topography of the lake basin bring about sizable seasonal and annual variations in lake water stages, areas, and storage capacities [5,17,18]. A number of researchers have studied area variations [19][20][21] and water area-stage relationships [22].…”

Section: Et Al Adopted Moderate Resolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and Factors Influencing the Hysteresis of Water Area–Stage Curves for Poyang Lake

Huang

Peng

Liu

et al. 2017

Water

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Flood dynamics of large lake floodplain systems are typically complex. This paper analyses the characteristics and factors that influence the hysteresis of water area-stage curves for Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China characterized by complex geomorphology and upstream-downstream exchange conditions. For this purpose, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model (EFDC) based on seven scenarios is established. The results indicate that the area-stage curve presents significant hysteretic characteristics due to different water surface gradients that emerge during the water-rising and water-falling periods. Counter-clockwise, clockwise, and splayed hysteresis directions observed at the northern, southern, and central hydrometric stations, respectively, are found in Poyang Lake for the first time. Upstream catchment inflows and Hukou stage reflecting the downstream condition are the main factors that influence hysteresis. The temporal fluctuation of catchment inflows and Hukou stage has a remarkably positive impact on hysteresis, namely, an increase in fluctuation brings about a larger hysteresis. The effects of magnitude change in the two factors on hysteresis are opposing. Catchment inflows are positively related, while the decline of the Hukou stage will produce a more pronounced hysteresis. The outcomes of this study will benefit the water management of Poyang Lake and other similar large lakes.

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Dramatic Inundation Changes of China’s Two Largest Freshwater Lakes Linked to the Three Gorges Dam

Cited by 189 publications

References 30 publications

Mapping Dynamics of Inundation Patterns of Two Largest River-Connected Lakes in China: A Comparative Study

Mapping Dynamics of Inundation Patterns of Two Largest River-Connected Lakes in China: A Comparative Study

Stream flow simulation and verification in ungauged zones by coupling hydrological and hydrodynamic models: a case study of the Poyang Lake ungauged zone

Characteristics and Factors Influencing the Hysteresis of Water Area–Stage Curves for Poyang Lake

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