Assessing the influence of the Three Gorges Dam on hydrological drought using GRACE data

Abstract

With worldwide economic and social development, more dams are being constructed to meet the increasing demand for hydropower, which may considerably influence hydrological drought. Here, an index named the "Dam Influence Index" (DII) is proposed to assess the influence of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on hydrological drought in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) in China. First, the total terrestrial water storage (TTWS) is derived from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment data. Then, the natural-driven terrestrial water storage (NTWS) is predicted from the soil moisture, precipitation, and temperature data based on an artificial neural network model. Finally, the DII is derived using the empirical (Kaplan-Meier) cumulative distribution function of the differences between the TTWS and the NTWS. The DIIs of the three sub-basins in the YRB were 1.38, -4.66, and -7.32 between 2003 and 2008, which indicated an increase in TTWS in the upper sub-basin and a reduction in the middle and lower sub-basins. According to the results, we concluded that impoundments of the TGD between 2003 and 2008 slightly alleviated the hydrological drought in the upper sub-basin and significantly aggravated the hydrological drought in the middle and lower sub-basins, which is consistent with the Palmer Drought Severity Index. This study provides a new perspective for estimating the effects of large-scale human activities on hydrological drought and a scientific decision-making basis for the managing water resources over the operation of the TGD.