Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2013, Vol. 68 ›› Issue (1): 108-117.doi: 10.11821/xb201301012

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Evolution of water exchange ability between Dongting Lake and Yangtze River and its response to the operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir

LI Jingbao1, ZHOU Yongqiang1,2,3, OU Chaomin4, CHENG Weiyan1, YANG Yan1, ZHAO Zhonghua1   

  1. 1. College of Resources and Environmental sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China;
    2. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China;
    3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    4. College of Information System and Management, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
  • Received:2012-07-06 Revised:2012-11-07 Online:2013-01-20 Published:2013-01-20
  • Supported by:

    National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41071067; Construct Program of the Key Discipline in Hunan Province(2011001)

Abstract: By using the hydrological data of the related control stations in the Dongting Lake region and the Yangtze River mainstream in 1951-2010, this study analyzed the evolution of water exchange ability between Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River and its response to the operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) from different time scales based on their hydraulic relationships. The results are shown as follows. Firstly, from July to September, the compensation ability of the Three Outlets into Dongting Lake is stronger, and from January to March, the compensation ability of Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River tends to be stronger. Secondly, there has been an obvious inter-decadal wave on the water exchange coefficient between Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River, namely, in the periods of 1951-1958 and 1959-1968, the compensation ability of the Three Outlets into Dongting Lake tends to be stronger, but in 2003-2010, the compensation ability of Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River are strengthened. Besides, the spill-division ability of the Three Outlets is weakening, and the water of the lake coming from the Three Outlets decreases. As a result, the water of the lake which comes from the Four Rivers in Hunan takes the dominate position, which obviously enhances the compensation ability of Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River in either typical years after the operation of the TGR or under different dispatching modes of the TGR.

Key words: water exchange coefficient, evolutions of water exchange ability, Dongting Lake, Yangtze River