Please wait a minute...
Frontiers of Earth Science

ISSN 2095-0195

ISSN 2095-0209(Online)

CN 11-5982/P

Postal Subscription Code 80-963

2018 Impact Factor: 1.205

Front. Earth Sci.    2019, Vol. 13 Issue (3) : 510-522    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-018-0739-3
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Water level variation characteristics under the impacts of extreme drought and the operation of the Three Gorges Dam
Yuanfang CHAI1, Yitian LI1(), Yunping YANG2, Sixuan LI1, Wei ZHANG1, Jinqiu REN1, Haibin XIONG1
1. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
2. Key Laboratory of Engineering Sediment, Tianjin Research Institute for Water Transport Engineering, Ministry of Transport, Tianjin 300000, China
 Download: PDF(2718 KB)   HTML
 Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks
Abstract

Under the influence of a climate of extreme drought and the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) operation, the water levels in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in 2006 and 2011 changed significantly compared with those in the extreme drought years of 1978 and 1986. To quantitatively analyze the characteristics of water level variations in 2006 and 2011, a new calculation method was proposed, and the daily water level and discharge from 1955–2016 were collected in this study. The findings are as follows: in 2006 and 2011, the water level in the dry season significantly increased, but that in the flood season obviously decreased compared with the levels in 1978 and 1986. Here, we described this phenomenon as “no low-water-level in dry season, no high-water-level in flood season”. Based on the calculation method, the contributions of climate variability and the Three Gorges Dam operation to water level variations in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were calculated, and the contributions indicated that climate variability was the main reason for the phenomenon of “no low-water-level in dry season, no high-water-level in flood season” instead of flood peak reduction in the flood season and drought runoff implementation in the dry season, which are both induced by TGD.

Keywords water level      extreme drought climate      the Three Gorges Dam      the Yangtze River Basin     
Corresponding Author(s): Yitian LI   
Just Accepted Date: 16 November 2018   Online First Date: 19 December 2018    Issue Date: 15 October 2019
 Cite this article:   
Yuanfang CHAI,Yitian LI,Yunping YANG, et al. Water level variation characteristics under the impacts of extreme drought and the operation of the Three Gorges Dam[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2019, 13(3): 510-522.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-018-0739-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2019/V13/I3/510
Fig.1  (a) the geographical location of the Yangtze River Basin; (b) the location of the hydrological stations.
Fig.2  Long-term variations in average annual precipitation in the Yangtze River Basin (a) (Dai et al., 2016a) and the annual average discharge at Datong station (b).
Fig.3  Flow diagram of the calculation method. Note: M, N, and P are the fitting curves in the years M, N, and P, respectively.
Fig.4  Variations in discharge and sediment before and after the operation of the TGD. (a) and (b) represent the inflow and outflow of TGD in 2006 and 2011 respectively; (c) represents the maximum and minimum discharges at Yichang during the period from 1955?2016; (d) represents the sediment discharge at Yichang from 1955 to 2016.
Fig.5  Statistical parameters of Cv (a) and R (b) at each hydrological station. Note: Cv is the coefficient of variation of the monthly average water level; R is the ratio of the maximum monthly average water level to the minimum; the values of R and Cv stand for the degree of dispersion of the water level.
Fig.6  The monthly average water level at six hydrological stations. (a) Yichang; (b) Jianli; (c) Chenglingji; (d) Luoshan; (e) Hankou; and (f) Datong.
City 1978 1986 1955?2002 2006 2011 2003?2016
Flood season Dry season Flood season Dry season Flood season Dry season Flood season Dry season Flood season Dry season Flood season Dry season
Yichang 46.40 40.30 45.70 40.00 46.70 40.70 42.80 40.00 43.10 40.30 44.90 39.90
Jianli 29.89 24.90 30.10 25.10 31.10 25.80 28.76 25.60 28.80 26.00 30.70 25.80
Chenglingji 26.45 20.68 26.80 21.30 27.90 21.50 25.54 22.21 25.10 22.10 27.70 22.30
Luoshan 25.22 19.18 25.70 19.90 26.90 20.20 24.32 20.83 24.00 20.90 26.70 21.00
Hankou 20.30 14.30 20.70 14.90 22.20 15.70 19.30 15.90 19.00 15.60 21.50 15.90
Datong 9.30 5.20 9.60 5.50 11.10 6.20 8.60 6.10 8.40 5.70 10.40 6.20
Tab.1  Average water level (m) during the dry and flood seasons
Fig.7  The fitting curve of water level and discharge at Yichang in the 1978 and 2006 dry season.
Fig.8  (a) The time-series graph of the water level at Yichang under the same discharge; (b) the volume of scour after the TGD operation (Yichang-Zhicheng); and (c) downstream thalweg elevation before and after the construction of the TGD (Yichang-Zhicheng).
Fig.9  The average discharge during the dry and flood seasons.
Fig.10  The values of the average water level changes in 2006 and 2011 caused by each factor compared with 1978. Dry season (a) and flood season (b) in 2006; dry season (c) and flood season (d) in 2011.
Item 2006 2011
Dry season Flood season Dry season Flood season
Yichang Datong Yichang Datong Yichang Datong Yichang Datong
ΔHT ?0.76 0.67 ?3.76 ?0.55 ?0.10 0.47 ?3.33 ?0.89
ΔH ?0.76 0.68 ?3.54 ?0.56 0.00 0.50 ?3.30 ?0.90
RN 71% 93% 82% 78% 56% 62.5% 66% 72%
RH 29% 7% 18% 22% 44% 37.5% 34% 28%
Tab.2  Contributions of climate variability and TGD operation on water level changes
Fig.11  The average water level under the same discharge at Yichang during the period from 1976–2002. (a) The average discharge during the dry season in 2006 (5617 m3·s1) is regarded as the same discharge; (b) the average discharge during the flood season in 2006 (12,388 m3·s1) is regarded as the same discharge; (c) the average discharge during the dry season in 2011 (7475 m3·s1) is regarded as the same discharge; and (d) the average discharge during the flood season in 2011 (13,991 m3·s1) is regarded as the same discharge.
1 D Bian, B Bian, L A Ba, C Wang, T Chen (2010). The response of water level of Selin Co to climate change. Acta Geogr Sin, 65(3): 313–319
https://doi.org/10.11821/xb201003006
2 L Cao, Y Zhang, Y Shi (2011). Climate change effect on hydrological processes over the Yangtze River Basin. Quat Int, 244(2): 202–210
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.01.004
3 A Dai, K E Trenberth, T R Karl (1998). Global variations in droughts and wet spells: 1900–1995. Geophys Res Lett, 25(17): 3367–3370
https://doi.org/10.1029/98GL52511
4 H C Dai, W S He, J Yuan, S Y Cao (2005). Analysis on scour and deposit variation characteristic of sediment after the operation of Gezhouba hydro project. Advances in Water Science, 16(5): 691–695
5 L Dai, J Mao, Y Wang, H Dai, P Zhang, J Guo (2016b). Optimal operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir subject to the ecological water level of Dongting Lake. Environ Earth Sci, 75(14): 1111
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5911-z
6 Z J Dai, A Chu, J Z Du, M Stive, Y Hong (2010a). Assessment of extreme drought and human interference on baseflow of the Yangtze River. Hydrol Processes, 24(6): 749–757
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7505
7 Z J Dai, A Chu, M Stive, J Z Du, J F Li (2011). Is the Three Gorges Dam the cause behind the extremely low suspended sediment discharge into the Yangtze (Changjiang) Estuary of 2006? Hydrol Sci J, 56(7): 1280–1288
https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2011.585136
8 Z J Dai, J Z Du, A Chu, J F Li, J Y Chen, X L Zhang (2010b). Groundwater discharge to the Changjiang River, China, during the drought season of 2006: effects of the extreme drought and the impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam. Hydrogeol J, 18(2): 359–369
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-009-0538-8
9 Z J Dai, J Du, J Li, W Li, J Chen (2008a). Runoff characteristics of the Changjiang River during 2006: effect of extreme drought and the impounding of the Three Gorges Dam. Geophys Res Lett, 35(7): L07406
https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033456
10 Z J Dai, S Fagherazzi, X Mei, J Gao (2016a). Decline in suspended sediment concentration delivered by the Changjiang (Yangtze) River into the East China Sea between 1956 and 2013. Geomorphology, 268: 123–132
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.06.009
11 Z J Dai, J F Li, J K Zhao, C J Jiang, X L Zhang (2010c). Adjustment processes of runoff among river, lake and reservoir along mid-lower reaches of Changjiang River during 2006 extreme drought year. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 30(4): 577–581
12 Z J Dai, W H Li, J F Li, J Y Chen (2008b). Analysis of the saltwater intrusion in the Changjiang Estuary during the flood season in extreme drought year. Advances in Water Science, 19(6): 835–840
13 Z J Dai, J T Liu (2013). Impacts of large dams on downstream fluvial sedimentation: an example of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on the Changjiang (Yangtze River). J Hydrol (Amst), 480(4): 10–18
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.12.003
14 W Deng, G Wang, X Zhang (2015). A novel hybrid water quality time series prediction method based on cloud model and fuzzy forecasting. Chemom Intell Lab Syst, 149: 39–49
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemolab.2015.09.017
15 P Fischer, U Öhl (2005). Effects of seasonal water level fluctuations on the littoral benthic fish community in a large lake: Lake Constance, Germany. Science, 314(5806): 1761–1764
16 J J Gibson, T D Prowse, D L Peters (2006). Partitioning impacts of climate and regulation on water level variability in Great Slave Lake. J Hydrol (Amst), 329(1–2): 196–206
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.02.011
17 H Gu, Z Yu, G Wang, J Wang, Q Ju, C Yang, C Fan (2015). Impact of climate change on hydrological extremes in the Yangtze River Basin, China. Stochastic Environ Res Risk Assess, 29(3): 693–707
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-014-0957-5
18 J Han, Z Sun, Y Li (2017b). Distribution of erosion intensity in the Jingjiang reach influenced by the Three Gorges Dam. Earth Surf Process Landf, 43(6): 2654–2665
https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4423
19 J Han, Z Sun, Y Li, Y Yang (2017c). Combined effects of multiple large-scale hydraulic engineering on water stages in the middle Yangtze River. Geomorphology, 298: 31–40
20 J Han, W Zhang, Y Fan, M Yu (2017a). Interacting effects of multiple factors on the morphological evolution of the meandering reaches downstream the Three Gorges Dam. J Geogr Sci, 27(10): 1268–1278
21 Q F Hu, Y T Wang (2009). Impact assessment of climate change and human activities on annual highest water level of Taihu Lake. Water Science and Engineering, 2(1): 1–15
https://doi.org/10.3882/j.issn.1674-2370.2009.01.001
22 C Kuang, W Chen, J Gu, T C Su, H Song, Y Ma, Z Dong (2017). River discharge contribution to sea-level rise in the Yangtze River Estuary, China. Cont Shelf Res, 134: 63–75
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.01.004
23 X Lai, J Jiang, G Yang, X Lu (2014). Should the Three Gorges Dam be blamed for the extremely low water levels in the middle-lower Yangtze River? Hydrol Processes, 28(1): 150–160
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10077
24 C Li, J Wang, R Hu, S Yin, Y Bao, Y Li (2017). ICESat/GLAS-derived changes in the water level of Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia, from 2003 to 2009. Front Earth Sci, 12(2): 1–11
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-017-0666-8
25 Q Li, M Yu, G Lu, T Cai, X Bai, Z Xia (2011). Impacts of the Gezhouba and Three Gorges Reservoirs on the sediment regime in the Yangtze River, China. J Hydrol (Amst), 403(3–4): 224–233
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.03.043
26 H Lin, J Hu, J Zhu, P Cheng, Z Chen, Z Sun, D Chen (2017). Tide and wind-driven variability of water level in Sansha Bay, Fujian, China. Front Earth Sci, 11(2): 332–346
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-016-0588-x
27 L I Lin, X H Shi, H Y Shen, S Dai, J S Xiao (2011). Cause of water level fluctuation in Qinghai Lake from 1960 to 2009 and its future trend forecasting. Journal of Natural Resources, 26(9): 1566–1574 (in Chinese)
https://doi.org/10.11849/zrzyxb.2011.09.012
28 J P Liu, K H Xu, A C Li, J D Milliman, D M Velozzi, S B Xiao, Z S Yang (2007). Flux and fate of Yangtze River sediment delivered to the East China Sea. Geomorphology, 85(3–4): 208–224
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.03.023
29 X F Mei, Z J Dai, W Wei, J J Gao (2016). Dams induced stage–discharge relationship variations in the upper Yangtze River basin. Hydrol Res, 47(1): 157–170
https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2015.010
30 X Mei, Z J Dai, S E Darby, S Gao, J Wang, W Jiang (2018). Modulation of extreme flood levels by impoundment significantly offset by floodplain loss downstream of the Three Gorges Dam. Geophys Res Lett, 45(7): 3147–3155
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076935
31 P D Milano (2012). Study of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Water Level Rise of the Des Prairies River. Dissertation for Ph.D Degree. Politecnico Di Milano, Italy
32 G Simon, A Lendasse, M Cottrell, J C Fort, M Verleysen (2004). Double quantization of the regressor space for long-term time series prediction: method and proof of stability. Neural Netw, 17(8–9): 1169–1181
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neunet.2004.08.008
33 J Sun, X Lei, Y Tian, W Liao, Y Wang (2013). Hydrological impacts of climate change in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Basin. Quat Int, 304(447): 62–74
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.02.038
34 J Wang, Y Sheng, C J Gleason, Y Wada (2013). Downstream Yangtze River levels impacted by Three Gorges Dam. Environ Res Lett, 8(4): 044012
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/044012
35 J Wang, Y Sheng, Y Wada (2017). Little impact of the Three Gorges Dam on recent decadal lake decline across China’s Yangtze Plain. Water Resour Res, 53(5): 3854–3877
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR019817
36 G P Williams, M G Wolman (1984). Downstream effects of dams on alluvial rivers. US Geol Surv Prof Pap, 1286: 38
37 G Wu (2008). Impact of Human Activities on Water Level and Clarity and Underwater Light Climate of Vallisneria spiralis L. in Poyan Lake, China. Dissertation for Ph.D Degree. Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
38 H Wu, N Wang, X Jiang, Z Guo (2014). Variations in water level and glacier mass balance in Nam Co Lake, Nyainqentanglha range, Tibetan Plateau, based on ICESat data for 2003–09. Ann Glaciol, 55(66): 239–247
https://doi.org/10.3189/2014AoG66A100
39 K Xiao, T J Griffis, J M Baker, P V Bolstad, M D Erickson, X Lee, J D Wood, C Hu, J L Nieber (2018). Evaporation from a temperate closed-basin lake and its impact on present, past, and future water level. J Hydrol (Amst), 561: 59–75
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.03.059
40 Q Xu (2013). Study of sediment deposition and erosion patterns in the middle and downstream Changjiang mainstream after impoundment of TGR. Journal of Hydroelectric Engineering, 32(2): 146–154 (in Chinese)
41 H Yan, Z J Dai, J F Li, J K Zhao, X L Zhang, J Y Chen (2008). Variation of bed-load and suspended sediment along middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River during the period of the extreme low discharge in 2006. Resources & Environment in the Yangtze Basin, 17(a01): 82–87 (in Chinese)
42 G L Yang, H Xiang, M H Yu, W Z Duan, L C Qin (2009). Variations of low water level and river bed in middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River. Engineering Journal of Wuhan University, 42(1): 64–68 (in Chinese)
43 S L Yang, L Lin, S Q Wu, Y Lin, C N He, Z Zhou (2013). Water level change downstream of Shuikou hydropower station caused by sand mining and flow scour. Journal of Hydroelectric Engineering, 32(4): 137–142 (in Chinese)
44 Y P Yang, M J Zhang, Z H Sun, J Q Han, H G Li, X Y You (2017a). The relationship between water level change and river channel geometry adjustment in the downstream of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD). Acta Geogr Sin, 72(5): 776–789
https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb201705002
45 Y Yang, M Zhang, L Zhu, W Liu, J Han, Y Yang (2017b). Influence of large reservoir operation on water-levels and flows in reaches below dam: case study of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Sci Rep, 7(1): 15640
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15677-y
46 H Yu, Y Wu, J Zhang, B Deng, Z Zhu (2011). Impact of extreme drought and the Three Gorges Dam on transport of particulate terrestrial organic carbon in the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. J Geophys Res Earth Surf, 116(F4): F04029
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002012
47 X F Zeng, N Zhao, J Z Zhou (2013). Study on hydropower energy and its future changes in the Upper Yangtze River Basin under climate change. Adv Mat Res, 648: 232–236
https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.648.232
48 Y Zhang, Y Xu, W Dong, L Cao, M Sparrow (2006). A future climate scenario of regional changes in extreme climate events over China using the PRECIS climate model. Geophys Res Lett, 33(24): L24702
https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027229
49 L L Zhu, X Yang, Q X Xu (2017). Response of low water level change to bed erosion and the operation of Three Gorges Reservoir in upper Jingjiang reach. Acta Geogr Sin, 72(7): 1184–1194
https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb201707005
[1] Chunlan LI, Jun WANG, Richa HU, Shan YIN, Yuhai BAO, Yuwei LI. ICESat/GLAS-derived changes in the water level of Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia, from 2003 to 2009[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2018, 12(2): 420-430.
[2] Hongyang LIN, Jianyu HU, Jia ZHU, Peng CHENG, Zhaozhang CHEN, Zhenyu SUN, Dewen CHEN. Tide- and wind-driven variability of water level in Sansha Bay, Fujian, China[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2017, 11(2): 332-346.
[3] Xinwen LI,Yongming SHEN. Numerical simulation of the impacts of water level variation on water age in Dahuofang Reservoir[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2015, 9(2): 209-224.
[4] Qiang ZHANG, Chong-Yu XU, Yongqin David CHEN, Chun-ling LIU. Extreme value analysis of annual maximum water levels in the Pearl River Delta, China[J]. Front Earth Sci Chin, 2009, 3(2): 154-163.
Viewed
Full text


Abstract

Cited

  Shared   
  Discussed