Physicalities in Transition: The Case of Hydropower Dams in French Alpine Valleys

THE IMPACT OF HYDROPOWER DAMS ON THE SHELL MORPHOLOGY OF THE UNIONIDELLIPTIO COMPLANATA(RAQUETTE RIVER, ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, NY)

10.1130/abs/2016ne-272588 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Kaitlynn A. Doerr ◽

◽

Judith Nagel-Myers

Keyword(s):

Shell Morphology ◽

Hydropower Dams ◽

Lawrence County ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

RAPID AND SYNCHRONOUS DEGLACIATION OF THREE ADJACENT ALPINE VALLEYS IN THE ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY, CO AT THE HEINRICH STADIAL 1/BØLLING TRANSITION

10.1130/abs/2019am-338629 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Joseph P. Tulenko ◽

◽

William Caffee ◽

Avriel D. Schweinsberg ◽

Jason P. Briner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

River Valley ◽

Arkansas River ◽

Alpine Valleys ◽

Arkansas River Valley

Download Full-text

Future large hydropower dams impact global freshwater megafauna

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-54980-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Christiane Zarfl ◽

Jürgen Berlekamp ◽

Fengzhi He ◽

Sonja C. Jähnig ◽

William Darwall ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Scales ◽

Point Of View ◽

Ecological Impacts ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Threat Status ◽

Hydropower Dams ◽

Balkan Region ◽

America South ◽

Freshwater Management ◽

Major Attention

AbstractDam construction comes with severe social, economic and ecological impacts. From an ecological point of view, habitat types are altered and biodiversity is lost. Thus, to identify areas that deserve major attention for conservation, existing and planned locations for (hydropower) dams were overlapped, at global extent, with the contemporary distribution of freshwater megafauna species with consideration of their respective threat status. Hydropower development will disproportionately impact areas of high freshwater megafauna richness in South America, South and East Asia, and the Balkan region. Sub-catchments with a high share of threatened species are considered to be most vulnerable; these are located in Central America, Southeast Asia and in the regions of the Black and Caspian Sea. Based on this approach, planned dam locations are classified according to their potential impact on freshwater megafauna species at different spatial scales, attention to potential conflicts between climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation are highlighted, and priorities for freshwater management are recommended.

Download Full-text

The Impacts of Hydropower Dams in the Mekong River Basin: A Review

Water ◽

10.3390/w13030265 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 265

Author(s):

Akarath Soukhaphon ◽

Ian G. Baird ◽

Zeb S. Hogan

Keyword(s):

River Basin ◽

River System ◽

Economic Security ◽

Mekong River ◽

Aquatic Biodiversity ◽

Environmental Impact Assessments ◽

The Social ◽

Hydropower Dams ◽

River Hydrology ◽

Riparian Communities

The Mekong River, well known for its aquatic biodiversity, is important to the social, physical, and economic health of millions living in China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. This paper explores the social and environmental impacts of several Mekong basin hydropower dams and groupings of dams and the geographies of their impacts. Specifically, we examined the 3S (Sesan, Sekong Srepok) river system in northeastern Cambodia, the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and southern Laos; the Khone Falls area in southern Laos; the lower Mun River Basin in northeastern Thailand; and the upper Mekong River in Yunnan Province, China, northeastern Myanmar, northern Laos, and northern Thailand. Evidence shows that these dams and groupings of dams are affecting fish migrations, river hydrology, and sediment transfers. Such changes are negatively impacting riparian communities up to 1000 km away. Because many communities depend on the river and its resources for their food and livelihood, changes to the river have impacted, and will continue to negatively impact, food and economic security. While social and environmental impact assessments have been carried out for these projects, greater consideration of the scale and cumulative impacts of dams is necessary.

Download Full-text

A Parametric Approach for Determining Fishway Attraction Flow at Hydropower Dams

Water ◽

10.3390/w13050743 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 743

Author(s):

Patrick Heneka ◽

Markus Zinkhahn ◽

Cornelia Schütz ◽

Roman B. Weichert

Keyword(s):

Input Data ◽

Design Criterion ◽

Hydraulic Parameters ◽

Parametric Approach ◽

Temporal Complexity ◽

Hydropower Plants ◽

Hydropower Dams ◽

Migration Corridor ◽

Zone Characteristic ◽

Good Agreement

High discharges at hydropower plants (HPP) may mask fishway attraction flows and, thereby, prevent fishes from locating and using fishways critical for their access to upstream spawning and rearing habitats. Existing methods for determining attraction flows are either based on simple guidelines (e.g., a proportion of HPP discharge) that cannot address the spatial and temporal complexity of tailrace flow patterns or complicated studies (e.g., combinations of detailed hydraulic and biological investigations) that are expensive and time-consuming. To bridge this gap, we present a new, intermediate approach to reliably determine attraction flows for technical fishways at small to medium-sized waterways (mean annual flow up to 400 m3/s). Fundamental to our approach is a design criterion that the attraction flow should maintain its integrity as it propagates downstream from the fishway entrance to beyond the highly turbulent zone characteristic of HPP tailraces to create a discernable migration corridor connecting the fishway entrance to the downstream river. To implement this criterion, we describe a set of equations to calculate the width of the entrance and the corresponding attraction discharge. Input data are usually easy to obtain and include geometrical and hydraulic parameters describing the target HPP and its tailrace. To confirm our approach, we compare model results to four sites at German waterways where the design of attraction flow was obtained by detailed experimental and numerical methods. The comparison shows good agreement supporting our approach as a useful, intermediate alternative for determining attraction flows that bridges the gap between simple guidelines and detailed hydraulic and biological investigations.

Download Full-text