Applying energy theory to understand the relationship between the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake

doi:10.1007/s11442-018-1541-6

Abstract

Abstract:

The complex relationship between the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake controls the exchange of water and sediment between the two, and exerts effects on water resources, flooding, shipping, and the ecological environment. The theory of energy is applied in this paper to investigate the physical mechanisms that determine the nature of the contact between the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake and to establish an energy difference (F_e) index to quantify the interactions between the two systems. Data show that F_e values for this interaction have increased since the 1950s, indicating a weakening in the river effect while the lake effect has been enhanced. Enclosure of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) has also significantly influenced the relationship between the river and the lake by further reducing the impacts of the Yangtze River. The river effect also increases slightly during the dry season, and decreases significantly at the end of the flooding period, while interactions between the two to some extent influence the development of droughts and floods within the lake area. Data show that when the flow of the five rivers within this area is significant and a blocking effect due to the Yangtze River is also clearly apparent, floods occur easily; in contrast, when the opposite is true and the flow of the five rivers is small, and the Yangtze River can accommodate the flow, droughts occur frequently. Construction and enclosure of the TGR also means that the lake area is prone to droughts during September and October.

Key words: Poyang Lake, Yangtze River, river-lake relationship, Three Gorges Reservoir, characterization index

Mofei CHEN, Jinyun DENG, Shaoying FAN, Yitian LI. Applying energy theory to understand the relationship between the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2018, 28(8): 1059-1071.

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	Effect	Theory	Indication
Yangtze River	Blocking effect	Flow discharge and energy of the Yangtze River increases	Increase in E_S hinders outflow
Poyang Lake	Recharging effect	Flow discharges and energies of the five rivers increase	Increase in E_D favors outflow

Date	F_e	Date	F_e	Date	F_e	Date	F_e	Date	F_e
1953	0.009	1967	?0.011	1980	?0.022	1993	?0.012	2006	0.062
1954	?0.025	1968	?0.024	1981	?0.009	1994	0.014	2007	0.009
1955	?0.009	1969	0.006	1982	?0.027	1995	0.013	2008	0.010
1956	0.002	1970	0.005	1983	?0.030	1996	?0.017	2009	0.010
1957	0.004	1971	?0.004	1984	?0.010	1997	0.026	2010	0.025
1958	0.005	1972	0.019	1985	?0.015	1998	?0.006	2011	0.030
1959	0.025	1973	0.005	1986	0.005	1999	0.009	2012	0.020
1960	0.018	1974	?0.018	1987	?0.009	2000	?0.010	2013	0.029
1961	0.016	1975	0.000	1988	0.010	2001	0.015	2014	0.009
1962	0.012	1976	0.010	1989	?0.029	2002	0.006	2015	0.028
1963	?0.028	1977	?0.002	1990	?0.029	2003	?0.014
1964	?0.049	1978	0.014	1991	?0.032	2004	?0.008
1965	?0.025	1979	0.002	1992	0.024	2005	?0.005

Month	Month	Days	Volume (10⁸ m³)	Month	Days	Volume (10⁸ m³)
Jan	May	0	0	Sep	251	454
Feb	June	13	15	Oct	59	80
Mar	July	204	540	Nov	14	13
Apr	Aug	186	336	Dec	2	0.4

Month	1953 and 2002	1953-2002	Variation rate (%)	Month	1953-2002	2004-2015	Variation rate (%)
Jan	8,320	10,252	23	July	43,482	37,022	?15
Feb	8,400	10,389	24	Aug	38,137	33,883	?11
Mar	10,737	13,202	23	Sep	34,891	30,003	?14
Apr	16,401	16,296	?1	Oct	27,438	19,588	?29
May	24,585	23,148	?6	Nov	17,827	16,079	?10
June	30,009	30,753	2	Dec	11,045	11,561	5

Month	I_FJ	I_FW	F_e	I_QJ	I_QW	Month	I_FJ	I_FW	F_e	I_QJ	I_QW
Jan	0.32	0.39	0.066	0.10*	0.08*	July	0.29	0.09	?0.049	0.73	0.28
Feb	0.31	0.43	0.077	0.04	0.06	Aug	0.52	0.14	?0.065	0.63	0.10
Mar	0.30	0.46	0.091	0.06	0.09	Sep	0.54	0.24	?0.020	0.41	0.07
Apr	0.35	0.44	0.066	0.10*	0.08*	Oct	0.30	0.31	0.026	0.23	0.10
May	0.29	0.46	0.084	0.10	0.12	Nov	0.48*	0.32*	0.019	0.26*	0.07*
June	0.33	0.34	0.023	0.60*	0.37*	Dec	0.34	0.41	0.069	0.05*	0.05*