Analysis of Water Temperature Variations in the Yangtze River’s Upper and Middle Reaches in the Context of Cascade Hydropower Development

Wang, Zhangpeng; Ma, Jun; Yu, Shengde; Xu, Yaqian; Tao, Zeyi; Zhang, Jiaqi; Xiao, Ran; Wei, Hao; Liu, Defu

doi:10.3390/w16121669

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Water Temperature Variations in the Yangtze River’s Upper and Middle Reaches in the Context of Cascade Hydropower Development

by

Zhangpeng Wang

^1,2,3

,

Jun Ma

^1,2,3,*,

Shengde Yu

⁴

,

Yaqian Xu

^1,2,3,5,

Zeyi Tao

^1,2,3,

Jiaqi Zhang

^1,2,3,

Ran Xiao

^1,2,3,

Hao Wei

^1,2,3 and

Defu Liu

^1,2,3,5

¹

Key Laboratory of Health Intelligent Perception and Ecological Restoration of River and Lake, Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China

²

Innovation Demonstration Base of Ecological Environment Geotechnical and Ecological Restoration of Rivers and Lakes, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China

³

Hubei Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration of River-Lakes and Algal Utilization, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China

⁴

Ecohydrology Research Group, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

⁵

State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Water 2024, 16(12), 1669; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16121669

Submission received: 9 May 2024 / Revised: 6 June 2024 / Accepted: 8 June 2024 / Published: 12 June 2024

(This article belongs to the Topic Climate Change and Human Impact on Freshwater Water Resources: Rivers and Lakes)

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Abstract

The establishment and operation of cascade reservoirs in the mainstream of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River have changed the river’s thermal regimes. This study analyzed the correlation between water temperature and its influencing factors and employed various evaluation indexes—including

∆ T

(the temperature-increasing index, °C/100 km),

I_{E C}

(the extreme fluctuation index),

I_{B D}

(the baseline deviation index), and

I_{P O}

(the phase offset time index). The aim was to uncover the variation characteristics and influencing factors of water temperature and quantify the impact of cascade reservoir construction on annual and seasonal water temperature rhythms. Our findings show that the construction and operation of cascade reservoirs weaken the synchronization of water temperature and air temperature downstream. The construction and operation of cascade reservoirs in the middle and lower reaches of the Jinsha River led to obvious homogenization, baseline deviation, and lagging effects on water temperature downstream, which intensified with the increase in storage capacity. These effects were more pronounced in colder months compared to warmer months. Additionally, the influence of tributaries and water–air heat exchange on these effects is alleviated to different degrees. These results are significant for assessing river ecological health in the context of cascade hydropower development.

Keywords: upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River; cascade reservoirs; river water temperature; evaluation indexes

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, Z.; Ma, J.; Yu, S.; Xu, Y.; Tao, Z.; Zhang, J.; Xiao, R.; Wei, H.; Liu, D. Analysis of Water Temperature Variations in the Yangtze River’s Upper and Middle Reaches in the Context of Cascade Hydropower Development. Water 2024, 16, 1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16121669

AMA Style

Wang Z, Ma J, Yu S, Xu Y, Tao Z, Zhang J, Xiao R, Wei H, Liu D. Analysis of Water Temperature Variations in the Yangtze River’s Upper and Middle Reaches in the Context of Cascade Hydropower Development. Water. 2024; 16(12):1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16121669

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Zhangpeng, Jun Ma, Shengde Yu, Yaqian Xu, Zeyi Tao, Jiaqi Zhang, Ran Xiao, Hao Wei, and Defu Liu. 2024. "Analysis of Water Temperature Variations in the Yangtze River’s Upper and Middle Reaches in the Context of Cascade Hydropower Development" Water 16, no. 12: 1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16121669

APA Style

Wang, Z., Ma, J., Yu, S., Xu, Y., Tao, Z., Zhang, J., Xiao, R., Wei, H., & Liu, D. (2024). Analysis of Water Temperature Variations in the Yangtze River’s Upper and Middle Reaches in the Context of Cascade Hydropower Development. Water, 16(12), 1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16121669

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Analysis of Water Temperature Variations in the Yangtze River’s Upper and Middle Reaches in the Context of Cascade Hydropower Development

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