Sandbars are of vital ecological and environmental significance, which however, have been intensively influenced by human activities. Morphodynamic processes of sandbars along the Yichang-Chenglingji Reach of the Chan...Sandbars are of vital ecological and environmental significance, which however, have been intensively influenced by human activities. Morphodynamic processes of sandbars along the Yichang-Chenglingji Reach of the Changjiang River, the channel immediately downstream of the Three Gorges Dam(TGD), are assessed based on remote sensing images between 2000 and 2016. It can be found that the entire area of sandbars reduces drastically by 19.23% from 149.04 km~2 in 2003 to 120.38 km~2 in 2016, accompanied with an increase in water surface width. Owing to differences in sediment grain size and anti-erosion capacity, sandbar area in the upstream sandy gravel reach(Yichang-Dabujie) and downstream sandy reach(Dabujie-Chenglingji) respectively decreases by 45.94%(from 20.79 km~2 to 11.24 km~2) and 14.93%(from 128.30 km~2 to 109.14 km~2). Furtherly, morphological evolutions of sandbars are affected by channel type: in straight-microbend channel, mid-channel sandbars exhibit downstream moving while maintaining the basic profile; in meandering channel, point sandbars show erosion and deposition in convex and concave bank respectively, with mid-channel sandbars distributing sporadically; in bending-branching channel, point sandbars experience erosion and move downstream while mid-channel sandbars show erosion in the head part along with retreating outline. We document that the primary mechanism of sandbars shrinkages along the Yichang-Chenglingji Reach can be attributed to TGD induced suspended sediment concentration decreasing and increasing in unsaturation of sediment carrying capacity. Additionally, channel type can affect the morphological evolution of sandbars. Along the Yichang-Chenglingji Reach, sandbars in straight-microbend channel are more affected by water flow than that in bending-branching channel.展开更多
Water level fluctuation of is an important ecological character of lakes in monsoon climate zone.It is the key driver to seasonal change of the wetlands and associated habitats,which provide vital inhabiting condition...Water level fluctuation of is an important ecological character of lakes in monsoon climate zone.It is the key driver to seasonal change of the wetlands and associated habitats,which provide vital inhabiting conditions for different species in summer and winter,or,wet season and dry season.Due the hydrologic regime changes in the recent years after the operation of Three Gorges Dam,in 2012,the government of Hunan province proposed Chenglingji Hydraulic Project,aiming at water level control in dry season at Chenglingji,where the outlet of Dongting Lake located.Through different operations on water retreat process,five scenarios on the water level control from 21 m to 24 m were set in the plan.The potential ecological impacts of the project are under enormous public concern.To analyze potential impacts from different scenarios of water level control on the wetlands,this paper studied the topography of Dongting Lake bed and wetlands in dry season,by using Digital Elevation Model（DEM）and 15 images from HJ satellite and 1 image from Landsat TM.The wetlands at water levels of 19 m to 27 m were analyzed.The study revealed that there were 4 terrain steps on Dongting Lake bed from the West Dongting Lake to East Dongting Lake.Water level control at Chenglingji would increase area of open water in East Dongting Lake and Hengling Lake areas,while its effect on South Dongting Lake and West Dongting Lake areas due to higher terrain was weaker.Particularly,the area percentages of South Dongting Lake area did not change with water level fluctuation,due to its 2 elevation steps.The area percentages of various types of the wetlands in Dongting Lake area during the processes of water level rising and retreating were quite different,even in the relatively close water level interval.The retreating area of open water in autumn was larger than that during the spring flooding.The 23 m was the key water level,a turning point of the area change of the wetlands in Dongting Lake area.Areas of open water,mudflat,meadows and their percentages changed significantly at water levels above 23 meters,with increasing of open water area and shrinking of meadow area,their areas would decrease 30 000 ha.As the key habitats for wintering geese,the area of meadows was from near 70 000 ha to 10 000 ha.Among 5 scenarios,the impact of the scenario at 21 m elevation on wetlands was the weakest.However,water level dropping was still postponed than that of natural hydrological process in the scenarios.It resulted in longer inundation of large area of lakebed at elevation of 22-23 m,increasing habitats for aquatic biodiversity but reducing area of the meadows,where is the key habitat for wintering geese.All the other water level control scenarios would cause large area of inundation of lakebed in dry season and dramatic change of wetlands.To maintain the natural wetlands in Dongting Lake area,the Chenglingji Hydraulic Project should be considered in a more cautious way and further researches were needed on the response of aquatic biodiversity and wintering water birds.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41576087National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China,No.41706093Fund of the Key Laboratory of Coastal Science and Engineering,Beibu Gulf,Guangxi,No.2016ZZD01
文摘Sandbars are of vital ecological and environmental significance, which however, have been intensively influenced by human activities. Morphodynamic processes of sandbars along the Yichang-Chenglingji Reach of the Changjiang River, the channel immediately downstream of the Three Gorges Dam(TGD), are assessed based on remote sensing images between 2000 and 2016. It can be found that the entire area of sandbars reduces drastically by 19.23% from 149.04 km~2 in 2003 to 120.38 km~2 in 2016, accompanied with an increase in water surface width. Owing to differences in sediment grain size and anti-erosion capacity, sandbar area in the upstream sandy gravel reach(Yichang-Dabujie) and downstream sandy reach(Dabujie-Chenglingji) respectively decreases by 45.94%(from 20.79 km~2 to 11.24 km~2) and 14.93%(from 128.30 km~2 to 109.14 km~2). Furtherly, morphological evolutions of sandbars are affected by channel type: in straight-microbend channel, mid-channel sandbars exhibit downstream moving while maintaining the basic profile; in meandering channel, point sandbars show erosion and deposition in convex and concave bank respectively, with mid-channel sandbars distributing sporadically; in bending-branching channel, point sandbars experience erosion and move downstream while mid-channel sandbars show erosion in the head part along with retreating outline. We document that the primary mechanism of sandbars shrinkages along the Yichang-Chenglingji Reach can be attributed to TGD induced suspended sediment concentration decreasing and increasing in unsaturation of sediment carrying capacity. Additionally, channel type can affect the morphological evolution of sandbars. Along the Yichang-Chenglingji Reach, sandbars in straight-microbend channel are more affected by water flow than that in bending-branching channel.
基金Under the auspices of National Key R&D Program of China(2017YFC0405300)
文摘Water level fluctuation of is an important ecological character of lakes in monsoon climate zone.It is the key driver to seasonal change of the wetlands and associated habitats,which provide vital inhabiting conditions for different species in summer and winter,or,wet season and dry season.Due the hydrologic regime changes in the recent years after the operation of Three Gorges Dam,in 2012,the government of Hunan province proposed Chenglingji Hydraulic Project,aiming at water level control in dry season at Chenglingji,where the outlet of Dongting Lake located.Through different operations on water retreat process,five scenarios on the water level control from 21 m to 24 m were set in the plan.The potential ecological impacts of the project are under enormous public concern.To analyze potential impacts from different scenarios of water level control on the wetlands,this paper studied the topography of Dongting Lake bed and wetlands in dry season,by using Digital Elevation Model（DEM）and 15 images from HJ satellite and 1 image from Landsat TM.The wetlands at water levels of 19 m to 27 m were analyzed.The study revealed that there were 4 terrain steps on Dongting Lake bed from the West Dongting Lake to East Dongting Lake.Water level control at Chenglingji would increase area of open water in East Dongting Lake and Hengling Lake areas,while its effect on South Dongting Lake and West Dongting Lake areas due to higher terrain was weaker.Particularly,the area percentages of South Dongting Lake area did not change with water level fluctuation,due to its 2 elevation steps.The area percentages of various types of the wetlands in Dongting Lake area during the processes of water level rising and retreating were quite different,even in the relatively close water level interval.The retreating area of open water in autumn was larger than that during the spring flooding.The 23 m was the key water level,a turning point of the area change of the wetlands in Dongting Lake area.Areas of open water,mudflat,meadows and their percentages changed significantly at water levels above 23 meters,with increasing of open water area and shrinking of meadow area,their areas would decrease 30 000 ha.As the key habitats for wintering geese,the area of meadows was from near 70 000 ha to 10 000 ha.Among 5 scenarios,the impact of the scenario at 21 m elevation on wetlands was the weakest.However,water level dropping was still postponed than that of natural hydrological process in the scenarios.It resulted in longer inundation of large area of lakebed at elevation of 22-23 m,increasing habitats for aquatic biodiversity but reducing area of the meadows,where is the key habitat for wintering geese.All the other water level control scenarios would cause large area of inundation of lakebed in dry season and dramatic change of wetlands.To maintain the natural wetlands in Dongting Lake area,the Chenglingji Hydraulic Project should be considered in a more cautious way and further researches were needed on the response of aquatic biodiversity and wintering water birds.
