Evolution characteristics and drivers of the water level at an identical discharge in the Jingjiang reaches of the Yangtze River

doi:10.1007/s11442-020-1804-x

Abstract

Abstract:

The operation of large-scale reservoirs have modified water and sediment transport processes, resulting in adjustments to the river topography and water levels. The polynomial fitting method was applied to analyze the variation characteristics of water levels under different water discharge values in the Jingjiang reach of the Yangtze River from 1991-2016. The segregation variable method was used to estimate the contributions of the varied riverbed evaluation, the downstream-controlled water level, and the comprehensive roughness on the altered water level at an identical flow. We find that low water levels in the Jingjiang reach of the Yangtze River from 1991-2016 are characterized by a significant downward trend, which has intensified since 2009. Riverbed scouring has been the dominate factor causing the reduced low water level while increased roughness alleviated this reduction. From 1991-2016, there was first a decrease followed by an increase in the high water level. The variation characteristic in terms of the “high flood discharge at a high water level” before 2003 transformed into a “middle flood discharge at a high water level” since 2009. The increased comprehensive roughness was the main reason for the increased high water level, where river scouring alleviated this rise. For navigation conditions and flood control, intensified riverbed scouring of the sandy reaches downstream from dams enhanced the effects that the downstream water level has on the upstream water level. This has led to an insufficient water depth in the reaches below the dams, which should receive immediate attention. The altered variation characteristics of the high water level have also increased the flood pressure in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Key words: water level at identical flow, spatio-temporal evolution, channel geomorphology, middle reaches of the Yangtze River

CHAI Yuanfang, YANG Yunping, DENG Jinyun, SUN Zhaohua, LI Yitian, ZHU Lingling. Evolution characteristics and drivers of the water level at an identical discharge in the Jingjiang reaches of the Yangtze River[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2020, 30(10): 1633-1648.

Figures/Tables 13

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Hydrological station/Reach	Data type	Data characteristics	Period	Data source
Yichang, Zhicheng, Shashi, Jianli, and Luoshan	Flow and water level	Daily, monthly, and annual averages	1991-2016	Yangtze River Waterway Bureau and Bureau of Hydrology Changjiang Water Resources Commission
Dongting Lake (three mouths) and Chenglingji	Flow and water level	Daily, monthly, and annual averages	1991-2016
Yichang-Chenglingji reach	Terrain	Sediment amount	2002-2016
Yichang-Luoshan reach	Terrain	1:10,000	October 2002, October 2009, and October 2016

Flow	Yichang	Zhicheng	Shashi	Jianli	Luoshan
Low water flow (m³/s)	6,190	6,490	6,460	6,490	8,460
Flood flow (m³/s)	46,500	46,400	37,600	34,500	45,800

Time	Channel characteristics	ΔB > 0 m	ΔB > 20 m	ΔB > 50 m
2003-2009	Low-flow channel	68.8	41.6	28.9
	Backfill channel	71.7	27.2	16.2
	Flood channel	74.6	22.0	6.4
2009-2016	Low-flow channel	70.5	46.8	31.8
	Backfill channel	57.8	25.4	17.3
	Flood channel	38.7	14.5	6.94
2003-2016	Low-flow channel	71.7	57.8	43.9
	Backfill channel	60.1	34.1	23.1
	Flood channel	55.5	16.8	6.94

Hydrological station	Period of time
Hydrological station	1991-2003	2003-2009	2009-2016
Yichang	51.48	51.24	51.66
Zhicheng	47.60	47.22	47.97
Shashi	42.29	41.87	42.48
Jianli	35.69	34.48	35.61
Luoshan	31.87	31.47	32.05

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