Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influences
Study region: The West River, the main tributary of the Pearl River, China Study focus: A hydrological model of the West River was successfully established and used to quantify the role of basin-wide spatiotemporal change of the impacts of climate change and human damming activities in the variation...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823002471 |
| _version_ | 1797390469699731456 |
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| author | Li Zhang Zhigang Lai Jaia Syvitski |
| author_facet | Li Zhang Zhigang Lai Jaia Syvitski |
| author_sort | Li Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study region: The West River, the main tributary of the Pearl River, China Study focus: A hydrological model of the West River was successfully established and used to quantify the role of basin-wide spatiotemporal change of the impacts of climate change and human damming activities in the variation of material fluxes (water discharge and sediment load) at the river outlet at both interannual and seasonal time scales of the period from 1975 to 2017. New hydrological insights for the region: The interannual variations of water discharge and sediment load were controlled by a single factor locally: runoff variation was positively correlated with the ENSO index (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) and the dams caused a 75.1% reduction of the annual sediment load in the post-dam period (2009–2017). Seasonally, climate change can alter the monthly water discharge by − 12–23% in the latter half of an abnormal year, while the dams caused a 4.6% reduction and a 12.4% increase in the summer and winter sediment load, respectively. There was a strong interaction between the two influencing factors seasonally, particularly during the wetter summer or drier winter, wherein the dominant driving mechanism in the monthly variation of material fluxes can switch. For the river basin, the impacts of climate change and dams are spatially variable. The basin-wide spatiotemporal change of the impacts of climate change and human damming activities can complicate the hydrological signal at the river outlet. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:12:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-35c3db37d1c04e0ab7912b4ee1cbdad7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:12:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-35c3db37d1c04e0ab7912b4ee1cbdad72023-12-15T07:24:13ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182023-12-0150101560Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influencesLi Zhang0Zhigang Lai1Jaia Syvitski2School of Marine Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai 519082, ChinaSchool of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China; Pearl River Estuary Marine Ecosystem Research Station, Ministry of Education, Zhuhai 519082, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Zhuhai 519082, China; Corresponding author at: School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China.INSTAAR and CSDMS, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USAStudy region: The West River, the main tributary of the Pearl River, China Study focus: A hydrological model of the West River was successfully established and used to quantify the role of basin-wide spatiotemporal change of the impacts of climate change and human damming activities in the variation of material fluxes (water discharge and sediment load) at the river outlet at both interannual and seasonal time scales of the period from 1975 to 2017. New hydrological insights for the region: The interannual variations of water discharge and sediment load were controlled by a single factor locally: runoff variation was positively correlated with the ENSO index (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) and the dams caused a 75.1% reduction of the annual sediment load in the post-dam period (2009–2017). Seasonally, climate change can alter the monthly water discharge by − 12–23% in the latter half of an abnormal year, while the dams caused a 4.6% reduction and a 12.4% increase in the summer and winter sediment load, respectively. There was a strong interaction between the two influencing factors seasonally, particularly during the wetter summer or drier winter, wherein the dominant driving mechanism in the monthly variation of material fluxes can switch. For the river basin, the impacts of climate change and dams are spatially variable. The basin-wide spatiotemporal change of the impacts of climate change and human damming activities can complicate the hydrological signal at the river outlet.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823002471Material flux variationClimate changeDamsENSO |
| spellingShingle | Li Zhang Zhigang Lai Jaia Syvitski Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influences Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Material flux variation Climate change Dams ENSO |
| title | Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influences |
| title_full | Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influences |
| title_fullStr | Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influences |
| title_short | Variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river: A combination of climate change and human damming influences |
| title_sort | variation of material fluxes in a large heterogenic subtropical river a combination of climate change and human damming influences |
| topic | Material flux variation Climate change Dams ENSO |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581823002471 |
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