The relationship between water level change and river channel geometry adjustment in the downstream of the Three Gorges Dam

doi:10.1007/s11442-018-1575-9

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Abstract

In this study, data measured from 1955-2016 were analysed to study the relationship between the water level and river channel geometry adjustment in the downstream of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) after the impoundment of the dam. The results highlight the following facts: (1) for the same flow, the low water level decreased, flood water level changed little, lowest water level increased, and highest water level decreased at the hydrological stations in the downstream of the dam; (2) the distribution of erosion and deposition along the river channel changed from “erosion at channels and deposition at bankfulls” to “erosion at both channels and bankfulls;” the ratio of low-water channel erosion to bankfull channel erosion was 95.5% from October 2002 to October 2015, with variations between different impoundment stages; (3) the low water level decrease slowed down during the channel erosion in the Upper Jingjiang reach and reaches upstream but sped up in the Lower Jingjiang reach and reaches downstream; measures should be taken to prevent the decrease in the channel water level; (4) erosion was the basis for channel dimension upscaling in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River; the low water level decrease was smaller than the thalweg decline; both channel water depth and width increased under the combined effects of channel and waterway regulations; and (5) the geometry of the channels above bankfulls did not significantly change; however, the comprehensive channel resistance increased under the combined effects of riverbed coarsening, beach vegetation, and human activities; as a result, the flood water level increased markedly and moderate flood to high water level phenomena occurred, which should be considered. The Three Gorges Reservoir effectively enhances the flood defense capacity of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; however, the superposition effect of tributary floods cannot be ruled out.

Keywords low water level flood water level riverbed adjustment cause analysis Three Gorges Dam middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

Fund:National Key Research and Development Program of China, No.2016YFC0402106; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.51579123, No.51579185, No.51339001; Supported by the Open Research Fund Program of State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, No.2016HLG02; Fundamental Research Funds for Central Welfare Research Institutes, No.TKS160103

Corresponding Authors: HAN Jianqiao E-mail: yangsan520_521@163.com;hjq13@163.com

Issue Date: 27 December 2018

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	YANG Yunping
	ZHANG Mingjin
	SUN Zhaohua
	HAN Jianqiao
	Wang Jianjun

Cite this article:

YANG Yunping,ZHANG Mingjin,SUN Zhaohua, et al. The relationship between water level change and river channel geometry adjustment in the downstream of the Three Gorges Dam[J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2018, 28(12): 1975-1993.

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http://www.geogsci.com/EN/10.1007/s11442-018-1575-9 OR http://www.geogsci.com/EN/Y2018/V28/I12/1975

Figure 1 Schematic of the river sections in the downstream of the TGR

Table 1 Sediment source and hydrological data of the downstream of the TGD

Figure 2 Changes of discharge and flux in the downstream of the TGD

Figure 3 Relationship between the flow and water level in the lower reaches of the TGD

Figure 4 Minimum water level at the downstream hydrological station of the TGD

Figure 5 Maximum water level in the downstream hydrological station of the TGD

Figure 6 Erosion and deposition changes in the channels of the Yichang-Hukou reaches (The flow rates corresponding to the low-water channel, typical channel, and flood plain channel in the figure are 5000 m³/s, 10,000 m³/s, and 30,000 m³/s, respectively, as measured at the Yichang Station.)

Table 2 Erosion and deposition proportion changes in the Yichang-Hukou reaches

Figure 7 Relationship between the siltation/scouring of the channel and low water level

Figure 8 Process of water level decline in the Yichang-Hankou reaches

Figure 9 Amount of dry riverbed and the relationship between the Yichang-Hukou reaches

Figure 10 Sedimentation in the Dongting and Poyang lakes

Table 3 Roughness change due to riverbed coarsening (Han, 2015)

Figure 11 Regulatory effect of the TGR and change of the flow days

Figure 12 Flood control losses in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

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