Impacts and Implications of Major Changes Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, China

Sun, Zhigang; Huang, Qun; Opp, Christian; Hennig, Thomas; Marold, Ulf

doi:10.1007/s11269-012-0076-3

Cited by 141 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Besides, the degrees of HA at Chenglingji and Hukou reaches were lower than the corresponding stations in the downstream (i.e., Luoshan and Datong reaches). This may be related to the special setting of the surface water system in the middle-lower Yangtze River, where the river interacts directly with the two largest freshwater lakes (i.e., Dongting and Poyang Lakes), both of which play buffering roles at varying degrees for the Yangtze River flow [27,36]. …”

Section: Spatial Patterns Of Hamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a large river, the Yangtze River is experiencing drastic hydrological changes [21][22][23], especially after the construction and operation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD). A number of studies have indicated that the operation of the TGD has influenced the river discharge and sediment transport in the Yangtze River basin [24][25][26][27]. For example, Dai et al [28] examined the impacts of the TGD and serious drought on river discharge reduction in 2006.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessment of Hydrologic Alterations Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River, China

Liuzhi

Ban

Wang

et al. 2014

Water

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Hydrologic regime plays a major role in structuring biotic diversity within river ecosystems by controlling key habitat conditions within the river channel and floodplain. Daily flow records from seven hydrological stations and the range of variability approach were utilized to investigate the variability and spatial pattern of the hydrologic alterations induced by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Results show that the impoundment of the TGD disturbed the hydrologic regime downstream and directly affected the streamflow variations. The rate of changes and the annual extreme conditions were more affected by the TGD, particularly the low-flow relevant parameters. The alterations in the hydrologic regime were mainly caused by the TGD storing water during early autumn and releasing water during winter and spring. The effects on spatial patterns decreased as the distance from the dam increased, which was mainly attributed to the inflows from large tributaries along the Yangtze River as well as the interaction with the two largest natural lakes (i.e., Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake). These hydrologic alterations not only break the natural balance of eco-flow regimes but also result in undesirable ecological effects, particularly in terms of habitat availability for the fish community.

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Section: Spatial Patterns Of Hamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Hydrologic Alterations Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River, China

Liuzhi

Ban

Wang

et al. 2014

Water

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“…For example, the groundwater levels rise significantly below ground surface after dam construction in the Tarim River [47], while the water level in the river decreased appreciably in time after dams construction in Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huaihe River [24,26,48]. Moreover, it has been reported that the pattern of the monthly streamflow change due to damming is location-dependent [7,13,49,50]. In China, the accelerating development of economy increases the demand for energy and water resource, thus raising the need for the hydraulic engineering facilities, such as dams and reservoirs [51].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrologic Alteration Associated with Dam Construction in a Medium-Sized Coastal Watershed of Southeast China

Zhang

Huang

2016

Water

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Sustainable water resource management requires dams operations that provide environmental flow to support the downstream riverine ecosystem. However, relatively little is known about the hydrologic impact of small and medium dams in the smaller basin in China. Flow duration curve, indicators of hydrologic alteration andrange of variability approach were coupled in this study to evaluate the pre-and post-impact hydrologic regimes associated with dam construction using 44 years of hydrologic data in the Jiulong River Watershed (JRW), a medium-sized coastal watershed of Southeast China, which suffered from intensive cascade damming. Results showed that the daily streamflow decreased in higher flow while daily streamflow increased in lower flow in both two reaches of the JRW. The dams in the North River tended to store more water while the dams in the West River tended to release more water. The mean daily streamflow increased during July to January while decreased during February to May after dam construction in both two reaches of the JRW. After dam construction, the monthly streamflow changed more significantly and higher variability of monthly streamflow exhibited in the West River than in the North River. The homeogenizing variability of monthly streamflow was observed in both two reaches of the JRW. The earlier occurrence time of extreme low streamflow event and later occurrence time of extreme high streamflow event exhibited after dams construction. The extreme low and high streamfow both decreased in the North River while both increased in the West River of the JRW. All of the indicators especially for the low pulse count (101.8%) and the low pulse duration (´62.1%) changed significantly in the North River. The high pulse count decreased by 37.1% in the West River and the count of low pulse increased abnormally in the North River. The high pulse duration in the post-impact period increased in the two reaches of JRW. The rise rate decreased by 26.9% and 61.0%,and number of reversals increased by 40.7% and 46.4% in the North River and West River, respectively. Suitable ranges of streamflow regime in terms of magnitude, rate, and frequency were further identified for environmental flow management in the North River and West River. This research advances our understanding of hydrologic impact of small and medium dams in the medium-sized basin in China.

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“…If the scouring and undercutting continues, then the water level of the LJR will decrease and the sediment volume into Dongting Lake will consequently decrease. The results of Sun et al (2012) [63] show that, during the water storage periods of the TGD, the water level at the outlet of Dongting Lake decreased by 2.03 m in 2006 and by 2.11 m in 2009, with extreme decreases of up to 3.30 and 3.02 m, respectively. Finally, the relationship between rivers and lakes will also change with the long-term and intensive scouring in the LJR.…”

Section: Water and Sediment Changes After The Construction Of The Tgdmentioning

confidence: 97%

Remotely Sensed Trajectory Analysis of Channel Migration in Lower Jingjiang Reach during the Period of 1983–2013

et al. 2015

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Abstract:In China, the Lower Jingjiang Reach (LJR) of the Yangtze River could be one of the most complicated areas in terms of channel migration. The river had undergone many channel changes in the reach since the 18th century. Intensive human activities in recent decades, such as the construction of upstream dams and revetments, had directly affected the channel migration characteristics. The revetment would significantly diminish migration, whereas the reduced sediment caused by dams would increase bank erosion and bank failure risks. Satellite imageries of Landsat Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) were employed to quantify the planform migration of the reach from 1983 to 2013 and to investigate the possible effect of human activities on the LJR channel evolution. Apart from the commonly used planform morphometric parameters, the migration direction was introduced to predict the future migration trends. Results showed that the LJR was gradually changing to a straighter channel, with sinuosity reducing from 2.09 to 1.9 and river length decreasing from 125.32 km to 113.31 km in the past 30 years. Planform morphometric parameters, such as migration rate of the channel centerline and erosion and deposition areas and rates, also decreased drastically in the past 30 years. The migration rate of the channel centerline decreased from 31.05 m¨year´1 in 1983-1988 to 11.62 m¨year´1 in 2009-2013. The lateral erosion and deposition areas decreased from 21.32 and 25.73 km 2 in 1983-1988 to 4.83 and 5.83 km 2 in 2009-2013. All of these findings indicate that the LJR tended to be in a steady state from 1983 to 2013 and was totally controlled by the bank revetments. However, the undercutting was strengthened because of the restrictive effect of revetments on lateral migration in the LJR. Moreover, the channel migrated to the left bank with a visible tendency as the total migration area to the left bank was approximately two times that of the right bank during the period. Consequently, the left bank of the LJR should be the focus of more attention in future migrations, and bank revetments of the left bank should be kept reinforced and adjusted with the change of water and sediment conditions.

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Impacts and Implications of Major Changes Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, China

Cited by 141 publications

References 42 publications

Assessment of Hydrologic Alterations Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River, China

Assessment of Hydrologic Alterations Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River, China

Hydrologic Alteration Associated with Dam Construction in a Medium-Sized Coastal Watershed of Southeast China

Remotely Sensed Trajectory Analysis of Channel Migration in Lower Jingjiang Reach during the Period of 1983–2013

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