Sediment load responses to climate variation and cascade reservoirs in the Yangtze River: A case study of the Jinsha River

Li, Dongfeng; Lu, Xixi; Yang, Xiankun; Chen, Li; Lin, Lin

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.08.038

Cited by 117 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The water discharge had an increasing trend in annual and flood season from 2006 to 2014. Li et al () also showed that the water discharge had a moderate increase from 1966 to 2015 at the PZH hydrological station. The multiyear average water discharge of the basin in the two periods (i.e., 1977–1986 and 2006–2014) was 131.70 and 136.30 10 8 m 3 , respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The location and elevation of the study area are shown in Figure . The Jinsha River Basin, located in the uppermost region of the Yangtze River, is one of the most important sediment sources for the Yangtze River (Li et al, ). Our study area is the catchment area between the Shigu (SG) and Panzhihua (PZH) hydrological stations, and that is the middle reach of the Jinsha River Basin.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Then, to investigate the changes of T and P in the basin, the linear fitting and MK test method were adopted under the two temporal scales from 1977 to 2016. The MK test is a nonparametric statistical method and has been widely used to analyze the trends in meteorological time series, and the specific information for the MK test can be determined from a considerable number of documents (Li et al, ; Xu, Fan, & Xiao, ). There are UF and UB in the MK test formula, where UB = −UF.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Walling and Fang () showed that water discharge was significantly large due to the increase in precipitation or thawing of glaciers and permafrost under climate warming. Many human activities such as reservoir construction, land‐use change, water abstraction, and irrigation were believed to have certain impacts on natural river systems, especially reservoir construction, which has been identified as a major factor resulting in the decreasing trend of river sediment loads (Li et al, ; Li et al, ). Since the 1980s, China has entered an era of rapid economic growth, leading to an upsurge in dam construction (Yang et al, ), such as the development of cascade hydropower stations (CHSs) in the middle reach of Jinsha River Basin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wang et al () explored the driving forces of changes in the water and sediment relationship in the Yellow River through a sediment identity approach. Li et al () assessed the sediment load responses to climate variation and cascade reservoirs in Jinsha River based on the MK trend and abrupt test and DDC. Most studies in Jinsha River have focused on the configuration to optimize streamflow stations (Wang et al, ; Wang, Zhou, Lu, & Liu, ), the hydropower operation impacts on the habitat of imperiled fish (Zhang et al, ; Zhang et al, ), and the human and natural controls on erosion (Schmidta et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climatic and anthropogenic impacts on water and sediment generation in the middle reach of the Jinsha River Basin

Zhang

Cai

Yang

et al. 2020

River Research & Apps

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Response of water and sediment generation to climate change and anthropogenic activities is becoming a hot topic in the middle reach of the Jinsha River Basin. In this research, coefficients of variation and concentration degree (i.e., Cv and Cd) and double mass curve (DDC) were adopted to examine the changes in water and sediment discharge and their relationships with precipitation. The contribution rates of climatic and anthropogenic factors to water and sediment discharge were assessed through comparisons between the measured and predicted values in the baseline and postbaseline periods in the basin. The main results were: (a) the water and sediment discharges of the basin showed a decreasing trend from 2006 to 2014, with peak points of Cv and Cd of sediment discharge of the basin in 2009 and 2010, respectively; (b) the precipitation had a major influence on water discharge variations, and the peak point of the DDC of the cumulative precipitation and sediment discharge was consistent with the cumulative water and sediment discharge; and (c) under annual and flooding season scales, the contribution rates of anthropogenic factors to water discharge were 63.060% and 70.457%, respectively. The contribution rates of anthropogenic factors on sediment discharge were 84.790% and 85.541%, respectively. The impacts of anthropogenic factors on water and sediment discharge were more significant than the impacts of precipitation, in which the construction and operation of cascade hydropower stations (CHS) were believed to play a crucial role.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climatic and anthropogenic impacts on water and sediment generation in the middle reach of the Jinsha River Basin

Zhang

Cai

Yang

et al. 2020

River Research & Apps

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Downstream geomorphic impact of the Three Gorges Dam: With special reference to the channel bars in the Middle Yangtze River

Chen

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) has altered downstream flow–sediment regimes and led to significant changes in the morphodynamic processes in the Middle Yangtze River (MYR). However, due to the complexity of this large river, the driving forces and implication of the morphodynamic processes remain insufficiently understood. This study selected two typical meandering and bar‐braided reaches, the Zhicheng (ZC) and Shashi (SS) reach, to examine their responses to the TGD operation. The results showed that in the post‐dam period significant channel erosion occurred with a higher erosion rate in the ZC reach (closer to the TGD) compared with the SS reach. The area of the Guanzhou mid‐channel bar (ZC reach) and the Sanba mid‐channel bar (SS reach) shrank by 30 and 90% from 2003 to 2015, respectively. The increased fluvial erosion intensity due to the reduction in suspended sediment concentration (SSC) drove the shrinkage of the mid‐channel bars, as demonstrated by empirical relationships between bar geometry and fluvial erosion intensity. An increase of 22 days per year in the frequency of post‐dam medium‐to‐high discharges (10 000–25 000 m3 s−1), and associated with the reduction in SSC, jointly led to the greater erosion at the convex (inner) banks than the concave (outer) banks, which has negatively affected the designed navigation channels at the concave banks by decreasing their discharge partitioning ratios. The post‐dam water level at a given high discharge (>25 000 m3 s−1) showed no evident change, but the water level at a given low discharge (<10 000 m3 s−1) decreased. The reduction in water levels at low flows can affect water supply and riverine ecosystems in the MYR. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Impact of upstream reservoirs on geomorphic evolution in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

Yang

Liangping

Zhu

et al. 2022

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Intensive human activities in river basins have substantial effects on fluvial hydrological and morphological processes and developmental trends. In this study, we assessed the evolutionary characteristics and developmental trends of the fluvial morphological system of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) downstream to understand the impacts of human activities on the fluvial hydrological–morphological system of the region. The results indicated that the Three Gorges Project (TGP) and other upstream cascade reservoirs promoted sediment retention, which in turn aggravated the trend of declining sediment load and cumulative scouring over a long distance in the channels downstream of the TGD. Approximately 84% of scouring occurred in the low‐water channels, along with thalweg scouring and riverbank collapse. Notably, extended operation of the TGP and other upstream cascade reservoirs has resulted in gradual changes in the downstream riverbeds. Specifically, we found that the most intensive scouring zone shifted downstream from the near‐dam Yichang–Chenglingji reach (0–408 km) to the Chenglingji–Hankou reach. The scouring–silting distribution in swales has also changed: the scouring of deep swales and silting on floodplains prior to the TGP have been replaced by the scouring of both deep swales and floodplains. The scouring intensity of riverbeds in the Yichang–Hukou reach (954 km) was slightly higher than that forecasted prior to the TGP; the scouring intensities increased significantly during 2013–2021, which could be attributed to the TGP and other upstream cascade reservoirs; river sand mining and waterway dredging are secondary factors. We conclude that, owing to the effects of sediment retention by cascade reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (or Changjiang River), the cumulative scouring intensities of riverbeds in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will continue to increase in future decades.

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Sediment load responses to climate variation and cascade reservoirs in the Yangtze River: A case study of the Jinsha River

Cited by 117 publications

References 44 publications

Climatic and anthropogenic impacts on water and sediment generation in the middle reach of the Jinsha River Basin

Climatic and anthropogenic impacts on water and sediment generation in the middle reach of the Jinsha River Basin

Downstream geomorphic impact of the Three Gorges Dam: With special reference to the channel bars in the Middle Yangtze River

Impact of upstream reservoirs on geomorphic evolution in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

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