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. 2021 Jul 1;5(7):e2021GH000438.
doi: 10.1029/2021GH000438. eCollection 2021 Jul.

Comparative Study on Temperature Response of Hydropower Development in the Dry-Hot Valley

D C Wang  1   2 , X Zhang  1 , Y Huang  3   4 , X Wang  1 , W Zhang  1 , Z J Cao  1 , Y Xin  1 , M Qu  1
Affiliations

Comparative Study on Temperature Response of Hydropower Development in the Dry-Hot Valley

D C Wang et al. Geohealth. .

Abstract

Due to the specific hydrothermal conditions of dry-hot valleys, temperature changes caused by the development of large-scale hydropower projects may be more extreme than they are in other regions. In this study, we analyzed these temperature changes at four hydropower stations in both dry-hot and non-dry-hot valleys. Based on the calculated relative temperatures of the downstream river and the areas surrounding the reservoirs, we employed two indices to quantify the influence of the reservoirs on the temperatures of these two regions: the downstream river temperature change and the reservoir effect change intensity. Our results are as follows: (a) In the downstream rivers, the temperature regulation effect was more pronounced in the wet season; in the regions surrounding the reservoirs, the temperature regulation effect was more pronounced in the dry season. (b) The downstream river temperature in both the dry-hot and wet-hot valleys exhibited noticeable warming in both the wet and dry seasons, while the cold-dry valley was characterized by cooling in the dry season and warming in the wet season. With the exception of the Liyuan station (where the influence of the reservoir on the downstream temperatures only extended to a distance of 9 km from the dam) during the dry season, the existence of the hydropower stations affected the temperatures of the entire downstream region. (c) For the areas surrounding the reservoir, the presence of a hydropower station mainly caused the temperatures in the dry-hot valleys to rise and the temperatures in the non-dry-hot valleys to decrease.

Keywords: comparative study; downstream river temperature change; dry‐hot valley; relative temperature; reservoir effect change intensity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographic and elevation maps of our study areas.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Surface temperatures in each study region in (a) the wet season before the dam construction, (b) the dry season before the dam construction, (c) the wet season after the dam construction, and (d) the dry season after the dam construction.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the LST data retrieved from the remote sensing images and the 0 cm meteorological data LST data.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Variations in the downstream river temperature change index with distance from the dam in each of the four study areas.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Spatial extent of the temperature regulation effect in the dry‐hot valley. (a) The cooling effect at the Liyuan station. (b) The warming effect at the Liyuan station. (c) The cooling effect at the Ahai station. (d) The warming effect at the Ahai station.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Spatial extent of the temperature regulation effect in non‐dry‐hot valleys. (a) The cooling effect at the Jinghong station. (b) The warming effect at the Jinghong station. (c) The cooling effect at the Laxiwa station. (d) The warming effect at the Laxiwa station.
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