Observed river discharge changes due to hydropower operations in the Upper Mekong Basin

Journal of Hydrology

Volumn 545, Issue , 2017, Pages 28-41

  Räsänen, Timo A ^a   Someth, Paradis ^b   Lauri, Hannu ^c   Koponen, Jorma ^c   Sarkkula, Juha ^d   Kummu, Matti ^a  

^a AALTO UNIVERSITY   (Finland)

^b Basin Development Plan Programme   (Finland)

^c EIA Finland Ltd   (Finland)

^d NONE   (Finland)

Author keywords

Discharge; Flood pulse; Hydrological modelling; Hydropower; Mekong River; Transboundary

Indexed keywords

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS; DISCHARGE (FLUID MECHANICS); FOOD SUPPLY; HYDROELECTRIC POWER; HYDROLOGY; RIVERS;

FLOOD PULSE; HYDROLOGICAL MODELLING; HYDROPOWER; MEKONG RIVER; TRANS-BOUNDARY;

HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS;

DAM; ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT; FLOOD; FOOD SECURITY; HYDROELECTRIC POWER; HYDROLOGICAL MODELING; HYDROLOGICAL REGIME; RIVER DISCHARGE; TRANSBOUNDARY COOPERATION;

CAMBODIA; CHIANG RAI; CHIANG SAEN; KRACHEH; MEKONG BASIN; NORTHERN REGION [THAILAND]; THAILAND;

EID: 85006994742     PISSN: 00221694     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.12.023     Document Type: Article

References (53)

1. ADB, Cumulative Impact Analysis and Nam Theun 2 Contributions: Final Report. 2004, Prepared by NORPLAN and EcoLao for Asian Development Bank (ADB).
2. Arias, M., Cochrane, T., Norton, D., Killeen, T., Khon, P., The flood pulse as the underlying driver of vegetation in the largest wetland and fishery of the Mekong Basin. Ambio 42:7 (2013), 864–876.
3. Arias, M.E., Cochrane, T.A., Kummu, M., Lauri, H., Koponen, J., Holtgrieve, G., Piman, T., Impacts of hydropower and climate change on drivers of ecological productivity of Southeast Asia's most important wetland. Ecol. Model. 272 (2014), 252–263.
4. Arias, M.E., Cochrane, T.A., Piman, T., Kummu, M., Caruso, B.S., Killeen, T.J., Quantifying changes in flooding and habitats in the Tonle Sap Lake (Cambodia) caused by water infrastructure development and climate change in the Mekong Basin. J. Environ. Manage. 112 (2012), 53–66.
5. Baran, E., Myschowoda, C., Dams and fisheries in the Mekong Basin. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Manage. 12:3 (2009), 227–234.
6. Brandt, S.A., Classification of geomorphological effects downstream of dams. CATENA 40:4 (2000), 375–401.
7. Bunn, S., Arthington, A., Basic principles and ecological consequences of altered flow regimes for aquatic biodiversity. Environ. Manage. 30 (2002), 492–507.
8. CGIAR WLE, Mekong Dam Database. 2015, WLE Greater Mekong, CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), Vientiane, Lao PDR.
9. Chang, X., Liu, X., Zhou, W., Hydropower in China at present and its further development. Energy 35:11 (2010), 4400–4406.
10. Chen, W., Li, H., Wu, Z., Western China energy development and west to east energy transfer: application of the Western China Sustainable Energy Development Model. Energy Policy 38:11 (2010), 7106–7120.
11. Cochrane, T.A., Arias, M.E., Piman, T., Historical impact of water infrastructure on water levels of the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap system. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 18:11 (2014), 4529–4541.
12. Daming, H., Yan, F., Shu, G., Magee, D., Weihong, Y., Transboundary hydrological effects of hydropower dam construction on the Lancang River. Chin. Sci. Bull. 51 (2006), 16–24.
13. Darby, S.E., Hackney, C.R., Leyland, J., Kummu, M., Lauri, H., Parsons, D.R., Best, J.L., Nicholas, A.P., Aalto, R., Fluvial sediment supply to a mega-delta reduced by shifting tropical-cyclone activity. Nature 539 (2016), 276–279, 10.1038/nature19809.
14. Dong, L., 2015. INTERACTIVE: Mapping China's “Dam Rush”. Wilson Center. Available at: < www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/interactive-mapping-chinas-dam-rush> (accessed 12 January 2015).
15. Fan, H., He, D., Wang, H., Environmental consequences of damming the mainstream Lancang-Mekong River: a review. Earth Sci. Rev. 146 (2015), 77–91.
16. Friend, R., Arthur, R., Keskinen, M., Songs of the doomed: the continuing neglect of capture fisheries in hydropower development in the Mekong. Molle, F., Foran, T., Käkönen, M., (eds.) Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region - Hydropwer, Livelihoods and Governance Challenges, 2009, Earthscan, London.
17. Grumbine, R.E., Dore, J., Xu, J., Mekong hydropower: drivers of change and governance challenges. Front. Ecol. Environ. 10:2 (2012), 91–98.
18. Halls, A.S., Kshatriya, M., Modelling the Cumulative Barrier and Passage Effects of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Migratory Fish Populations in the Lower Mekong Basin. 2009, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
19. Hennig, T., Wang, W., Feng, Y., Ou, X., He, D., Review of Yunnan's hydropower development. Comparing small and large hydropower projects regarding their environmental implications and socio-economic consequences. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 27 (2013), 585–595.
20. Hoang, L.P., Lauri, H., Kummu, M., Koponen, J., van Vliet, M.T.H., Supit, I., Leemans, R., Kabat, P., Ludwig, F., Mekong River flow and hydrological extremes under climate change. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 20 (2016), 3027–3041, 10.5194/hess-20-3027-2016.
21. Hoanh, C.T., Jirayoot, K., Lacombe, G., Printer, V., Impacts of Climate Change and Development on Mekong Flow Regimes. First Assessment – 2009. MRC Technical Paper No. 29, 2010, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
22. Holtgrieve, G.W., Arias, M.E., Irvine, K.N., Lamberts, D., Ward, E.J., Kummu, M., Koponen, J., Sarkkula, J., Richey, J.E., Patterns of ecosystem metabolism in the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia with links to freshwater fisheries. PLoS ONE, 8(8), 2013, e71395.
23. Hortle, K., Consumption and the Yield of Fish and Other Aquatic Animals from the Lower Mekong Basin. Mekong River Commission Technical Paper 16, 2007, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane.
24. Huffman, G.J., Bolvin, D.T., Nelkin, E.J., Wolff, D.B., Adler, R.F., Gu, G., Hong, Y., Bowman, K.P., Stocker, E.F., The TRMM multisatellite precipitation analysis (TMPA): Quasi-Global, multiyear, combined-sensor precipitation estimates at fine scales. J. Hydrometeorol. 8:1 (2007), 38–55.
25. ICEM., MRC Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of Hydropower on the Mekong Mainstream. Hanoi, Vietnam. 2010.
26. Junk, W., Bayley, P., Sparks, R., The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems. Dodge, D., (eds.) Proceedings of the International Large River Symposium (LARS), vol. 106, 1989, Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 110–127.
27. Junk, W.J., Brown, M., Campbell, I.C., Finlayson, M., Gopal, B., Ramberg, L., Warner, B.G., The comparative biodiversity of seven globally important wetlands: a synthesis. Aquat. Sci. 68:3 (2006), 400–414.
28. Kattelus, M., Kummu, M., Keskinen, M., Salmivaara, A., Varis, O., China's southbound transboundary river basins: a case of asymmetry. Water Int. 40:1 (2015), 113–138.
29. Kingston, D.G., Thompson, J.R., Kite, G., Uncertainty in climate change projections of discharge for the Mekong basin. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 15 (2011), 1459–1471.
30. Kondolf, G.M., Rubin, Z.K., Minear, J.T., Dams on the Mekong: cumulative sediment starvation. Water Resour. Res. 50 (2014), 5158–5169.
31. Koponen, J., Lauri, H., Veijalainen, N., Sarkkula, J., 2010. HBV and IWRM Watershed Modelling User Guide. MRC Information and Knowledge management Programme, DMS – Detailed Modelling Support for the MRC Project.
32. Kuenzer, C., Campbell, I., Roch, M., Leinenkugel, P., Tuan, V., Dech, S., Understanding the impact of hydropower developments in the context of upstream–downstream relations in the Mekong river basin. Sustain. Sci. 8:4 (2013), 565–584.
33. Kummu, M., Lu, X., Wang, J., Varis, O., Basin-wide sediment trapping efficiency of emerging reservoirs along the Mekong. Geomorphology 119 (2010), 181–197.
34. Lamberts, D., Little impact, much damage: the consequences of Mekong River flow alterations for the Tonle Sap ecosystem. Kummu, M., Keskinen, M., Varis, O., (eds.) Modern Myths of the Mekong, 2008, Water & Development Publications - Helsinki University of Technology, 3–18.
35. Lauri, H., Moel, H.d., Ward, P., Räsänen, T., Keskinen, M., Kummu, M., Future changes in Mekong River hydrology: impact of climate change and reservoir operation on discharge. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 16:12 (2012), 4603–4619.
36. Lauri, H., Räsänen, T.A., Kummu, M., Using reanalysis and remotely sensed temperature and precipitation data for hydrological modeling in monsoon climate: Mekong River case study. J. Hydrometeorol. 15:4 (2014), 1532–1545.
37. Lu, X.X., Li, S., Kummu, M., Padawangi, R., Wang, J.J., Observed changes in the water flow at Chiang Saen in the lower Mekong: impacts of Chinese dams?. Quatern. Int. 336 (2014), 145–157.
38. Lu, X.X., Siew, R.Y., Water discharge and sediment flux changes over the past decades in the Lower Mekong River: possible impacts of the Chinese dams. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 10:2 (2006), 181–195.
39. Maavara, T., Parsons, C.T., Ridenour, C., Stojanovic, S., Dürr, H.H., Powley, H.R., Van Cappellen, P., Global phosphorus retention by river damming. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2015.
40. MRC, Overview of the Hydrology of the Mekong Basin. 2005, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane Lao PDR.
41. MRC, Economic, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of Basin-Wide Water Resources Development Scenarios, Assessment Methodology. 2009, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane Lao PDR.
42. MRC, State of the Basin Report 2010. 2010, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
43. MRC, Hydropower Database. 2015, Mekong River Commission Secretariat, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
44. NCDC. 2015. “Global Surface Summary of the Day (GSOD)”. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), < http://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/maps/> (accessed 15th September 2015).
45. Nilsson, C., Berggren, K., Alterations of riparian ecosystems caused by river regulation. Bioscience 50 (2000), 783–792.
46. Piman, T., Lennaerts, T., Southalack, P., Assessment of hydrological changes in the lower Mekong Basin from Basin-Wide development scenarios. Hydrol. Process. 27:15 (2013), 2115–2125.
47. Poff, N.L., Schmidt, J.C., How dams can go with the flow. Science 353 (2016), 1099–1100, 10.1126/science.aah4926.
48. Räsänen, T.A., Koponen, J., Lauri, H., Kummu, M., Downstream hydrological impacts of hydropower development in the Upper Mekong Basin. Water Resour. Manage. 26:11 (2012), 3495–3513.
49. Saha, S., Moorthi, S., Pan, H.-L., Wu, X., Wang, J., Nadiga, S., Tripp, P., Kistler, R., Woollen, J., Behringer, D., Liu, H., Stokes, D., Grumbine, R., Gayno, G., Wang, J., Hou, Y.-T., Chuang, H.-Y., Juang, H.-M.H., Sela, J., Iredell, M., Treadon, R., Kleist, D., Van Delst, P., Keyser, D., Derber, J., Ek, M., Meng, J., Wei, H., Yang, R., Lord, S., Van Den Dool, H., Kumar, A., Wang, W., Long, C., Chelliah, M., Xue, Y., Huang, B., Schemm, J.-K., Ebisuzaki, W., Lin, R., Xie, P., Chen, M., Zhou, S., Higgins, W., Zou, C.-Z., Liu, Q., Chen, Y., Han, Y., Cucurull, L., Reynolds, R.W., Rutledge, G., Goldberg, M., The NCEP climate forecast system reanalysis. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 91:8 (2010), 1015–1057.
50. Stone, R., Severe drought puts spotlight on Chinese dams. Science, 327(12), 2010, 1311.
51. Wang, H., Yang, Z., Saito, Y., Liu, J.P., Sun, X., Interannual and seasonal variation of the Huanghe (Yellow River) water discharge over the past 50 years: connections to impacts from ENSO events and dams. Global Planet. Change 50:3–4 (2006), 212–225.
52. Zhao, Q., Liu, S., Deng, L., Dong, S., Evaluating influences of the Manwan Dam and climate variability on the hydrology of the Lancang-Mekong River, Yunnan Province, southwest China. J. Hydrol. Eng. 18:10 (2013), 1322–1330.
53. Ziv, G., Baran, E., Nam, S., Rodriquez-Iturbe, I., Levin, S., Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin. PNAS 109:15 (2012), 5609–5614.