Assessing the hydrologic alteration of the Yangtze River using the histogram matching approach

Abstract

Hydrologic changes of the Yangtze River, an important river with abundant water resources in China, were investigated using the Histogram Matching Approach. Daily streamflow data spanning the time interval from 1955 to 2013 was collected from Yichang and Datong stations, which monitor the hydrologic processes of the upper and lower reach of the Yangtze River, respectively. The Gezhouba Dam, the first dam constructed at the main stream of the Yangtze River, started operations in 1981. 1981 was used to differentiate the pre-dam (1955-1980) and post-dam (1981-2013) hydrologic regimes. The hydrologic regime was quantified by the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration. The overall alteration degree of the upper Yangtze River was 31% and the alteration degree of every hydrologic indicator ranged from 10% to 81%. Only 1, 5 and 26 hydrologic indicators were altered at high, moderate and low degrees, respectively. The overall alteration degree of the lower Yangtze River was 30%, and the alteration degree of every hydrologic indicator ranged from 8% to 49%. No high alteration degree was detected at the Datong station. Ten hydrologic indicators were altered at moderate degrees and 22 hydrologic indicators were altered at low degrees. Significant increases could be observed for the low-flow relevant indicators, including the monthly flow from January-March, the annual minimum 1, 3, 7, 30 and 90-day flows, and the base flow index.