Coarse and fine sediment transportation patterns and causes downstream of the Three Gorges Dam

doi:10.1007/s11707-017-0670-z

Front. Earth Sci.

2018, Vol. 12

Issue (4) : 750-764 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-017-0670-z

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Coarse and fine sediment transportation patterns and causes downstream of the Three Gorges Dam

Songzhe LI¹, Yunping YANG^1,²(

), Mingjin ZHANG², Zhaohua SUN³, Lingling ZHU⁴, Xingying YOU⁵, Kanyu LI⁶

¹. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
². Key Laboratory of Engineering Sediment, Tianjin Research Institute for Water Transport Engineering, Ministry of Transport, Tianjin 300456, China
³. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
⁴. Bureau of Hydrology, Changjiang Water Resources Commission, Wuhan 430010, China
⁵. Hubei Provincial Water Resources and Hydropower Planning Survey and Design Institute, Wuhan 430064, China
⁶. Changjiang Waterway Bureau, Wuhan 430010, China

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Abstract

Reservoir construction within a basin affects the process of water and sediment transport downstream of the dam. The Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) affects the sediment transport downstream of the dam. The impoundment of the TGR reduced total downstream sediment. The sediment group d≤0.125 mm (fine particle) increased along the path, but the average was still below what existed before the reservoir impoundment. The sediments group d>0.125 mm (coarse particle) was recharged in the Yichang to Jianli reach, but showed a deposition trend downstream of Jianli. The coarse sediment in the Yichang to Jianli section in 2003 to 2007 was above the value before the TGR impoundment. However, the increase of both coarse and fine sediments in 2008 to 2014 was less than that in 2003 to 2007. The sediment retained in the dam is the major reason for the sediment reduction downstream. However, the retention in different river reaches is affected by riverbed coarsening, discharge, flow process, and conditions of lake functioning and recharging from the tributaries. The main conclusions derived from our study are as follows: 1) The riverbed in the Yichang to Shashi section was relatively coarse, thereby limiting the supply of fine and coarse sediments. The fine sediment supply was mainly controlled by TGR discharge, whereas the coarse sediment supply was controlled by the duration of high flow and its magnitude. 2) The supply of both coarse and fine sediments in the Shashi to Jianli section was controlled by the amount of total discharge. The sediment supply from the riverbed was higher in flood years than that in the dry years. The coarse sediment tended to deposit, and the deposition in the dry years was larger than that in the flood years. 3) The feeding of the fine sediment in the Luoshan to Hankou section was mainly from the riverbed. The supply in 2008 to 2014 was more than that in 2003 to 2007. Around 2010, the coarse sediments transited from depositing to scouring that was probably caused by the increased duration of high flow days. 4) Fine sediments appeared to be deposited in large amounts in the Hankou to Jiujiang section. The coarse sediment was fed by the riverbed scouring, and much more coarse sediments were recharged from the riverbed in the flood years than in the dry years. 5) In the Jiujiang to Datong section, the ratio of fine sediments from the Poyang Lake and that from the riverbed was 1: 2.82. The sediment from the riverbed scouring contributed more to the coarse sediment transportation. The contribution was mainly affected by the input by magnitude and duration of high flows.

Keywords grouped sediments genetic analysis Three Gorges reservoir transportation characteristics middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River

Corresponding Author(s): Yunping YANG

Just Accepted Date: 13 September 2017 Online First Date: 14 November 2017 Issue Date: 20 November 2018

Cite this article:

Songzhe LI,Yunping YANG,Mingjin ZHANG, et al. Coarse and fine sediment transportation patterns and causes downstream of the Three Gorges Dam[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2018, 12(4): 750-764.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-017-0670-z
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2018/V12/I4/750

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of the mainstream downstream the TGD. (a) Yangtze River Basin; (b) study area; (c) study area generalized diagram.

Tab.1 Source of sediment and hydrological data downstream the TGD

Fig.2 175 m impoundment of the Three Gorges reservoir (runoff regulation process) (2009–2016).

Tab.2 Benefit analysis of the Three Gorges reservoir

Fig.3 Changes of discharge and flux downstream the TGD. (a) Change of water quantity; (b) change of sediment quantity.

Fig.4 Changes of discharge and flux in the lakes and tributary downstream the TGD. (a) Water; (b) sediment.

Fig.5 Change of the median diameter of the suspended sediment downstream the TGD (1987 to 2014).

Fig.6 Transport process of different particle sizes of the sediment downstream the TGD. (a) d≤0.031 mm; (b) 0.031 mm＜d≤0.063 mm; (c) 0.063 mm＜d≤0.125 mm; (d) 0.125 mm＜d≤0.25 mm; (e) d＞0.25 mm.

Fig.7 Transport process of different particle sizes of sediments downstream the TGD in the representative runoff years. (a) Dry years; (b) flood years.

Fig.8 Changes of the sediment load of (a) d≤0.125 mm and (b) d>0.125 mm and concentration (SC) of (c) d≤0.125 mm and (d) d>0.125 mm downstream the TGD.

Fig.9 Ratios of the inflow sediment to the outflow sediments with particle sizes grouped as (a) d≤0.125 mm and (b) d>0.125 mm.

Fig.10 Change of median diameters for riverbed sediment in the downstream of the TGD.

Tab.3 Roughness change caused by the riverbed coarsening (^{Han, 2015})

Fig.11 Discharge changes in the representative hydrological years in the Shashi hydrological station after the TGR impoundment. (a) Dry years; (b) flood years.

Fig.12 Change of flood discharge and duration downstream the TGD. (a) Flow last days; (b) average flow in the days.

Fig.13 Change of quantity of scouring and sedimentation for (a) fine (d≤0.125 mm) and (b) coarse (d>0.125 mm) sediments in the Yichang to Shashi section.

Fig.14 Change of quantity of scouring and sedimentation for (a) fine (d≤0.125 mm) and (b) coarse (d>0.125 mm) sediments in the Shashi to Jianli section.

Fig.15 Impact of confluence from Dongting Lake on the sediment transporting process in the Jianli to Luoshan section (note: the discharges in the Luoshan station after the TGR impoundment were sorted, and the averaged values were applied to determine the moderate dry and flood years. Years 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 were determined to be moderate dry years, while year’s 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014 were moderate flood years). (a) d≤0.125 mm; (b) d>0.125 mm.

Fig.16 Quantitative change of scouring and sedimentation for (a) fine (d≤0.125 mm) and (b) coarse (d>0.125 mm) sediments in the Luoshan to Hankou section.

Fig.17 Quantitative change of scouring and sedimentation for (a) fine (d≤0.125 mm) and (b) coarse (d>0.125 mm) sediments in the Hankou to Jiujiang section.

Fig.18 Impact of confluence from the Poyang Lake on the quantity of scouring and sedimentation for the (a) fine (d≤0.125 mm) and (b) coarse (d>0.125 mm) sediments in the Jiujiang to Datong section (note: the flood and dry years were determined according to the discharge data in the Datong station, and the determined dry years and years were the same as those determined by the data from the Luoshan station).

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