Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Water mass interaction in the confluence zone of the Daning River and the Yangtze River—a driving force for algal growth in the Three Gorges Reservoir

  • Processes and Environmental Quality in the Yangtze River System
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Increasing eutrophication and algal bloom events in the Yangtze River Three Gorges Reservoir, China, are widely discussed with regard to changed hydrodynamics and nutrient transport and distribution processes. Insights into water exchange and interaction processes between water masses related to large-scale water level fluctuations in the reservoir are crucial to understand water quality and eutrophication dynamics. Therefore, confluence zones of tributaries with the Yangtze River main stream are dedicated key interfaces. In this study, water quality data were recorded in situ and on-line in varying depths with the MINIBAT towed underwater multi-sensor system in the confluence zone of the Daning River and the Yangtze River close to Wushan City during 1 week in August 2011. Geostatistical evaluation of the water quality data was performed, and results were compared to phosphorus contents of selective water samples. The strongly rising water level throughout the measurement period caused Yangtze River water masses to flow upstream into the tributary and supply their higher nutrient and particulate loads into the tributary water body. Rapid algal growth and sedimentation occurred immediately when hydrodynamic conditions in the confluence zone became more serene again. Consequently, water from the Yangtze River main stream can play a key role in providing nutrients to the algal bloom stricken water bodies of its tributaries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Armstrong M (1998) Basic linear geostatistics. Springer, Berlin

  • Bergmann A, Bi Y, Chen L et al (2012) The Yangtze-Hydro Project: a Chinese–German environmental program. Environ Sci Pollut R 19:1341–1344

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Casagrande CE (1995) The MiniBAT—a miniaturized towed sampling system. Oceans ’95 3:638–641

    Google Scholar 

  • Chehata M, Jasinski D, Monteith MC, Samuals WB (2007) Mapping three-dimensional water-quality data in the Chesapeake Bay using geostatistics. JAWRA 43:813–828

    Google Scholar 

  • Chongqing Water Resources Bureau, China (2010) Chongqing water function zoning revision report. http://www.cqwater.gov.cn/Pages/Home.aspx (in Chinese)

  • Chongqing Water Resources Bureau, China (2011) Hydrological information—rivers real-time water regime. http://www.cqwater.gov.cn/swxx/jrbssq/Pages/Default.aspx. Accessed 21–30 Aug 2011 (in Chinese)

  • Compilation Committee of Chongqing Atlas, China (2007) Chongqing Atlas. Xi’an Cartographic, Xi’an. 92–93. ISBN: 978-7-80748-069-3 (in Chinese)

  • Dai H, Zheng T, Liu D (2010) Effects of reservoir impounding on key ecological factors in the Three Gorges Region. Procedia Environ Sci 2:15–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison ME, Brett MT (2006) Particulate phosphorus bioavailability as a function of stream flow and land cover. Wat Res 40:1258–1268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Environmental Protection Agency of Wushan County, China (2012) 2nd Jingtan Road Monitoring Station, Wushan County, Chongqing Municipality

  • German Aerospace Center (2010) Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, 1 Arc Second scenes E1090000N300000_SRTM_1_DEM – E1100000N310000_SRTM_1_DEM. https://centaurus.caf.dlr.de:8443. Accessed 27 July 2012

  • Gladney ES, Roelandts I (1990) 1988 Compilation of elemental concentration data for USGS geochemical exploration reference materials GXR-1 to GXR-6. Geostandard Newslett 14:21–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gloss SP, Mayer LM, Kidd DE (1980) Advective control of nutrient dynamics in the epilimnion of a large reservoir. Limnol Oceanogr 25:219–228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gregor J, Maršálek B (2004) Freshwater phytoplankton quantification by chlorophyll a: a comparative study of in vitro, in vivo and in situ methods. Water Res 38:517–522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haas LW (2008) Improved performance capabilities for the Acrobat towed instrument platform: data collection, calibration and interpolation/graphic visualization. Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences—final report

  • Ji DB, Liu D, Yang ZJ, Yu W (2010) Adverse slope density flow and its ecological effect on the algae bloom in Xiangxi Bay of TGR during the reservoir impounding at the end of flood season. Shuili Xuebao (J Hydraul Eng) 41:691–696 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiang D, Dai H, Liu W (2011) Influence of thermal density flow on hydrodynamics of Xiangxi Bay in Three Gorges Reservoir, China. Procedia Environ Sci 10:1637–1645

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Journel AG, Rossi ME (1989) When do we need a trend model in kriging? Math Geol 21:715–739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu L, Liu D, Johnson DM, Yi Z, Huang Y (2012) Effects of vertical mixing on phytoplankton blooms in Xiangxi Bay of Three Gorges Reservoir: implications for management. Wat Res 46:2121–2130

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luo ZX, Zhu B, Zheng BH, Zhang Y (2007) Nitrogen and phosphorus loadings in branch backwater reaches and the reverse effects in the main stream in Three Gorges Reservoir. China Environ Sci 27:208–212 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McBride C, Hamilton D, Gibbs M, White P, Stewart L (2006) BioFish survey of Lake Taupo. Centre for Biodiversity and Ecology Research, University of Waikato—report 68

  • Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (2012) Three Gorges Bulletin 2005–2011. Ministry of Environmental Protection—The People’s Republic of China. http://english.mep.gov.cn/standards_reports/threegorgesbulletin/. Accessed 31 Jul 2012

  • Mitrovic SM, Lorraine H, Forugh D (2011) Use of flow management to mitigate cyanobacterial blooms in the Lower Darling River, Australia. J Plankton Res 33:229–241

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy RR, Curriero FC, Ball WP (2010) Comparison of spatial interpolation methods for water quality evaluation in the Chesapeake Bay. J Environ Eng 136(2):160–171. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NOAA (1995) Standard and reference materials for environmental science. Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 94. http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/noaa_documents/NOS/ORCA/TM_NOS_ORCA/nos_orca_94_pt1.pdf. Accessed 27 Aug 2012

  • Rathbun SL (1998) Spatial modelling in irregularly shaped regions: kriging estuaries. Environmentrics 9:109–129

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roelke DL, Pierce RH (2011) Effects of inflow on harmful algal blooms: some considerations. J Plankton Res 33:205–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stüben D, Stüben K, Haushahn P (1994) MINIBAT—a new, simple system for in-situ measurement, mapping and sampling of dissolved trace elements in aquatic systems. Underwater Systems Design 16:5–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Talling JF (2009) Electrical conductance—a versatile guide in freshwater science. Freshw Rev 2:65–78

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Geological Survey (2006) Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, 3 Arc Second scenes SRTM3N30E109–SRTM3N31E110. eros.usgs.gov. Accessed 27 Jul 2012

  • Woodson CB, Washburn L, Barth JA, Hoover DJ, Kirincich AR, McManus MA, Ryan JP, Tyburczy J (2009) Northern Monterey Bay upwelling shadow front: observations of a coastally and surface-trapped buoyant plume. J Geophys Res 114:C12013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu B, Zhang XX, Zhang XL, Yasun AJ, Zhang Y, Zhao DY, Ford T, Cheng SP (2009) Semi-volatile organic compounds and trace elements in the Yangtze River source of drinking water. Ecotoxicology 18:707–714

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Y, Cai Q, Han X, Shao M, Liu R (2010) Factors regulating trophic status in a large subtropical reservoir, China. Environ Monit Assess 169:237–248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan W, Zhang S (2003) The composition and bioavailability of phosphorus transport through the Changjiang (Yangtze) River during the 1998 flood. Biogeochemistry 65:179–194

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu ZZ, Wang LL (2011) Factors influencing thermal structure in a tributary bay of Three Gorges Reservoir. J Hydrodyn 23:407–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JL, Zheng BH, Liu LS, Wang LP, Huang MS, Wu GY (2010) Seasonal variation of phytoplankton in the DaNing River and its relationships with environmental factors after impounding of the Three Gorges Reservoir: a four-year study. Procedia Environ Sci 2:1479–1490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng BH, Wang LJ, Gong B (2009) Load of non-point source pollutants from upstream rivers into Three Gorges Reservoir. Research of Environmental Sciences 22:125–131 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The Yangtze-Project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF grant no. 02WT1131) of Germany and the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (MOST grant no. 2007DFA90510). Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Environmental Monitoring Station in Wushan, Chongqing, China for their great administrative and infrastructural support. Thanks to Claudia Mößner and Cornelia Haug for their great help in the labs. Thanks to both reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments that helped to substantially improve the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry (IMG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20b, Karlsruhe, 76131, Germany

    Andreas Holbach, Wei Hu, Nina Schleicher & Stefan Norra

  2. Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), No.8, Dayangfang, Anwai Beiyuan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100012, China

    Lijing Wang, Hao Chen & Binghui Zheng

  3. Institute of Geography and Geoecology (IfGG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1, 76128, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Stefan Norra

Authors
  1. Andreas Holbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lijing Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hao Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wei Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nina Schleicher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Binghui Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Stefan Norra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andreas Holbach.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Holbach, A., Wang, L., Chen, H. et al. Water mass interaction in the confluence zone of the Daning River and the Yangtze River—a driving force for algal growth in the Three Gorges Reservoir. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 7027–7037 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1373-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1373-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation