Flood potential of Poyang Lake, China

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Poyang Lake, located in Jiangxi Province, China, is a large freshwater lake ([about]4000 km[superscript 2]) connected to the Yangtze River. Flooding hazards in Poyang Lake regions have become more severe in recent years. To reduce flood potential downstream, including Poyang Lake, and also to generate hydroelectric power and to improve navigation, Three Gorges Dam is being built in the upper Yangtze River. In this study, I systematically explore issues related to flood potential in Poyang Lake regions, including evolution and distribution of land use change, distribution of potential flood regions, and effects of Three Gorges Dam, through two approaches. First, I summarize background information of geography and historical floods of Poyang Lake, and review previous researches related with flooding in Poyang Lake. Second, I use satellite imagery (remote sensing) to explore the spatial distribution of flood potential and land cover changes in the Poyang Lake region. Historical land reclamation has largely shrunk the Poyang Lake water surface since 1950, especially in the recent 30 years. In the period between 1989 and 2003, Poyang Lake experienced both new land reclamation (43 km[superscript 2]) and land return. However, the water surface in small satellite lakes has largely shrunk over the same time period ([about]700 km[superscript 2]), which may significantly impact the ecosystem in the Poyang Lake region.