scholarly journals Recent changes of suspended sediment yields in the Upper Yangtze River and its headwater tributaries

2015 ◽  
Vol 367 ◽  
pp. 297-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Zhang ◽  
Q. Tang ◽  
Y. Long ◽  
X. He ◽  
A. Wen
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Principal Role ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Upper Yangtze River ◽  
Jialing River ◽  
Environmental Rehabilitation ◽  
Runoff Discharge ◽  
The Upper Yangtze River

Abstract. Suspended sediment yields in the Upper Yangtze River and its four headwater tributaries (i.e. Jinsha, Min, Jialing and Wu) have declined significantly during recent decades. Compared with 1956–1970, mean annual suspended sediment yield during 2001–2011 was reduced by 84% in the Upper Yangtze River at Yichang, by 34% in the Jinsha at Pingshan, by 84% in the Jialing at Beibei, by 75% in the Wu at Wulong, and by 48% in the Min at Gaochang. Linking these observed decadal changes of runoff discharge and suspended sediment load to dam construction and multiple environmental rehabilitation projects (e.g. soil-water conservation, reforestation) during the past decades, it can be concluded that the construction of large dams on the main stem and major tributaries of the Upper Yangtze River has played a principal role in the reduction of fluvial suspended sediment yields, while the environment rehabilitation projects may make limited contributions to the changes in suspended sediment yields, except for the Jialing River.

Length-weight relationships of two fish species from the Jialing River, the largest tributary of the upper Yangtze River, China

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1373-1375
Author(s):  
Fubin Zhang ◽  
Xiaoqin Xiong ◽  
Naicheng Wu ◽  
Yu Zeng ◽  
Nicola Fohrer
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Upper Yangtze River ◽  
Jialing River ◽  
The Upper Yangtze River

scholarly journals Evaluation of GloFAS-Seasonal Forecasts for Cascade Reservoir Impoundment Operation in the Upper Yangtze River

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kebing Chen ◽  
Shenglian Guo ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Pengcheng Qin ◽  
Shaokun He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Conservation ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Yangtze River Basin ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Hydropower Generation ◽  
Operation Rules ◽  
Upper Yangtze River ◽  
Reservoir Impoundment ◽  
The Upper Yangtze River

Standard impoundment operation rules (SIOR) are pre-defined guidelines for refilling reservoirs before the end of the wet season. The advancement and availability of the seasonal flow forecasts provide the opportunity for reservoir operators to use flexible and early impoundment operation rules (EIOR). These flexible impoundment rules can significantly improve water conservation, particularly during dry years. In this study, we investigate the potential application of seasonal streamflow forecasts for employing EIOR in the upper Yangtze River basin. We first define thresholds to determine the streamflow condition in September, which is an important period for decision-making in the basin, and then select the most suitable impoundment operation rules accordingly. The thresholds are used in a simulation–optimization model to evaluate different scenarios for EIOR and SIOR by multiple objectives. We measure the skill of the GloFAS-Seasonal forecast, an operational global seasonal river flow forecasting system, to predict streamflow condition according to the selected thresholds. The results show that: (1) the 20th and 30th percentiles of the historical September flow are suitable thresholds for evaluating the possibility of employing EIOR; (2) compared to climatological forecasts, GloFAS-Seasonal forecasts are skillful for predicting the streamflow condition according to the selected 20th and 30th percentile thresholds; and (3) during dry years, EIOR could improve the fullness storage rate by 5.63% and the annual average hydropower generation by 4.02%, without increasing the risk of flooding. GloFAS-Seasonal forecasts and early reservoir impoundment have the potential to enhance hydropower generation and water utilization.

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