The hydrological regime of Taihu Lake under the influence of anthropogenic activities

Abstract

Study region: The Taihu Lake is located at the downstream of the Yangtze River, China, which serves various functions such as regional flood control, drought resistance, and drinking water for many vital cities in China such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Since 1950 s, Taihu Lake has experienced three stages of anthropogenic management. Due to these managements, the natural hydrologic properties of Taihu Lake are gradually disappearing, and the Taihu Lake tends to become an artificially controlled lake. Study focus: To understand how anthropogenic activities have impacted the hydrological regime of Taihu Lake at different stages, this study has analyzed daily average water level of Taihu Lake for 70 years and daily average precipitation data of the Taihu Lake Basin for 60 years. And finally it reveals the natural and anthropogenic effects on trend, amplitude, period and extreme water level of Taihu Lake. New hydrological insights for the region: The multi-year average water level of Taihu Lake witnesses an increment of 0.23 m, and the contribution from anthropogenic activities account for 34.78%. The maximum decrements of frequency of extreme high and low water level drops by 29.55% and 7.69% recently due to anthropogenic activities. The anthropogenic activities on the hydrological regime in Taihu Lake has become increasingly pronounced, and these hydrological changes are beneficial for basin flood control and water resources.

Keywords

• Taihu Lake
• Water level
• Anthropogenic activities
• Water resources
• Flood control