scholarly journals Sedimentation in the Three Gorges Dam and the future trend of Changjiang (Yangtze River) sediment flux to the sea

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2253-2264 ◽  
Author(s):  
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...  
Keyword(s):  
Yangtze River ◽  
Sediment Deposition ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Trapping Efficiency ◽  
Three Gorges Dam ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
Sediment Discharge ◽  
The Three Gorges ◽  
Total Sediment ◽  
The Three Gorges Dam

Abstract. The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on the upper Changjiang (Yangtze River), China, disrupts the continuity of Changjiang sediment delivery to downstream and coastal areas. In this study, which was based on 54 years of annual water and sediment data from the mainstream and major tributaries of Changjiang, sediment deposition induced by the TGD in 2003–2008 was quantified. Furthermore, we determined the theoretical trapping efficiency of the cascade reservoir upstream of the TGD. Its impact on Changjiang sediment flux in the coming decades is discussed. Results show that about 172 million tons (Mt) of sediment was trapped annually by the TGD in 2003–2008, with an averaged trapping efficiency of 75%. Most of the total sediment deposition, as induced by the TGD (88%), accumulated within the region between the TGD site and Cuntan. However, significant siltation (12% of the total sediment deposition) also occurred upstream of Cuntan as a consequence of the upstream extended backwater region of the TGD. Additionally, the Changjiang sediment flux entered a third downward step in 2001, prior to operation of the TGD. This mainly resulted from sediment reduction in the Jinshajiang tributary since the late 1990s. As the cascade reservoir is put into full operation, it could potentially trap 91% of the Jinshajiang sediment discharge and, therefore, the Jinshajiang sediment discharge would most likely further decrease to 14 Mt/yr in the coming decades. Consequently, the Changjiang sediment flux to the sea is expected to continuously decrease to below 90 Mt/yr in the near future, or only 18% of the amount observed in the 1950s. In the presence of low sediment discharge, profound impacts on the morphology of estuary, delta and coastal waters are expected.

scholarly journals Sedimentation in the Three Gorges Dam and its impact on the sediment flux from the Changjiang (Yangtze River), China

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 5177-5204 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Q. Hu ◽  
Z. S. Yang ◽  
H. J. Wang ◽  
X. X. Sun ◽  
N. S. Bi
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Load ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Trapping Efficiency ◽  
Three Gorges Dam ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
Sediment Discharge ◽  
The Three Gorges ◽  
Coastal Sea ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Three Gorges Dam

Abstract. After the operation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in 2003, the mean annual sediment load at Yichang station, 44 km downstream of the TGD, decreased drastically by 84% of that in the pre-TGD period (1986–2002). Annually, about 162 million tons (Mt) sediment was trapped by the TGD in 2003–2007, of which 92% was deposited within the region from Cuntan to TGD site; the remaining 8% deposited in the upstream of Cuntan owing to the effect of the extended backwater region of TGD. The theoretical trapping efficiency of the cascade reservoir on the lower Jinshajiang was calculated and its impact on the Changjiang sediment in the coming decades discussed. The results show that the cascade reservoir will trap up to 91% of the sediment discharge coming from the Jinshajiang tributary, and then the sediment discharge from the Changjiang to the sea will continuously decrease to less than 90 Mt/yr in the coming decades. In the presence of low sediment discharge, profound impacts on the morphology of estuary, delta and coastal sea are expected.

scholarly journals The role of Lake Dongting in regulating the sediment budget of the Yangtze River

2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 692-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-bao Dai ◽  
Shi-lun Yang ◽  
Jun Zhu ◽  
Ang Gao ◽  
Peng Li
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Deposition ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Three Gorges Dam ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Three Gorges ◽  
Sediment Input ◽  
Lower Yangtze ◽  
Total Sediment ◽  
The Three Gorges Dam

Abstract. Lake Dongting, the second largest freshwater lake in China and located in the middle reaches of the River Yangtze catchment, was formed at the beginning of the Holocene period by sea level rise and has varied in size with changes in local weather patterns. The sedimentation rate in Lake Dongting during the Holocene is about 50×106 m3 yr-1, or 80×106 t yr-1 (a sand bulk density of 1.6×103 kg m-3), given the sediment deposition rate as 10 mm yr-1 and the average lake size as 5000 km2. By comparing the sediment import and export, it is estimated that the sediment deposition rate of Lake Dongting was 110.6×106 t yr-1 from 1956 to 2003. Siltation and raised embankments reduced the size of the lake and its capacity to accommodate floods. The sediment delivery ratio (SDR) of the middle and lower Yangtze is about 0.92 (total sediment output divided by total sediment input) given that the total sediment supply into the middle and lower Yangtze is 455.1×106 t yr-1 and the total sediment discharge into the sea is 419×106 t yr-1. Therefore, if it were not for Lake Dongting, the sediment flux at Datong would be 73.6×106 t yr-1 (80×106 t yr-1×0.92) more, an increase of 27% during the Holocene and an increase of 26% to 101.75×106 t yr-1 from 1956 to 2003. Historically, Lake Dongting had a considerable influence in regulating the sediment budget of the Yangtze. However, afforestation and the construction of large dams, such as the Three Gorges Dam, reduced significantly the sediment deposition in Lake Dongting. In 2003, the completion of the Three Gorges Dam and the subsequent impoundment of water reduced the sediment input from the Yangtze and net deposition in Lake Dongting dropped to 25% and 18% of the mean values of the historic records (1956-2003). During the same period, the amount of sediment deposited in Lake Dongting was only 10% of the sediment discharge at Datong. The influence of the sediment deposited in Lake Dongting on the sediment flux to the sea from the Yangtze has fallen since the completion of the Three Gorges Dam and will be further reduced in future. The evolution of the relationship between Lake Dongting and the Yangtze is a compound result of human impacts coupled with natural self-adjusting processes in the river system.

scholarly journals Response of vegetation to submergence along Jingjiang Reach of the Yangtze River

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251015
Author(s):  
Guoliang Zhu ◽  
Yitian Li ◽  
Zhaohua Sun ◽  
Shinjiro Kanae
Keyword(s):  
Yangtze River ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Three Gorges Dam ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Three Gorges ◽  
The Yangtze River ◽  
The Three Gorges ◽  
The Three Gorges Dam

This work explores the changes in vegetation coverage and submergence time of floodplains along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (i.e., the Jingjiang River) and the relations between them. As the Three Gorges Dam has been operating for more than 10 years, the original vegetative environment has been greatly altered in this region. The two main aspects of these changes were discovered by analyzing year-end image data from remote sensing satellites using a dimidiate pixel model, based on the normalized difference vegetation index, and by calculating water level and topographic data over a distance of 360 km from 2003–2015. Given that the channels had adjusted laterally, thus exhibiting deeper and broader geometries due to the Three Gorges Dam, 11 floodplains were classified into three groups with distinctive features. The evidence shows that, the floodplains with high elevation have formed steady vegetation areas and could hardly be affected by runoff and usually occupied by humans. The low elevation group has not met the minimal threshold of submerging time for vegetation growth, and no plants were observed so far. Based on the facts summed up from the floodplains with variable elevation, days needed to spot vegetation ranges from 70 to 120 days which happened typically near 2006 and between 2008 and 2010, respectively, and a negative correlation was detected between submergence time and vegetation coverage within a certain range. Thus, floods optimized by the Three Gorges Dam have directly influenced plant growth in the floodplains and may also affect our ability to manage certain types of large floods. Our conclusions may provide a basis for establishing flood criteria to manage the floodplain vegetation and evaluating possible increases in resistance caused by high-flow flooding when these floodplains are submerged.

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