Recent changes of sediment flux to the western Pacific Ocean from major rivers in East and Southeast Asia

Wang, Houjie; Saito, Yoshiki; Zhang, Yong; Bi, Naishuang; Sun, Xiaoxiao; Yang, Zuosheng

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.06.003

Cited by 327 publications

(167 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…To reconcile expanding demand in energy and water resources consumption associated with economic development and the goal for mitigating global climate change, growing numbers of dams have been constructed or continue to be constructed since the 1950s (Vörösmarty and Sahagian, 2000). Dam construction in developed countries (e.g., North America, Europe) peaked in the 1960s, while it has been accelerated in developing countries (e.g., Asia) since the 1990s (Petts and Gurnell, 2005;Wang et al, 2011;Fan et al, 2015). Dams can supply multiple societal services, such as hydropower generation, flood manipulation, water diversion for agricultural, domestic, municipal and industrial use, improved navigability and recreation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A large body of literature has quantified the sediment load trapped by the dam, and changes in fluvial sediment export, as well as its hydrological and geomorphological consequences for downstream channels (Yang et al, 2005;Yang et al, 2006;Yang et al, 2007;Chen et al, 2008;Dai et al, 2008;Hu et al, 2009;Xu and Milliman, 2009;Dai et al, 2011;Li et al, 2011b;Wang et al, 2011;Luo et al, 2012;Dai and Liu, 2013;Nakayama and Shankman, 2013;Dai et al, 2014;Feng et al, 2014;Jiang et al, 2014;Lai et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2014;Meng et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2015). A recent study estimated that the annual averaged amount of sediment trapped by the Three Gorges Dam ranged from 116 to 234 Mt/yr during 2003-2012, with an average of 118 Mt/yr (Yang et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Tang

Bao

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

104

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• Hydrological regime in the reservoir fluctuation zone has been significantly altered.• Grain-size variations are diagnostic for sedimentary stratigraphy differentiation.• Post-dam sedimentation processes were reproduced by chronology determination.• Regular flow regulation controls contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics. Since the launch of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, a distinctive reservoir fluctuation zone has been created and significantly modified by regular dam operations. Sediment redistribution within this artificial landscape differs substantially from that in natural fluvial riparian zones, due to a specific hydrological regime comprising steps of water impoundment with increasing magnitudes and seasonal water level fluctuation holding a range of sediment fluxes. This study reinterpreted post-dam sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone by stratigraphy determination of a 345-cm long sediment core, and related it to impact of the hydrological regime. Seasonality in absolute grain-size composition of suspended sediment was applied as a methodological basis for stratigraphic differentiation. Sedimentary laminations with relatively higher proportions of sandy fractions were ascribed to sedimentation during the dry season when proximal subsurface bank erosion dominates source contributions, while stratigraphy with a lower proportion of sandy fractions is possibly contributed by sedimentation during the wet season when distal upstream surface erosion prevails. Chronology determination revealed non-linear and high annual sedimentation rates ranging from 21.7 to 152.1 cm/yr. Although channel geomorphology may primarily determine the spatial extent of sedimentation, seasonal sedimentary dynamics was predominantly governed by the frequency, magnitude, and duration of flooding. Summer inundation by G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Contents lists available at ScienceDirectScience of the Total Environment j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / s c i t o t e n v natural floods with enhanced sediment loads produced from upstream basins induced higher sedimentation rates than water impoundment during the dry season when distal sediment supply was limited. We thus conclude that flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone, though little impact on total sediment retention rate was detected. Ongoing reductions in flow and sediment supply under human disturbance may have profound implications in affecting sedimentary equilibrium in the reservoir fluctuation zone. The results herein provide insights of how big dams have disrupted the sediment conveyance processes of large scale fluvial systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Tang

Bao

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…According to Xiong et al (2013) [27], from a long-term perspective, the annual streamflow of Jinsha River is more likely influenced by climatic variability; while from a short-term perspective, the simulated discharge is mainly influenced by human activities. In addition, according to Wang et al (2011) [34], human activities like water diversion, water and soil conservation measures, and dam construction would be also mainly responsible for the drastic decline in river discharge since the 1950s in the Yangtze River basin.…”

Section: Validation Of Jinsha Rainfall-discharge Statistical Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptation of Cascade Hydropower Station Scheduling on A Headwater Stream of the Yangtze River under Changing Climate Conditions

Zhai

Lin

Guo

et al. 2017

Water

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Abstract:Cascade hydropower stations are effective in water resource utilization, regional water allocation, and flood risk management. Under changing climate conditions, water resources would experience complex temporal and spatial changes, which may lead to various issues relating to flood control and water resource management, and challenge the existing optimal scheduling of cascade hydropower stations. It is thus important to conduct a study on cascade hydropower station scheduling under changing climate conditions. In this study, the Jinsha River rainfall-discharge statistical model is developed based on the statistical relationship between meteorological and runoff indicators. Validation results indicate that the developed model is capable of generating satisfactory simulation results and thus can be used for future Jinsha River runoff projection under climate change. Meanwhile, the Providing Regional Climates for Impacts Studies (PRECIS) is run to project future rainfall in the Jinsha River basin under two General Circulation Models (ECHAM5 and HadAM3P), two scenarios (A1B and B2), and four periods (1961-1990, 1991-2020, 2021-2050, and 2051-2099). The regional climate modeling data are analyzed and then fed into the Jinsha hydrological model to analyze the trends of future discharge at Xiangjiaba Hydro Station. Adaptive scheduling strategies for cascade hydropower stations are discussed based on the future inflow trend analysis and current flood scheduling mode. It is suggested that cascade hydropower stations could be operated at flood limited water level (FLWL) during 2021-2099. In addition, the impoundment of cascade hydropower stations should be properly delayed during the post-flood season in response to the possible occurrence of increased and extended inflow in wet seasons.

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“…The reduction in freshwater and sediment supplies from these large river systems present severe environment challenges in the coastal ocean, including sinking deltas and declines in coastal wetland areas. For most of the Asian rivers mentioned above, the sharp drop in the sediment flux was largely attributed to large dam constructions [48,49]. However, this is not consistent with the Mississippi River.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Large Riversmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…The northern rivers show significant reduction in both the annual runoff and sediment loads. Wang et al (2011) [49] investigated the variation in the sediment flux in the five largest rivers in East and Southeast Asia (Yellow, Yangtze, Pearl, Red and Mekong). The results showed that flow regulation by dams and sediment entrapment by reservoirs, as well as human-influenced soil erosion in the river basins, sharply reduced the sediment delivered from the large river basins to the ocean.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Large Riversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regime Shift Identification of Runoff and Sediment Loads in the Yellow River Basin, China

Wang

Zhao

et al. 2014

Water

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Runoff and sediment loads have exhibited significant changes over the past six decades in the Yellow River Basin, China. The current study evaluates the changing trends and regime shifts in runoff and sediment loads at both the annual and monthly time scales. The associated spatial and temporal variations are analyzed by a sequential t-test analysis of the regime shifts (STARS) approach and the "breaks for additive seasonal and trend" (BFAST) model using hydrological data at eight stations from the 1950s to 2011. Both runoff and sediment loads exhibit significant declines (p < 0.05), except in the upper reaches of the river near the Tangnaihai station. The regime shifts detected by the STARS approach are not completely consistent with the results from the BFAST method. In most cases, the regime shifts occurred in 1969 and 1986, due to the construction of large reservoirs. Climate change and other human activities, such as large-scale soil and water conservation measures, can result in abrupt changes in hydrological series at some stations. The trapping effects of reservoirs not only cause regime shifts of runoff and sediment loads, but also adjust their inter-annual and seasonal distributions. Various soil and water conservation measures are responsible for the significant reduction in runoff and sediment loads in the mid-lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin. In addition, water withdrawals from both river runoff and ground water play a critical role in the changing trends in runoff OPEN ACCESS Water 2014, 6 3013 and indirectly alter the sediment loads. The findings provide a good reference for the effective promotion of climate change adaptation, water resources planning and river basin management.

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Recent changes of sediment flux to the western Pacific Ocean from major rivers in East and Southeast Asia

Cited by 327 publications

References 80 publications

Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Adaptation of Cascade Hydropower Station Scheduling on A Headwater Stream of the Yangtze River under Changing Climate Conditions

Regime Shift Identification of Runoff and Sediment Loads in the Yellow River Basin, China

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