Author(s): Zhang Li
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: The Yellow River; Middle reaches; Key dam; Impounding situation
Abstract: The Yellow River is the second longest river in China, as well as the important water source for the northwest and north China. But in recent years, the amount of sediment and runoff of Yellow River basin has showed a sharp reduction, which may be caused by following factors: various water conservation projects, water-and-soil conservation project, surface water consumption, over-exploitation of groundwater, utilization of rainwater, vegetation construction, coal mining exploitation, climate change and so on. The Yellow River flows through the Loess Plateau with serious soil erosion, and the warping dam is an important water-and-soil conservation measure. In the middle reaches of the Yellow River a large number of warping dams were bulit, among which 5800 odd key dams (main and bigger warping dam) are included. Moreover, these key dams have the function of storing water before they’re full of silt. Therefore, the number, location and impounding characteristics of the key dams undoubtedly have an influence on the runoff of the Yellow River. By means of design data query, site investigation and measurement, as well as remote sensing inquiry on Google Earth platform, this paper discusses the conception and operating mode of the key dams, and researches the impounding characteristics of all the 4798 key dams located above Tongguan station, a hydrological station located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The research indicates that there are 875 impounding key dams in this area, which accounts for 18. 65%of all the key dams. The ratio varies in different tributaries because of the different regional situation and local social development. A few key dams beyond their design deposition life still store water all year round. These data will provide a basis for further research on the water evaporation of Yellow River and its influence on the runoff decrease of the river.
Year: 2015