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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 34, L10401, doi:10.1029/2007GL029472, 2007

Influence of the Three Gorges Dam on downstream delivery of sediment and its environmental implications, Yangtze River

S. L. Yang

State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China


J. Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China


X. J. Xu

State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China


Abstract

Water and sediment supplies from ungauged areas were calculated and combined with datasets from gauging stations to establish sediment budgets. Using sediment budgets and regression relationships, the influence of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on downstream delivery of sediment was quantified. We found that 151 mt/yr (1 mt = 106 tons) of sediment has been retained by TGD since it began operation (2003–2005). In response to this, significant erosion has occurred in the downstream riverbed. This erosion did not offset the sediment lost in the reservoir, and the sediment flux into the estuary decreased by 85 mt/yr (31%). This decrease has lead to conversion from progradation to recession in the delta front. In combination with other anthropogenic impacts, TGD was expected to decrease the sediment flux into the estuary for centuries, which is of great importance for delta ecosystem and human development.

Received 25 January 2007; accepted 9 March 2007; published 17 May 2007.

Keywords: dam; riverine sediment flux; Yangtze River; sediment budget; delta; Three Gorges Dam.

Index Terms: 1719 History of Geophysics: Hydrology; 1803 Hydrology: Anthropogenic effects (4802, 4902); 1815 Hydrology: Erosion; 1857 Hydrology: Reservoirs (surface); 1836 Hydrology: Hydrological cycles and budgets (1218, 1655).

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Citation: Yang, S. L., J. Zhang, and X. J. Xu (2007), Influence of the Three Gorges Dam on downstream delivery of sediment and its environmental implications, Yangtze River, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L10401, doi:10.1029/2007GL029472.