Influence of Three Gorges Dam on Downstream Low Flow
1
Joint Innovation Center for Modern Forestry Studies, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulics Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
3
Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disaster, School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science &Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
4
National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2019, 11(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010065
Received: 30 November 2018 / Revised: 26 December 2018 / Accepted: 26 December 2018 / Published: 2 January 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrological Processes under Environmental Change)
Low flow is a seasonal phenomenon which is a critical requirement for utilization of water resources under rapidly changing environmental conditions. The operation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) has had a great influence on downstream low flow in the Yangtze River. In this paper, the characteristics of low flow in the main Yangtze River were analyzed during the dry season before and after the TGD operation during the period of 1956–2016. The results show that: (1) the operation of the TGD has changed the spatial and temporal distribution of streamflow in the middle and lower Yangtze River and the annual mean low flow has increased significantly since the TGD operation. (2) The operation of the TGD could advance the date of the start of dry season in the lower Yangtze River basin. The start dates of the dry season in the Yichang, Hankou and Datong stations were advanced by 14 days, 10 days and 9 days, respectively. (3) The minimum streamflow in the lower Yangtze River has increased notably since the TGD operation. The minimum streamflow was raised by 42.91%, 13.76% and 6.06% at the Yichang, Hankou and Datong stations, respectively. The increasing number of dams in the world might have the potential effects on downstream low flow. More attention should be paid to investigating the influence of dam construction on low flow in rivers all over the world.
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Keywords:
dry season; low flow; Yangtze River; the Three Gorges Dam
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MDPI and ACS Style
Tian, J.; Chang, J.; Zhang, Z.; Wang, Y.; Wu, Y.; Jiang, T. Influence of Three Gorges Dam on Downstream Low Flow. Water 2019, 11, 65.
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