Changes in nutrient transport from the Yangtze River to the East China Sea linked to the Three-Gorges Dam and water transfer project. (January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Hua; Yan, Huaiyu; Zhou, Fengnian; Li, Bao; Zhuang, Wei; Shen, Yuhan
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 256(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-01
• Subjects: Yangtze estuary -- Nutrient -- Transport -- Three-Gorges Dam -- South-to-North Water Transfer Project; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113376
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: River-sea transition plays a key role in global geochemical cycles. The Yangtze River Estuary of China was selected as the research area, and the Section-Segmented Method was applied to determine the nutrient discharge from the Yangtze River to the East China Sea. A 3-D numerical model for the estuary was established and validated against the field investigated data. By numerical experiments the dynamics of hydrology and nutrient from 1950 to 2016 were simulated under four varied schemes. The individual and combined impacts on the nutrient flux induced by the Three-Gorges Dam (TGD) and the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) were explored. The following results were observed: (1) During the Pre-TGD period, the Yangtze River delivered the loads of 1.32 Tg/yr and 0.08 Tg/yr for TN and TP, respectively. July and Feb. were characterized by the highest and lowest monthly flux, respectively. (2) TGD played a significant role in regulating the temporal nutrient deliveries. After the closing of TGD, the discharges of TN and TP in the dry season respectively went up to 0.55 Tg and 0.032 Tg, with a mean increase of 28.3%. (3) SNWTP reduced the nutrient transport at a relatively stable level, and the total loads of 40.66 Gg and 2.4 Gg were reduced per year for TN and TP, respectively. (4) The combined impacts of TGD and SNWTP varied with seasons. October was characterized by the greatest cumulative effects. In dry seasons, the reduction caused by SNWTP was leveled by TGD-induced increase, limiting the flux variation linked to project operations. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: A Section-Segmented Method was used to explore the nutrient entering the ECS. TDG regulated the loads of 40.66 Gg/yr and 2.4 Gg/yr for TN and TP, respectively. SNWTP reduced TN and TP loads of 3.63 Gg and 0.43 Gg per year, respectively. The combined impacts of TGD and SNWTP varied with seasons. TGD and SNWTP exerted the strongest superposition effect in October. Abstract : TGD regulated 0.3% of the annual nutrient delivery by changing the intra-water discharge, while SNWTP accounted for a decline of 2.26% of the total.