Abstract
Since the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) was put into operation, the flood water level at an identical discharge rate has not displayed a decreasing trend along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (MYR). The flow resistance variations of the channel and bars in response to the operation of the TGD remain poorly understood, despite the importance of understanding these for water disaster mitigation and water environment regulation. Herein, the impacts of the TGD on the downstream flow resistance of the channel and bars in the MYR were analyzed using systematic surveys of hydrological datasets, cross- sectional profiles, sediment datasets, and remote sensing images, during different periods. Under the actual natural conditions in the MYR, a modified semi-empirical formula, which considered the grain, dune resistance, as well as the topographic features of the riverbed, was proposed to predict the channel resistance. Furthermore, the effect of various dam-control flow and sediment elements on the variation in different flow resistance components, and the corresponding relationships among them were investigated. Results showed a decline in the comprehensive, channel, and bar resistances as the discharge increased, whereas there was a slight increase when reaching the bank-full discharges. Notably, the bar resistance occupied 65%, while the channel resistance, in which dune resistance was much larger than grain resistance, contributed 35% to the comprehensive resistance. In addition, while flow resistance rose over time, there was a decline as the distance from the TGD increased. In conclusion, the increased dune and bar resistances, interpreted by the fluctuated channel longitudinal profile and growing vegetated area on bars, were the dominant factors preventing the flood water level from dropping.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aberle J, Nikora V, Henning M et al., 2010. Statistical characterization of bed roughness due to bed forms: A field study in the Elbe River at Aken, Germany. Water Resources Research, 46(3).
Afzalimehr H, Singh V P, Najafabadi E F, 2010. Determination of form friction factor. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 15(3): 237–243.
Alam A M, Kennedy J F, 1969. Friction factors for flow in sand-bed channels. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 95(6): 1973–1992.
Bormann H, Pinter N, Elfert S, 2011. Hydrological signatures of flood trends on German rivers: Flood frequencies, flood heights and specific stages. Journal of Hydrology, 404(1): 50–66.
Cao G J, Wang J, 2015. Measurements and Studies of Hydrological and Sediment Data in the Three Gorges Project. Beijing: Science Press. (in Chinese)
Carle M V, Sasser C E, Roberts H H, 2015. Accretion and vegetation community change in the Wax Lake Delta following the historic 2011 Mississippi River flood. Journal of Coastal Research, 31(3): 569–587.
Carling P A, Leyland J, Kleinhans M G et al., 2020. Quantifying fluid retention due to natural vegetation in a forest floodplain analogue using the aggregated dead zone (ADZ) dilution approach. Water Resources Research, 56(9): e2020WR027070.
Chai Y F, Yang Y P, Deng J Y et al., 2020. Evolution characteristics and drivers of the water level at an identical discharge in the Jingjiang reaches of the Yangtze River. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 30(10): 1633–1648.
Chang F F M, 1970. Ripple concentration and friction factor. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 96(2): 417–430.
Coon W F, 1998. Estimation of roughness coefficients for natural stream channels with vegetated banks. USA: US Geological Survey.
CWRC, 2015. Analysis of channel degradation in the reach downstream of the Three Gorges Dam. Scientific Report. Wuhan: Changjiang Water Resources Commission. (in Chinese)
Darby S E, 1999. Effect of riparian vegetation on flow resistance and flood potential. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 125(5): 443–454.
Day J W, Cable J E, Lane R R et al., 2016. Sediment deposition at the Caernarvon crevasse during the great Mississippi flood of 1927: implications for coastal restoration. Water, 8(2): 38.
De St Venant B, 1871. Theorie du mouvement non-permanent des eaux avec application aux crues des rivers et a l’introduntion des Marees dans leur lit. Academic de Sci. Comptes Redus, 73(99): 148–154.
Einstein H A, Barbarossa N L, 1952. River channel roughness. Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 117(1): 1121–1132.
Fang H W, Han D, He G J et al., 2012. Flood management selections for the Yangtze River midstream after the Three Gorges Project operation. Journal of Hydrology, 432/433: 1–11.
Graf W L, 2006. Downstream hydrologic and geomorphic effects of large dams on American rivers. Geomorphology, 79(3): 336–360.
Greene S L, Knox J C, 2014. Coupling legacy geomorphic surface facies to riparian vegetation: Assessing red cedar invasion along the Missouri River downstream of Gavins Point dam, South Dakota. Geomorphology, 204: 277–286.
Han J Q, Sun Z H, Li Y T et al., 2017. Combined effects of multiple large-scale hydraulic engineering on water stages in the middle Yangtze River. Geomorphology, 298: 31–40.
He Z, Sun Z, Li Y et al., 2021. Response of the gravel-sand transition in the Yangtze River to hydrological and sediment regime changes after upstream damming. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 47(2): 383–398.
Huang C A, Zhao X D, Gong M F, 2004. Comparisons of flow resistance equations in movable bed. Journal of Sediment Research, (5): 1–7.
IAHR Working Group on Wave Generation and Analysis, 1989. List of sea-state parameters. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, 115(6): 793–808.
Jiang Y, Cheng H, Zhou Q et al., 2021. Influence of major water conservation projects on river channels and shorelines in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14(10): 1–12.
Julien P Y, Klaassen G J, Ten Brinke W B M et al., 2002. Case study: Bed resistance of Rhine River during 1998 flood. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 128(12): 1042–1050.
Liu C, Chai Y, Zhu B et al., 2021. River regulation and resilience: An approach for the Yangtze watershed. Water Supply, 21(4): 1817–1833.
Liu X, Xia J Q, Zhou M R et al., 2020. Formula of movable bed roughness for the Middle Yangtze River. Advances in Water Science, 31(4): 535–546. (in Chinese)
Lyu Y, Fagherazzi S, Zheng S et al., 2020. Enhanced hysteresis of suspended sediment transport in response to upstream damming: An example of the middle Yangtze River downstream of the Three Gorges Dam. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 45(8): 1846–1859.
Lyu Y W, Zheng S, Tan G M et al., 2019. Morphodynamic adjustments in the Yichang—Chenglingji Reach of the Middle Yangtze River since the operation of the Three Gorges Project. Catena, 172: 274–284.
Myneni R B, Hall F G, Sellers P J et al., 1995. The interpretation of spectral vegetation indexes. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 33(2): 481–486.
Makaske B, Maathuis B H P, Padovani C R et al., 2012. Upstream and downstream controls of recent avulsions on the Taquari Megafan, Pantanal, south-western Brazil. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 37(12): 1313–1326.
Moshe L B, Haviv I, Enzel Y et al., 2008. Incision of alluvial channels in response to a continuous base level fall: Field characterization, modeling, and validation along the Dead Sea. Geomorphology, 93(3/4): 524–536.
Naden P, Rameshwaran P, Mountford O et al., 2006. The influence of macrophyte growth, typical of eutrophic conditions, on river flow velocities and turbulence production. Hydrological Processes: An International Journal, 20(18): 3915–3938.
Nikuradse J, 1933. Stromungsgesetze in rauhen Rohren. VDI-Forschungsheft, 361: 1.
O’Hare M T, McGahey C, Bissett N et al., 2010. Variability in roughness measurements for vegetated rivers near base flow, in England and Scotland. Journal of Hydrology, 385(1-4): 361–370.
Peterson A W, Peterson A E, 1988. Mobile boundary flow: an assessment of velocity and sediment discharge relationships. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 15(4): 539–546.
Petryk S, Bosmajian III G, 1975. Analysis of flow through vegetation. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 101(7): 871–884.
Pettorelli N, Vik J O, Mysterud A et al., 2005. Using the satellite-derived NDVI to assess ecological responses to environmental change. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 20(9): 503–510.
Petts G E, Gurnell A M, 2005. Dams and geomorphology: Research progress and future directions. Geomorphology, 71(1): 27–47.
Pinter N, Heine R A, 2005. Hydrodynamic and morphodynamic response to river engineering documented by fixed-discharge analysis, Lower Missouri River, USA. Journal of Hydrology, 302(1-4): 70–91.
Slater L J, 2016. To what extent have changes in channel capacity contributed to flood hazard trends in England and Wales?. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(8): 1115–1128.
Sonnad J R, Goudar C T, 2006. Turbulent flow friction factor calculation using a mathematically exact alternative to the Colebrook—White equation. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 132(8): 863–867.
Surian N, Rinaldi M, 2003. Morphological response to river engineering and management in alluvial channels in Italy. Geomorphology, 50(4): 307–326.
Van Rijn L C, 1982. Equivalent roughness of alluvial bed. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 108(10): 1215–1218.
Van Rijn L C, 1984. Sediment transport, part III: bed forms and alluvial roughness. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 110(12): 1733–1754.
Wang B, Xu Y J, 2018. Dynamics of 30 large channel bars in the Lower Mississippi River in response to river engineering from 1985 to 2015. Geomorphology, 300: 31–44.
Wang Z, Chen Z Y, Shi Y F et al., 2007. The fluvial bedform and hydrodynamic controls along the middle and lower Yangtze River (from Wuhan to estuary). Science in China (Series D): Earth Science, 37: 1223–1234.
Wu B, Wang G, Xia J et al., 2008. Response of bankfull discharge to discharge and sediment load in the Lower Yellow River. Geomorphology, 100(3/4): 366–376.
Xia J, Deng S, Lu J et al., 2016. Dynamic channel adjustments in the Jingjiang Reach of the Middle Yangtze River. Scientific Reports, 6(1): 1–10.
Xia J, Wu B, Wang G et al., 2010. Estimation of bankfull discharge in the Lower Yellow River using different approaches. Geomorphology, 117(1/2): 66–77.
Xia J, Zhou M, Lin F et al., 2017. Variation in reach-scale bankfull discharge of the Jingjiang Reach undergoing upstream and downstream boundary controls. Journal of Hydrology, 547: 534–543.
Xiao M, Udall B, Lettenmaier D P, 2018. On the causes of declining Colorado River streamflows. Water Resources Research, 54(9): 6739–6756.
Yan T, Yang Y, Li Y et al., 2019. Possibilities and challenges of expanding dimensions of waterway downstream of Three Gorges Dam. Water Science and Engineering, 12(2): 136–144.
Yang Y, Liu W, Zhang J et al., 2022. Changes of divergence and confluence relationship between Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River after the operation of the Three Gorges Project and its impact on the waterway depth. Frontiers in Earth Science, 84.
Yang Y, Zheng J, Zhang M et al., 2021. Sandy riverbed shoal under anthropogenic activities: The sandy reach of the Yangtze River, China. Journal of Hydrology, 603: 126861.
Yang Y P, Zhang M J, Sun Z H et al., 2017a. The relationship between water level change and river channel geometry adjustment in the downstream of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD). Acta Geographica Sinica, 72(5): 776–789. (in Chinese)
Yang Y P, Zhang M J, Zhu L L et al., 2017b. Influence of large reservoir operation on water-levels and flows in reaches below dam: Case study of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Scientific Reports, 7(1): 1–14.
Yen B C, 2002. Open channel flow resistance. Journal of hydraulic engineering, 128(1): 20–39.
Zhang W, Gao Y, Xu Q X et al., 2018. Changes in dominant discharge and their influential factors in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River after the Three Gorges Dam impoundment. Advances in Water Science, 29(3): 331–338. (in Chinese)
Zhang W, Wu M Q, Li S X et al., 2020. Mechanism of adjustment of scouring and silting of Chenglingji-Jiujiang reach in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River after impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam. Advances in Water Science, 31(2): 162–171. (in Chinese)
Zheng S, 2016. Reflections on the Three Gorges Project since its operation. Engineering, 2(4): 389–397.
Zhou Y J, Lu J Y, Chen L et al., 2018. Bed roughness adjustments determined from fractal measurements of river-bed morphology. Journal of Hydrodynamics, 30(5): 882–889.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation
National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.51779185; National Key Research and Development Program of China, No.2018YFC0407201
Author
Hu Yong (1996—), PhD Candidate
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hu, Y., Deng, J., Li, Y. et al. Flow resistance adjustments of channel and bars in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in response to the operation of the Three Gorges Dam. J. Geogr. Sci. 32, 2013–2035 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-2034-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-2034-1