Simulating and understanding effects of water level fluctuations on thermal regimes in Miyun Reservoir

ABSTRACT

Water temperature dynamics in a reservoir are affected by its bathymetry, climatic conditions and hydrological processes. Miyun Reservoir in China is a large and deep reservoir that experienced a large water level decline in 1999–2004 due to low rainfall and relatively high water supply to Beijing. To study changes of stratification characteristics in Miyun Reservoir from 1998 to 2011, the one-dimensional year-round lake model MINLAKE2010 was modified by adding a new selective withdraw module and a reservoir hydrological model. Simulation results under three scenarios demonstrated that the new MINLAKE2012 model accurately predicted daily water levels and temperature dynamics during the water level fluctuation period. The water level decline led to 7.6 and 3.8°C increases in the maximum and mean bottom temperatures and about 29 days reduction in the stratification days. These simulation results provide an insight into the thermal evolution of Miyun Reservoir during the planned future water filling process.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis Associate editor M. Acreman

KEYWORDS:

• temperature simulation
• Miyun Reservoir
• water level fluctuation
• one-dimensional model
• reservoir hydrological model
• stratification characteristics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51039002 and No.51279078) and Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (No. 20121088082).