Alterations in the Water-Level Regime of Tonle Sap Lake
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 1
Abstract
The Tonle Sap Lake (TSL), located in southwestern Mekong Basin, is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The water-level regime of the TSL has been changing over the last few decades due to the rapid development of water infrastructures and climate change in the Mekong Basin. This paper makes efforts to quantify the water-level regime alterations of the TSL by analyzing the pre- and post-1991 historical data of daily water levels from Kompong Luong Station. The method of modified indicators of hydrologic alteration was utilized, and the TSL’s hydrological behavior was explored further by focusing on the redistribution of hydrology and unfavorable disturbances. The results reveal that the coefficients of variation of most indicators in recent years increase compared with the preimpact years from 1960 to 1990. This demonstrates that the Mekong Basin and TSL are experiencing an increasingly unstable and varied hydrological cycle, which is more susceptible to interference with increased frequency and degree. Moreover, the system may have suffered more unfavorable human interference in dry years and in the dry season. It is expected that the findings in this paper will contribute to the protective development and adaptive management of the Mekong Basin and the TSL in the future.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The data that support the findings of this study are provided and quality-controlled by the Mekong River Commission. The authors really appreciate their efforts for the digital information management of the Mekong Basin. The authors also would like to thank colleagues at Zhejiang Design Institute of Water Conservancy and Hydroelectric Power where they work, and their families, for their support and helpful comments.
References
Arias, M. E. 2013. Impacts of hydrological alterations in the Mekong Basin to the Tonle Sap ecosystem. Christchurch, New Zealand: Univ. of Canterbury.
Arias, M. E., T. A. Cochrane, T. Piman, M. Kummu, B. S. Caruso, and T. J. Killeen. 2012. “Quantifying changes in flooding and habitats in the Tonle Sap Lake (Cambodia) caused by water infrastructure development and climate change in the Mekong Basin.” J. Environ. Manage. 112 (Dec): 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.07.003.
Cochrane, T. A., M. E. Arias, and T. Piman. 2014. “Historical impact of water infrastructure on water levels of the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap system.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 18 (11): 4529–4541. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4529-2014.
Delgado, J. M., B. Merz, and H. Apel. 2012. “A climate-flood link for the lower Mekong River.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 16 (5): 1533–1541. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-1533-2012.
Frappart, F., S. Biancamaria, C. Normandin, F. Blarel, and L. Bourrel. 2018. “Influence of recent climatic events on the surface water storage of the Tonle Sap Lake.” Sci. Total Environ. 636 (Sep): 1520–1533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.326.
Gao, Y., R. M. Vogel, C. N. Kroll, N. L. Poff, and J. D. Olden. 2009. “Development of representative indicators of hydrologic alteration.” J. Hydrol. 374 (1–2): 136–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.06.009.
Grumbine, R. E., and J. C. Xu. 2011. “Mekong hydropower development.” Science 332 (6026): 178–179. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1200990.
Hecht, J. S., G. Lacombe, M. E. Arias, T. D. Dang, and T. Piman. 2019. “Hydropower dams of the Mekong River Basin: A review of their hydrological impacts.” J. Hydrol. 568 (Jan): 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.045.
Inomata, H., and K. Fukami. 2008. “Restoration of historical hydrological data of Tonle Sap Lake and its surrounding areas.” Hydrol. Process. 22 (9): 1337–1350. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6943.
Jacobs, J. W. 2002. “The Mekong River Commission: Transboundary water resources planning and regional security.” Geogr. J. 168 (4): 354–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0016-7398.2002.00061.x.
Keskinen, M., P. Someth, A. Salmivaara, and M. Kummu. 2015. “Water-energy-food nexus in a transboundary river basin: The case of Tonle Sap Lake, Mekong River Basin.” Water 7 (10): 5416–5436. https://doi.org/10.3390/w7105416.
Khalil, M., U. S. Panu, and W. C. Lennox. 2001. “Groups and neural networks based streamflow data infilling procedures.” J. Hydrol. 241 (3–4): 153–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(00)00332-2.
Kingston, D. G., J. R. Thompson, and G. Kite. 2011. “Uncertainty in climate change projections of discharge for the Mekong River Basin.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 15 (5): 1459–1471. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1459-2011.
Kummu, M., X. X. Lu, J. J. Wang, and O. Varis. 2010. “Basinwide sediment trapping efficiency of emerging reservoirs along the Mekong.” Geomorphology 119 (3–4): 181–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.03.018.
Kummu, M., and J. Sarkkula. 2008. “Impact of the Mekong River flow alteration on the Tonle Sap flood pulse.” Ambio 37 (3): 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447(2008)37[185:IOTMRF]2.0.CO;2.
Lamberts, D. 2001. Tonle Sap fisheries: A case study on floodplain gillnet fisheries. Bangkok, Thailand: Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission.
Lauri, H., H. de Moel, P. J. Ward, T. A. Räsänen, M. Keskinen, and M. Kummu. 2012. “Future changes in Mekong River hydrology: Impact of climate change and reservoir operation on discharge.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 16 (5): 4603–4619. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4603-2012.
Lebel, L., J. Dore, R. Daniel, and Y. S. Koma. 2007. Democratizing water governance in the Mekong Region. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books.
Mathews, R., and B. D. Richter. 2007. “Application of the indicators of hydrologic alteration software in environmental flow setting.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 43 (6): 1400–1413. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00099.x.
MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2010a. Assessment of basin-wide development scenarios—Main report. Vientiane, Laos: Mekong River Commission.
MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2010b. Impacts of climate change and development on Mekong flow regimes first assessment-2009. Vientiane, Laos: Mekong River Commission.
MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2005. Overview of the hydrology of the Mekong River Basin. Vientiane, Laos: Mekong River Commission.
MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2011. Integrated water resources management–based basin development strategy 2011-2015. Vientiane, Laos: Mekong River Commission.
MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2018. The study on the sustainable management and development of the Mekong River Basin, including impacts of mainstream hydropower projects. Vientiane, Laos: Mekong River Commission.
MRC (Mekong River Commission). 2019. “Historical and time series data.” Accessed November 11, 2016. http://portal.mrcmekong.org/charts/chart.
Nilsson, C., C. A. Reidy, M. Dynesius, and C. Revenga. 2005. “Fragmentation and flow regulation of the world’s large river systems.” Science 308 (5720): 405–408. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1107887.
Piman, T., T. Lennaerts, and P. Southalack. 2013. “Assessment of hydrological changes in the lower Mekong basin from basinwide development scenarios.” Hydrol. Process. 27 (15): 2115–2125. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9764.
Prudhomme, C., and H. Davies. 2009. “Assessing uncertainties in climate change impact analyses on the river flow regimes in the UK. Part 2: future climate.” Clim. Change 93: 197–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-008-9461-6.
Räsänen, T. A., and M. Kummu. 2013. “Spatiotemporal influences of ENSO on precipitation and flood pulse in the Mekong River Basin.” J. Hydrol. 476 (Jan): 154–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.10.028.
Räsänen, T. A., C. Lehr, I. Mellin, P. J. Ward, and M. Kummu. 2013. “Palaeoclimatological perspective on river basin hydrometeorology: Case of the Mekong Basin.” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 17 (5): 2069–2081. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-2069-2013.
Richter, B. D., J. V. Baumgartner, D. P. Braun, and J. Powell. 1998. “A spatial assessment of hydrologic alteration within a river network.” Regul. Rivers Res. Manage. 14 (4): 329–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1646(199807/08)14:4%3C329::AID-RRR505%3E3.0.CO;2-E.
Richter, B. D., J. V. Baumgartner, J. Powell, and D. P. Braun. 1996. “A method for assessing hydrologic alteration within ecosystems.” Conserv. Biol. 10 (4): 1163–1174. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041163.x.
Richter, B. D., J. V. Baumgartner, R. Wigington, and D. P. Braun. 1997. “How much water does a river need?” Freshw. Biol. 37 (1): 231–249. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.1997.00153.x.
Roy, A. H., M. C. Freeman, B. J. Freeman, S. J. Wenger, W. E. Ensign, and J. L. Meyer. 2005. “Investigating hydrologic alteration as a mechanism of fish assemblage shifts in urbanizing streams.” J. North Am. Benthological Soc. 24 (3): 656–678. https://doi.org/10.1899/04-022.1.
Salmivaara, A., M. Kummu, O. Varis, and M. Keskinen. 2015. “Socio-economic changes in Cambodia’s unique Tonle Sap Lake area: A spatial approach.” Appl. Spatial Anal. 9 (3): 413–432. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-015-9157-z.
Stone, R. 2011. “Mayhem on the Mekong.” Science 333 (6044): 814–818. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.333.6044.814.
UNESCO. 2010. “Biosphere reserves—World network.” Accessed March 25, 2019. http://www.unesco.org/mab/.
Zhao, L., G. Zhu, Y. Chen, W. Li, X. Yao, L. Cai, and M. Zhu. 2011. “Thermal stratification and its influence factors in a large-sized and shallow Lake Taihu.” Adv. Water Sci. 22 (6): 844–850.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 1 • January 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 26, 2019
Accepted: Jun 26, 2020
Published online: Oct 31, 2020
Published in print: Jan 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Mar 31, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.