The effects of dam construction and precipitation variability on hydrologic alteration in the Lancang River Basin of southwest China

This paper presents an evaluation of the spatio-temporal patterns of hydrologic alteration induced by dam construction and precipitation variability in the Lancang River Basin of southwest China from 1957 to 2000. Analyses were conducted using the linear regression method, the Mann–Kendall test, and the Range of Variability Approach. The results indicate that there was considerable variation in the average monthly precipitation between the pre- and post-dam periods in the Lancang River Basin. Second, the magnitude of monthly runoff was strongly related to precipitation, which showed an up-down annual variation, and was significantly altered by dam construction and precipitation variability. In the modified series (hydrologic series with the precipitation impacts removed), runoff deviations between the pre- and post-dam periods became larger. Third, the extreme runoff cycles were influenced by dam construction and precipitation variability downstream from the dam, and the monthly maximum runoff increased from the pre-dam to post-dam period at all hydrologic stations. Fourth, the degree of hydrologic alteration (DHA) indicates that the precipitation variability not only affected the hydrologic regime of unregulated river reach but also modified the negative impacts of dam construction, which could provide a modest mitigation of the hydrologic alterations induced by dam construction, possibly decreasing the level of DHA. Last, the overall degree of hydrologic alteration in the observed series reached 25.2, 25.3, and 29.1 % for the upstream, midstream, and downstream areas, respectively. These results show that the hydrologic regimes of the Lancang River during the 1957–2000 period were affected by damming and precipitation variability, but the hydrologic alteration was relatively low in the upstream areas of the river without a dam.     

Spatial and temporal variability of temperature,precipitation, and streamflow in upper Sang‐kan basin,China

Temporal streamflow variability in an inland hydrologic station and temporal trends and frequency changes at three weather stations in a semiarid river basin located in Loess Plateau, China, were detected by using linear regression, Mann–Kendall analysis, and wavelet transform methods. Double cumulative curve and ordered clustering were used to identify the hydrological periods of upper Sang‐kan (USK) basin between 1957 and 2012. The results indicate that (1) precipitation in the USK basin over the study period did not show any trend, while the temperature showed a significant increase; (2) streamflow flowing out of the USK basin indicated a significant decrease; (3) two distinct hydrological periods – the ‘natural period’ from 1957 to 1984 and the ‘human impact period’ from 1985 to 2012 – were present; and (4) the contributions of climate change and human activities to reduce the streamflow were 36.9% and 63.1% respectively. The results indicate that human activities may be contributing to a decrease in streamflow in the USK basin. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of bushfire and climate variability on streamflow from forested catchments in southeast Australia

Abstract

This paper quantifies the impacts of bushfire and climate variability on streamflow from three southeast Australian catchments where bushfires occurred in February 1983. Three hydrological models (AWRA-L, Xinanjiang and GR4J) were first calibrated against streamflow data from the pre-bushfire period and then used to simulate runoff for the post-bushfire period with the calibrated parameters. The difference in simulated streamflow between pre- and post-bushfire periods provides an estimate of the impact of climate variability on streamflow. The impact of bushfire on streamflow is quantified by removing the climate variability impact from the difference in mean annual observed streamflow between post- and pre-bushfire periods. For the first 15 years after the 1983 bushfires, the results from hydrological models for the three catchments indicate that there is a substantial increase in streamflow; this is attributed to initial decreases in evapotranspiration and soil infiltration rates resulting from the fires, followed by logging activity. After 15 years, streamflow dynamics are more heavily influenced by climate effects, although some impact from fire and logging regeneration may still occur. The results show that hydrological models provide reasonably consistent estimates of bushfire and climate impacts on streamflow for the three catchments. The models can be used to quantify relative contributions of forest disturbance (bushfire, logging and other forest management) and climate variability. The results presented can also help forest managers understand the relationship between bushfire and climate variability impacts on water yield in the context of climate variability.     

Wavelet-based characterization of water level behaviors in the Pearl River estuary, China

In this paper, we analyzed the high/low water levels of eight stations along the Pearl River estuary and the high/low tidal levels of Sanzao station, and streamflow series of Sanshui and Makou stations using wavelet transform technique and correlation analysis method. The behaviors of high/low water levels of the Pearl River estuary, possible impacts of hydrological processes of the upper Pearl River Delta and astronomical tidal fluctuations were investigated. The results indicate that: (1) the streamflow variability of Sanshui and Makou stations is characterized by 1-year period; 1-, 0.5- and 0.25-year periods can be detected in the high tidal level series of Sanzao station, which reflect the fluctuations of astronomical tidal levels. The low tidal level series of Sanzao station has two periodicity elements, i.e. 0.5- and 0.25-year periods; (2) different periodicity properties have been revealed: the periods of high water levels of the Pearl River estuary are characterized by 1-, 0.5- and 0.25-year periods; and 1-year period is the major period in the low water levels of the Pearl River estuary; (3) periodicity properties indicate that behaviors of low water levels are mainly influenced by hydrological processes of the upper Pearl River Delta. High water levels of the Pearl River estuary seem to be affected by both hydrological processes and fluctuations of astronomical tidal levels represented by tidal level changes of Sanzao station. Correlation analysis results further corroborate this conclusion; (4) slight differences can be observed in wavelet transform patterns and properties of relationships between high/low water levels and streamflow changes. This can be formulated by altered hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes due to intensifying human activities such as construction of engineering infrastructures and land reclamation.     

Trend,periodicity and abrupt change in streamflow of the East River,the Pearl River basin

The East River in the Pearl River basin, China, plays a vital role in the water supply for mega‐cities within and in the vicinity of the Pearl River Delta. Knowledge of statistical variability of streamflow is therefore important for water resources management in the basin. This study analyzed streamflow from four hydrological stations on the East River for a period of 1951–2009, using ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), continuous wavelet transform (CWT) technique, scanning t and F tests. Results indicated increasing/decreasing streamflow in the East River basin before/after the 1980s. After the early 1970s, the high/low flow components were decreasing/increasing. CWT‐based analysis demonstrates a significant impact of water reservoirs on the periodicity of streamflow. Scanning t and F test indicates that significantly abrupt changes in streamflow are largely influenced by both water reservoirs construction and precipitation changes. Thus, changes of streamflow, which are reflected by variations of trend, periodicity and abrupt change, are due to both water reservoir construction and precipitation changes. Further, the changes of volume of streamflow in the East River are in good agreement with precipitation changes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accumulated impact assessment of river buffer zone after 30 years of dam disturbance in the Yellow River Basin

As the buffer zone is the bridge between the river and surrounding territory, it experiences remarkable response to hydrological variance due to dam construction. To identify the accumulated impacts, two adjacent buffer zone sections of similar size on the Yellow River were compared. A time series of land cover distributions were analysed for changes of the buffer zones. After the dam service, a large area of wetlands and water area disappeared in the section with dam, which was also the consequence of the sedimentation in the reservoir. The areal extent for seven types of land cover was analysed in the buffer zone at distances of 10 and 5.5 km from the river. The land cover transition matrices within the 10 km zone for three time periods (1976–1996) were calculated to further clarify the transformation process. The farmland in the 10 km zone of dam increased 3 times in three decades, but it just rose the 50 % in the zone without dam. The land cover transition matrices analysis indicated that the major transitions in the dammed section were wetland, grassland and water area to farmland, as well as the mutual transformation of water area and wetlands. Two sections of the critical buffer zone within 5.5 km of the water were delineated into ten independent, 0.5 km annular gradient zones to determine the spatial variation of grassland, water area and wetland. The gradient zone analysis demonstrated that the dam construction accelerated the appearance of wetlands and also caused considerable pressure on the water and grassland area types. Upon comparing these temporal and spatial aspects, the increase of farmlands and wetlands in the earliest period was found to be the direct result of damming. The weakening hydrological alteration due to damming was concluded to significantly affect the temporal-spatial variations of the river buffer zone, particularly in the 5.5 km distance.     

Physically based simulation of the streamflow decrease caused by sediment‐trapping dams in the middle Yellow River

As a result of climate change/variation and its aggravation by human activities over the past several decades, the hydrological conditions in the middle Yellow River in China have dramatically changed, which has led to a sharp decrease of streamflow and the drying up of certain tributaries. This paper simulated and analysed the impact of sediment‐trapping dams (STDs, a type of large‐sized check dam used to prevent sediment from entering the Yellow River main stem) on hydrological processes, and the study area was located in the 3246 km² Huangfuchuan River basin. Changes in the hydrological processes were analysed, and periods of natural and disturbed states were defined. Subsequently, the number and distribution of the STDs were determined based on data collected from statistical reports and identified from remote sensing images, and the topological relationships between the STDs and high‐resolution river reaches were established. A hydrological model, the digital Yellow River integrated model, was used to simulate the STD impact on the hydrological processes, and the maximum STD impact was evaluated through a comparison between the simulation results with and without the STDs, which revealed that the interception effect of the STDs contributed to the decrease of the streamflow by approximately 39%. This paper also analysed the relationship between the spatial distribution of the STDs and rainfall in the Huangfuchuan River basin and revealed that future soil and water conservation measures should focus on areas with a higher average annual rainfall and higher number of rainstorm hours. © 2015 The Authors Hydrological Processes Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Abrupt changes in the discharge and sediment load of the Pearl River,China

The abrupt changes in the streamflow and sediment load at nine hydrological stations of the Pearl River basin were systematically analysed by using the simple two‐phase linear regression scheme and the coherency analysis technique. Possible underlying causes were also discussed. Our study results indicated that abrupt changes in the streamflow occurred mainly in the early 1990s. The change points were followed by significant decreasing streamflow. Multiscale abrupt behaviour of the sediment load classified the hydrological stations into two groups: (1) Xiaolongtan, Nanning and Liuzhou; and (2) Qianjiang, Dahuangjiangkou, Wuzhou, Gaoyao, Shijiao and Boluo. The grouped categories implied obvious influences of water reservoirs on the hydrological processes of the Pearl River. On the basis of analysis of the locations and the construction time of the water reservoirs, and also the time when the change points occurred, we figured out different ways the water reservoirs impacted the hydrological processes within the Pearl River basin. As for the hydrological variation along the mainstream of the Pearl River, the water reservoirs have considerable influences on both the streamflow and sediment load variations; however, more influences seemed to be exerted on the sediment load transport. In the North River, the hydrological processes seemed to be influenced mainly by climate changes. In the East River, the hydrological variations tended to be impacted by the water reservoirs. The study results also indicated no fixed modes when we address the influences of water reservoirs on hydrological processes. Drainage area and regulation behaviour of the water reservoirs should be taken into account. The results of this study will be of considerable importance for the effective water resources management of the Pearl River basin under the changing environment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal trends of hydro-climatic variables and their relevance in water resource management

Identification of temporal changes in hydrological regimes of river basins is an important topic in contemporary hydrology because of the potential impacts of climate change on river flow regimes.For this purpose,long-term historical records of rainfall(P),runoff(Q)and other climatic factors were used to investigate hydrological variability and trends in the Tajan River Basin over the period 1969e1998.Actual evaporation(E),rainfall variability index(d),evaporation ratio(CE)and runoff ratio(CQ)were estimated from the available hydroclimatological records.Mann-Kendall trend analysis and nonparametric Sen's slope estimates were performed on the respective time series variables to detect monotonic trend direction and magnitude of change over time.Rainfall variability index showed that 1973 was the wettest year(δ=+2.039)while 1985 was the driest(δ=-1.584).Also,decades 69e78 and 89e98 were recognized as the wettest and driest decades respectively.The gradient of variation of climatological parameters showed that during the study period,all three parameters of rainfall,evaporation and runoff have decreased and the variations of rainfall and evaporation were significant at the 95%level.Investigation of hydrological changes due of dam construction(1999)showed that the amount and annual distribution of discharge were completely different pre and post-dam construction.Discharge decreased in high water months and increased in low water months to meet water supply demands,especially for agriculture.The relationship between temperature and rainfall trends is compared for three stations in Mazandaran Province(Gorgan,Babolsar and Ramsar)from 1956 to 2003 and nine other stations with different statistical periods of 19e36 years,relating trends to northern hemisphere and global trends.Decreases in temperature were accompanied by decreases in rainfall,and vice versa.These trends were not observed in northern hemisphere and world scales,where temperature increases are accompanied by decreases in rainfall.These variations of hydroclimatological parameters show undesirable water resources situations during the statistical periods if the trend continues severe water resource crises.     

Changes in streamflow regime following vegetation changes from paired catchments

Vegetation changes can significantly affect catchment water balance. It is important to evaluate the effects of vegetation cover change on streamflow as changes in streamflow relate to water security. This study focuses on the use of statistical methods to determine responses in streamflow at seven paired catchments in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa to vegetation change. The non‐parametric Mann–Kendall test and Pettitt's test were used to identify trends and change points in the annual streamflow records. Statistically significant trends in annual streamflow were detected for most of the treated catchments. It took between 3 and 10 years for a change in vegetation cover to result in significant change in annual streamflow. Presence of the change points in streamflow was associated with changes in the mean, variance, and distribution of annual streamflow. The streamflow in the deforestation catchments increased after the change points, whereas reduction in streamflow was observed in the afforestation catchments. The streamflow response is mainly affected by the climate and underlying vegetation change. Daily flow duration curves (FDCs) for the whole period and pre‐change and post‐change point periods also were analysed to investigate the changes in flow regime. Three types of vegetation change effects on the flow regime have been identified. The relative reductions in most percentile flows are constant in the afforestation catchments. The comparison of trend, change point, and FDC in the annual streamflow from the paired experiments reflects the important role of the vegetation change. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

River Discharge and Water Level Changes in the Mekong River: Droughts in an Era of Mega-Dams

While 1992 marked the first major dam – Manwan – on the main stem of the Mekong River, the post-2010 era has seen the construction and operationalisation of mega dams such as Xiaowan (started operations in 2010) and Nuozhadu (started operations in 2014) that were much larger than any dams built before. The scale of these projects implies that their operations will likely have significant ecological and hydrological impacts from the Upper Mekong Basin to the Vietnamese Delta and beyond. Historical water level and water discharge data from 1960 to 2020 were analysed to examine the changes to streamflow conditions across three time periods: 1960–1991 (pre-dam), 1992–2009 (growth) and 2010–2020 (mega-dam). At Chiang Saen, the nearest station to the China border, monthly water discharge in the mega-dam period has increased by up to 98% during the dry season and decreased up as much as −35% during the wet season when compared to pre-dam records. Similarly, monthly water levels also rose by up to +1.16 m during the dry season and dropped by up to −1.55 m during the wet season. This pattern of hydrological alterations is observed further downstream to at least Stung Treng (Cambodia) in our study, showing that Mekong streamflow characteristics have shifted substantially in the post-2010 era. In light of such changes, the 2019–2020 drought – the most severe one in the recent history in the Lower Mekong Basin – was a consequent of constructed dams reducing the amount of water during the wet season. This reduction of water was exacerbated by the decreased monsoon precipitation in 2019. Concurrently, the untimely operationalisation of the newly opened Xayaburi dam in Laos coincided with the peak of the 2019–2020 drought and could have aggravated the dry conditions downstream. Thus, the mega-dam era (post-2010) may signal the start of a new normal of wet-season droughts.     

Assessment of hydrological extremes in the Kamo River Basin,Japan

A suite of extreme indices derived from daily precipitation and streamflow was analysed to assess changes in the hydrological extremes from 1951 to 2012 in the Kamo River Basin. The evaluated indices included annual maximum 1-day and 5-day precipitation (RX1day, RX5day), consecutive dry days (CDD), annual maximum 1-day and 5-day streamflow (SX1day, SX5day), and consecutive low-flow days (CDS). Sen’s slope estimator and two versions of the Mann-Kendall test were used to detect trends in the indices. Also, frequency distributions of the indices were analysed separately for two periods: 1951–1981 and 1982–2012. The results indicate that quantiles of the rainfall indices corresponding to the 100-year return period have decreased in recent years, and the streamflow indices had similar patterns. Although consecutive no rainfall days represented by 100-year CDD decreased, continuous low-flow days represented by 100-year CDS increased. This pattern change is likely associated with the increase in temperature during this period.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis

ASSOCIATE EDITOR E. Gargouri     

Effects of conditional parameterization on performance of rainfall‐runoff model regarding hydrologic non‐stationarity

Better parameterization of a hydrological model can lead to improved streamflow prediction. This is particularly important for seasonal streamflow forecasting with the use of hydrological modelling. Considering the possible effects of hydrologic non‐stationarity, this paper examined ten parameterization schemes at 12 catchments located in three different climatic zones in east Australia. These schemes are grouped into four categories according to the period when the data are used for model calibration, i.e. calibration using data: (1) from a fixed period in the historical records; (2) from different lengths of historical records prior to prediction year; (3) from different climatic analogue years in the past; and (4) data from the individual months. Parameterization schemes were evaluated according to model efficiency in both the calibration and verification period. The results show that the calibration skill changes with the different historic periods when data are used at all catchments. Comparison of model performance between the calibration schemes indicates that it is worth calibrating the model with the use of data from each individual month for the purpose of seasonal streamflow forecasting. For the catchments in the winter‐dominant rainfall region of south‐east Australia, a more significant shift in rainfall‐runoff relationships at different periods was found. For those catchments, model calibration with the use of 20 years of data prior to the prediction year leads to a more consistent performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information content of snow hydrological signatures based on streamflow,precipitation and air temperature

Hydrological signatures that represent snow processes are valuable to gain insights into snow accumulation and snow melt dynamics. We investigated five snow signatures. Considering inter-annual average of each calendar day, two slopes derived from the relation between streamflow and air temperature for different periods and streamflow peak maxima are used as signatures. In addition, two different approaches are used to compute inter-annual average and yearly snow storage estimates. We evaluated the ability of these signatures to characterize average (a) snow melt dynamics and (b) snow storage. They were applied in 10 Critical Zone Observatory catchments of the Southern Sierra mountains (USA) characterized by a Mediterranean climate. The relevance and information content of the signatures are evaluated using snow depth and snow water equivalent measurements as well as inter-catchment differences in elevation. The slopes quantifying the relations between streamflow and air temperature and the date of streamflow peak were found to characterize snow melt dynamics in terms of snow melt rates and snow melt affected areas. Streamflow peak dates were linked to the period of highest snow melt rates. Snow storage could be estimated both on average, considering all years, and for each year. Snow accumulation dynamics could not be characterized due to the lack of streamflow response during the snow accumulation period. The signatures were found potentially valuable to gain insights into catchment scale snow processes. In particular, when comparing catchments or observed and simulated data, they could provide insights into differences in terms of (a) snow melt rate and/or snow melt affected area over the snow melt season and (b) average or yearly snow storage. Requiring only widely available data, these hydrological signatures can be valuable for snow processes characterization, catchment comparison/classification or model development, calibration or evaluation.     

Impacts of wildfire and post-fire land management on hydrological and sediment processes in a humid Mediterranean headwater catchment

The extensive afforestation of the Mediterranean rim of Europe in recent decades has increased the number of wildfire disturbances on hydrological and sediment processes, but the impacts on headwater catchments is still poorly understood, especially when compared with the previous agricultural landscape. This work monitored an agroforestry catchment in the north-western Iberian Peninsula, with plantation forests mixed with traditional agriculture using soil conservation practices, for one year before the fire and for three years afterwards, during which period the burnt area was ploughed and reforested. During this period, continuous data was collected for meteorology, streamflow and sediment concentration at the outlet, erosion features were mapped and measured after major rainfall events, and channel sediment dynamics were monitored downstream from the agricultural and the burnt forest area. Data from 202 rainfall events with over 10 mm was analysed in detail. Results show that the fire led to a notable impact on sediment processes during the first two post-fire years, but not on streamflow processes; this despite the small size of the burnt area (10% of the catchment) and the occurrence of a severe drought in the first year after the fire. During this period, soil loss at the burnt forest slopes was much larger than that at most traditionally managed fields, and, ultimately, led to sediment exhaustion. At the catchment scale, storm characteristics were the dominant factor behind streamflow and sediment yield both before and after the fire. However, the data indicated a shift from detachment-limited sediment yield before the fire, to transport-limited sediment yield afterwards, with important increases in streamflow sediment concentration. This indicates that even small fires can temporarily change sediment processes in agroforestry catchments, with potential negative consequences for downstream water quality.     

Climate changes and their impacts on water resources in semiarid regions: a case study of the Wei River basin,China

Understanding the impacts of climate change and human activity on the hydrological processes in river basins is important for maintaining ecosystem integrity and sustaining local economic development. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of climate variability and human activity on mean annual flow in the Wei River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test and wavelet transform were applied to detect the variations of hydrometeorological variables in the semiarid Wei River basin in the northwestern China. The identifications were based on streamflow records from 1958 to 2008 at four hydrological stations as well as precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (PET) data from 21 climate stations. A simple method based on Budyko curve was used to evaluate potential impacts of climate change and human activities on mean annual flow. The results show that annual streamflow decreased because of the reduced precipitation and increased PET at most stations. Both annual and seasonal precipitation and PET demonstrated mixed trends of decreasing and increasing, although significant trends (P < 0.05) were consistently detected in spring and autumn at most stations. Significant periodicities of 0.5 and 1 year (P < 0.05) were examined in all the time series. The spectrum of streamflow at the Huaxian station shows insignificant annual cycle during 1971–1975, 1986–1993 and 1996–2008, which is probably resulted from human activities. Climate variability greatly affected water resources in the Beiluo River, whereas human activities (including soil and water conservation, irrigation, reservoirs construction, etc.) accounted more for the changes of streamflow in the area near the Huaxian station during different periods. The results from this article can be used as a reference for water resources planning and management in the semiarid Wei River basin. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating impacts of wildfire and climate variability on streamflow in Victoria,Australia

Wildfires are common in Australia and can cause vegetation loss and affect hydrological processes such as interception, evapotranspiration, soil water storage and streamflow. This study investigates wildfire impacts on catchment mean annual streamflow for 14 Australian catchments that have been severely impacted by the 2009 Victoria wildfire, the second-worst wildfire disaster in Australia. A statistical approach based on sensitivity coefficients was used for quantifying the climate variability impacts on streamflow and the time trend analysis method was used to estimate the annual streamflow changes due to wildfire respectively. Our results show that wildfire has caused a noticeable increase in mean annual streamflow in the catchments with a burnt area above 70% for an immediate post-wildfire period (2009–2015) and the wildfire impact on streamflow is evidently larger than the climate change impact in the majority of burnt catchments. Furthermore, the wildfire impact on mean annual streamflow strongly increases with the burnt percentage area, indicated by R² = 0.73 between the two. The results also illustrate that catchments with high burnt percentage areas can have more potential to gain increased streamflow due to wildfires compared with that due to climate variability and can have significant streamflow change after wildfires above the 70% threshold of burnt area. These results provide evidence for evaluating large-scale wildfire impact on streamflow at small to medium-sized catchments, and guidance for process-based hydrological models for simulating wildfire impacts on hydrological processes for the immediate period after the wildfire.     

Entropy theory for analysing water resources in northeastern region of Brazil

Using the Shannon entropy, the space–time variability of rainfall and streamflow was assessed for daily rainfall and streamflow data for a 10-year period from 189 stations in the northeastern region of Brazil. Mean values of marginal entropy were computed for all observation stations and entropy maps were then constructed for delineating annual and seasonal characteristics of rainfall and streamflow. The Mann-Kendall test was used to evaluate the long-term trend in marginal entropy as well as relative entropy for two sample stations. The marginal entropy values of rainfall and streamflow were higher for locations and periods with the highest amounts of rainfall. The entropy values were higher where rainfall was higher. This was because the probability distributions of rainfall and the resulting streamflow were more uniform and less skewed. The Shannon entropy produced spatial patterns which led to a better understanding of rainfall and streamflow characteristics throughout the northeastern region of Brazil. The total relative entropy indicated that rainfall and streamflow carried the same information content at annual and rainy season time scales.     

Assessing morphological changes in a human-impacted alluvial system using hydro-sediment modeling and remote sensing

Construction of managed aquifer recharge structures(MARS)to store floodwater is a common strategy for storing depleted groundwater resources in arid and semi-arid regions,as part of integrated water resources management(IWRM).MARS divert surface water to groundwater,but this can affect downstream fluvial processes.The impact of MARS on fluvial processes was investigated in this study by combining remote sensing techniques with hydro-sediment modeling for the case of the Kaboutar-Ali-Chay aquifer,northwestern Iran.The impact of MARS on groundwater dynamics was assessed,sedimentation across the MARS was modeled using a 2D hydrodynamic model,and morphological changes were quantified in the human-impacted alluvial fan using Landsat time series data and statistical methods.Changes were detected by comparing data for the periods before(1985e1996)and after(1997 e2018)MARS construction.The results showed that the rate of groundwater depletion decreased from 2.14 m/yr before to 0.86 m/yr after MARS construction.Hydro-sediment modeling revealed that MARS ponds slowed water outflow,resulting in a severe decrease in sediment load which lead to a change from sediment deposition to sediment erosion in the alluvial fan.Morphometric analyses revealed decreasing alluvial fan area and indicated significant differences(p<0.01)between pre-and post-impact periods for different morphometric parameters analyzed.The rate of change in area of the Kaboutar-Ali-Chay alluvial fan changed from
0.228 to
0.115 km2/year between pre-and post-impact periods.     

Changes in the long-term hydrological regimes and the impacts of human activities in the main Wei River,China

ABSTRACT

Under the combined influence of climate changes and human activities, the hydrological regime of the Wei River shows remarkable variations which have caused many issues in the Wei River in recent decades, such as a lack of freshwater, water pollution, disastrous flooding and channel sedimentation. Hence, hydrological regime changes and potential human-induced impacts have been drawing increasing attention from local government and hydrologists. This study investigates hydrological regime changes in the natural and measured runoff series at four hydrological stations on the main Wei River and quantifies features of their long-term change by analysing their historical annual and seasonal runoff data using several approaches, i.e., continuous wavelet transform, cross-wavelet, wavelet coherence, trend-free pre-whitening Mann-Kendall test and detrended fluctuation analysis. By contrasting two different analysis results between natural and measured river runoff series, the impacts of human activities on the long-term hydrological regime were investigated via the changes of spatio-temporal distribution in dominant periods, the trends and long-range memory of river runoff. The results show : (a) that periodic properties of the streamflow changes are the result of climate, referring to precipitation changes in particular, while human activities play a minor role; (b) a significant decreasing trend can be observed in the natural streamflow series along the entire main stream of the Wei River and the more serious decrease emerging in measured flow should result from human-induced influences in recent decades; and (c) continuous decreasing streamflow in the Wei River will trigger serious shortages of freshwater in the future, which may challenge the sustainability and safety of water resources development in the river basin, and should be paid great attention before 2020.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor K. Hamed