Articles | Volume 26, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2345-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2345-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 May 2022
Research article |
| 05 May 2022
| 05 May 2022
Satellite observations reveal 13 years of reservoir filling strategies, operating rules, and hydrological alterations in the Upper Mekong River basin
Dung Trung Vu
Pillar of Engineering Systems and Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Thanh Duc Dang
Pillar of Engineering Systems and Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
Stefano Galelli
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Pillar of Engineering Systems and Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Faisal Hossain
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Cited
30 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Large-sample detection of reservoir impacts on flow regime alteration through improved paired-catchment approach X. Bai et al.
- Past, present and future changes in the annual streamflow of the Lancang-Mekong River and their driving mechanisms S. Wang et al.
- Spatiotemporal evolution of ecological risks in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin: Implications for sustainable hydropower J. Pan et al.
- GloLakes: water storage dynamics for 27 000 lakes globally from 1984 to present derived from satellite altimetry and optical imaging J. Hou et al.
- Refinement of ICESat-2 derived inland water surface levels with the TG20 local geoid model: In the case of Türkiye lakes Y. Kaya et al.
- On the Performance of Sentinel-3 Altimetry over High Mountain and Cascade Reservoirs Basins: Case of the Lancang and Nu River Basins Y. Cheng et al.
- Calibrating macroscale hydrological models in poorly gauged and heavily regulated basins D. Vu et al.
- VIC-Res Mekong: An open-source hydrological-water management model for the Mekong River basin H. Eldardiry et al.
- Evolution of river regimes in the Mekong River basin over 8 decades and the role of dams in recent hydrological extremes H. Dang & Y. Pokhrel
- Inferring reservoir filling strategies under limited-data-availability conditions using hydrological modeling and Earth observations: the case of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) A. Ali et al.
- Climate change, dams, and irrigation expansion reshape water–energy trade-offs in the Lancang–Mekong River Basin H. Zhao et al.
- Towards the use of satellite remote sensing to validate reservoir storage in global hydrological models: methodology and pilot study in the CONUS K. Otta et al.
- Toward Improved Parameterizations of Reservoir Operation in Ungauged Basins: A Synergistic Framework Coupling Satellite Remote Sensing, Hydrologic Modeling, and Conceptual Operation Schemes N. Dong et al.
- Hydrologic model calibration approaches for highly regulated river basin: A comprehensive assessment M. Sheikh & P. Coulibaly
- Severe decline in extent and seasonality of the Mekong plume after 2000 Y. Feng et al.
- Can restoring water and sediment fluxes across a mega-dam cascade alleviate a sinking river delta? S. Chua et al.
- A 1985–2023 time series dataset of absolute reservoir storage in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA-Res) S. Mahto et al.
- Impacts of Water Resources Management on Land Water Storage in the Lower Lancang River Basin: Insights from Multi-Mission Earth Observations X. Zhang
- Meteorological and hydrological droughts in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin: Spatiotemporal patterns and propagation X. Luo et al.
- Res-CN (Reservoir dataset in China): hydrometeorological time series and landscape attributes across 3254 Chinese reservoirs Y. Shen et al.
- Tracking the Mekong river’s water levels with satellite radar altimetry T. Ali et al.
- Enhancing Hydrological Model Calibration for Flood Prediction in Dam-Regulated Basins with Satellite-Derived Reservoir Dynamics C. Li et al.
- Integrating Eco-Index and Hydropower Optimization for Cascade Reservoir Operations in the Lancang–Mekong River Basin C. Li & T. Zhu
- Reservoir Assessment Tool version 3.0: a scalable and user-friendly software platform to mobilize the global water management community S. Minocha et al.
- The downstream impacts of dams on the seasonally flooded riverine forests of the Mekong River in northeastern Cambodia I. Baird & M. Thorne
- Seawater intrusion in river delta systems. Inter-annual dynamics and drivers of salinity variations in the southern Mekong Delta, Vietnam J. Bauer et al.
- Coupling Modeling Approaches for the Assessment of Runoff Quality in an Urbanizing Catchment L. Teang et al.
- High-resolution water level and storage variation datasets for 338 reservoirs in China during 2010–2021 Y. Shen et al.
- High-temporal-resolution monitoring of reservoir water storage of the Lancang-Mekong River Y. Wang et al.
- Flood risk assessment for Indian sub-continental river basins U. Vegad et al.
30 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Large-sample detection of reservoir impacts on flow regime alteration through improved paired-catchment approach X. Bai et al.
- Past, present and future changes in the annual streamflow of the Lancang-Mekong River and their driving mechanisms S. Wang et al.
- Spatiotemporal evolution of ecological risks in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin: Implications for sustainable hydropower J. Pan et al.
- GloLakes: water storage dynamics for 27 000 lakes globally from 1984 to present derived from satellite altimetry and optical imaging J. Hou et al.
- Refinement of ICESat-2 derived inland water surface levels with the TG20 local geoid model: In the case of Türkiye lakes Y. Kaya et al.
- On the Performance of Sentinel-3 Altimetry over High Mountain and Cascade Reservoirs Basins: Case of the Lancang and Nu River Basins Y. Cheng et al.
- Calibrating macroscale hydrological models in poorly gauged and heavily regulated basins D. Vu et al.
- VIC-Res Mekong: An open-source hydrological-water management model for the Mekong River basin H. Eldardiry et al.
- Evolution of river regimes in the Mekong River basin over 8 decades and the role of dams in recent hydrological extremes H. Dang & Y. Pokhrel
- Inferring reservoir filling strategies under limited-data-availability conditions using hydrological modeling and Earth observations: the case of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) A. Ali et al.
- Climate change, dams, and irrigation expansion reshape water–energy trade-offs in the Lancang–Mekong River Basin H. Zhao et al.
- Towards the use of satellite remote sensing to validate reservoir storage in global hydrological models: methodology and pilot study in the CONUS K. Otta et al.
- Toward Improved Parameterizations of Reservoir Operation in Ungauged Basins: A Synergistic Framework Coupling Satellite Remote Sensing, Hydrologic Modeling, and Conceptual Operation Schemes N. Dong et al.
- Hydrologic model calibration approaches for highly regulated river basin: A comprehensive assessment M. Sheikh & P. Coulibaly
- Severe decline in extent and seasonality of the Mekong plume after 2000 Y. Feng et al.
- Can restoring water and sediment fluxes across a mega-dam cascade alleviate a sinking river delta? S. Chua et al.
- A 1985–2023 time series dataset of absolute reservoir storage in Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA-Res) S. Mahto et al.
- Impacts of Water Resources Management on Land Water Storage in the Lower Lancang River Basin: Insights from Multi-Mission Earth Observations X. Zhang
- Meteorological and hydrological droughts in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin: Spatiotemporal patterns and propagation X. Luo et al.
- Res-CN (Reservoir dataset in China): hydrometeorological time series and landscape attributes across 3254 Chinese reservoirs Y. Shen et al.
- Tracking the Mekong river’s water levels with satellite radar altimetry T. Ali et al.
- Enhancing Hydrological Model Calibration for Flood Prediction in Dam-Regulated Basins with Satellite-Derived Reservoir Dynamics C. Li et al.
- Integrating Eco-Index and Hydropower Optimization for Cascade Reservoir Operations in the Lancang–Mekong River Basin C. Li & T. Zhu
- Reservoir Assessment Tool version 3.0: a scalable and user-friendly software platform to mobilize the global water management community S. Minocha et al.
- The downstream impacts of dams on the seasonally flooded riverine forests of the Mekong River in northeastern Cambodia I. Baird & M. Thorne
- Seawater intrusion in river delta systems. Inter-annual dynamics and drivers of salinity variations in the southern Mekong Delta, Vietnam J. Bauer et al.
- Coupling Modeling Approaches for the Assessment of Runoff Quality in an Urbanizing Catchment L. Teang et al.
- High-resolution water level and storage variation datasets for 338 reservoirs in China during 2010–2021 Y. Shen et al.
- High-temporal-resolution monitoring of reservoir water storage of the Lancang-Mekong River Y. Wang et al.
- Flood risk assessment for Indian sub-continental river basins U. Vegad et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 30 Apr 2026
Short summary
The lack of data on how big dams are operated in the Upper Mekong, or Lancang, largely contributes to the ongoing controversy between China and the other Mekong countries. Here, we rely on satellite observations to reconstruct monthly storage time series for the 10 largest reservoirs in the Lancang. Our analysis shows how quickly reservoirs were filled in, what decisions were made during recent droughts, and how these decisions impacted downstream discharge.
The lack of data on how big dams are operated in the Upper Mekong, or Lancang, largely...
Special issue