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
Related authors
Dung Trung Vu, Thanh Duc Dang, Francesca Pianosi, and Stefano Galelli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3485–3504, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3485-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3485-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The calibration of hydrological models over extensive spatial domains is often challenged by the lack of data on river discharge and the operations of hydraulic infrastructures. Here, we use satellite data to address the lack of data that could unintentionally bias the calibration process. Our study is underpinned by a computational framework that quantifies this bias and provides a safe approach to the calibration of models in poorly gauged and heavily regulated basins.
Sarath Suresh, Faisal Hossain, Vimal Mishra, and Nehan Hossain
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-488, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-488, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Irrigation canals deliver water to farms and sustain much of the world’s food supply, yet no global dataset previously existed. GRAIN is the first openly accessible, worldwide map of irrigation canals, and was built using community driven mapping efforts and machine learning. GRAIN contains data on nearly 4 million kilometers of canals, and this resource can support better water planning and agricultural management efforts by governments, researchers, and communities worldwide.
Shanti Shwarup Mahto, Simone Fatichi, and Stefano Galelli
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2693–2712, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2693-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2693-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The MSEA-Res database offers an open-access dataset tracking absolute water storage for 186 large reservoirs across Mainland Southeast Asia from 1985 to 2023. It provides valuable insights into how reservoir storage grew by 130 % between 2008 and 2017, driven by dams in key river basins. Our data also reveal how droughts, like the 2019–2020 event, significantly impacted water reservoirs. This resource can aid water management, drought planning, and research globally.
Sanchit Minocha and Faisal Hossain
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1743–1759, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1743-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1743-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Trustworthy and independently verifiable information on declining storage capacity or sedimentation rates worldwide is sparse and suffers from inconsistent metadata and curation to allow global-scale archiving and analyses. The Global Reservoir Inventory of Lost Storage by Sedimentation (GRILSS) dataset addresses this challenge by providing organized, well-curated, and open-source data on sedimentation rates and capacity loss for 1013 reservoirs in 75 major river basins across 54 countries.
Sanchit Minocha, Faisal Hossain, Pritam Das, Sarath Suresh, Shahzaib Khan, George Darkwah, Hyongki Lee, Stefano Galelli, Konstantinos Andreadis, and Perry Oddo
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 3137–3156, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3137-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3137-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Reservoir Assessment Tool (RAT) merges satellite data with hydrological models, enabling robust estimation of reservoir parameters like inflow, outflow, surface area, and storage changes around the world. Version 3.0 of RAT lowers the barrier of entry for new users and achieves scalability and computational efficiency. RAT 3.0 also facilitates open-source development of functions for continuous improvement to mobilize and empower the global water management community.
Dung Trung Vu, Thanh Duc Dang, Francesca Pianosi, and Stefano Galelli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3485–3504, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3485-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3485-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The calibration of hydrological models over extensive spatial domains is often challenged by the lack of data on river discharge and the operations of hydraulic infrastructures. Here, we use satellite data to address the lack of data that could unintentionally bias the calibration process. Our study is underpinned by a computational framework that quantifies this bias and provides a safe approach to the calibration of models in poorly gauged and heavily regulated basins.
Sarath Suresh, Faisal Hossain, Sanchit Minocha, Pritam Das, Shahzaib Khan, Hyongki Lee, Konstantinos Andreadis, and Perry Oddo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-193, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-193, 2023
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Using entirely space-based data we explored how well can we predict the fast evolving dynamics of a flooding event in the mountainous region of Kerala during the 2018 disastrous floods. The tool, Reservoir Assessment Tool (RAT) was applied and found to have actionable accuracy in predicting the state of the Kerala reservoirs entirely from space to foster better coordinated management in future for reservoir operations.
Donghoon Lee, Jia Yi Ng, Stefano Galelli, and Paul Block
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2431–2448, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2431-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2431-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
To fully realize the potential of seasonal streamflow forecasts in the hydropower industry, we need to understand the relationship between reservoir design specifications, forecast skill, and value. Here, we rely on realistic forecasts and simulated hydropower operations for 753 dams worldwide to unfold such relationship. Our analysis shows how forecast skill affects hydropower production, what type of dams are most likely to benefit from seasonal forecasts, and where these dams are located.
Cited articles
Ahmad, S. K., Hossain, F., Holtgrieve, G. W., Pavelsky, T., and Galelli, S.:
Predicting the likely thermal impact of current and future dams around the
world, Earth's Future, 9, e2020EF001916, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ef001916, 2021. a
Arias, M. E., Cochrane, T. A., Kummu, M., Lauri, H., Holtgrieve, G. W.,
Koponen, J., and Piman, T.: Impacts of hydropower and climate change on
drivers of ecological productivity of Southeast Asia's most important
wetland, Ecol. Model., 272, 252–263,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2013.10.015, 2014. a
Avisse, N., Tilmant, A., Müller, M. F., and Zhang, H.: Monitoring small reservoirs' storage with satellite remote sensing in inaccessible areas, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6445–6459, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6445-2017, 2017. a, b
Basheer, M., Wheeler, K. G., Elagib, N. A., Etichia, M., Zagona, E. A., Abdo,
G. M., and Harou, J. J.: Filling Africa’s largest hydropower dam should
consider engineering realities, One Earth, 3, 277–281,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.08.015, 2020. a
Beveridge, C., Hossain, F., and Bonnema, M.: Estimating impacts of dam
development and landscape changes on suspended sediment concentrations in the
Mekong River Basin’s 3S tributaries, J. Hydrol.
Eng., 25, 05020014, https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)he.1943-5584.0001949, 2020.
a
Binh, D. V., Kantoush, S., and Sumi, T.: Changes to long-term discharge and
sediment loads in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta caused by upstream dams,
Geomorphology, 353, 107011, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.107011, 2020. a
Birkett, C. M., Reynolds, C., Beckley, B., and Doorn, B.: From Research to
Operations: The USDA Global Reservoir and Lake Monitor, in:
Coastal Altimetry, edited by: Vignudelli, S., Kostianoy, A. G., Cipollini,
P., and Benveniste, J., Springer, Berlin,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12796-0_2, 2010. a
Biswas, N. K., Hossain, F., Bonnema, M., Okeowo, M. A., and Lee, H.: An
altimeter height extraction technique for dynamically changing rivers of
South and South-East Asia, Remote Sens. Environ., 221,
24–37, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.10.033, 2019. a
Biswas, N. K., Hossain, F., Bonnema, M., Lee, H., and Chishtie, F.: Towards a
global Reservoir Assessment Tool for predicting hydrologic impacts and
operating patterns of existing and planned reservoirs, Environ.
Modell. Softw., 140, 105043, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105043,
2021. a, b, c
Bonnema, M. and Hossain, F.: Assessing the potential of the Surface Water
and Ocean Topography mission for reservoir monitoring in the Mekong
River Basin, Water Resour. Res., 55, 444–461,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018wr023743, 2019. a, b, c
Bonnema, M., Sikder, S., Miao, Y., Chen, X., Hossain, F., Pervin, I. A.,
Rahman, S. M. M., and Lee, H.: Understanding satellite-based
monthly-to-seasonal reservoir outflow estimation as a function of hydrologic
controls, Water Resour. Res., 52, 4095–4115,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015wr017830, 2016. a, b, c, d
Bonnema, M., Hossain, F., Nijssen, B., and Holtgrieve, G.: Hydropower’s
hidden transformation of rivers in the Mekong, Environ. Res.
Lett., 15, 044017, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab763d, 2020. a
Busker, T., de Roo, A., Gelati, E., Schwatke, C., Adamovic, M., Bisselink, B., Pekel, J.-F., and Cottam, A.: A global lake and reservoir volume analysis using a surface water dataset and satellite altimetry, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 669–690, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-669-2019, 2019. a, b, c
Chowdhury, A. K., Dang, T. D., Bagchi, A., and Galelli, S.: Expected benefits
of Laos' hydropower development curbed by hydro-climatic variability and
limited transmission capacity: Opportunities to reform, J. Water
Res. Plann. Man., 146, 05020019,
https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0001279, 2020. a
Chowdhury, A. K., Dang, T. D., Nguyen, H. T. T., Koh, R., and Galelli, S.: The
Greater Mekong's climate-water-energy nexus: How ENSO-triggered
regional droughts affect power supply and CO2 emissions, Earth's Future,
9, e2020ef001814, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ef001814, 2021. a
Dang, T. D., Cochrane, T. A., Arias, M. E., Van, P. D. T., and de Vries, T. T.:
Hydrological alterations from water infrastructure development in the
Mekong floodplains, Hydrol. Process., 30, 3824–3838,
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10894, 2016. a, b
Dang, T. D., Chowdhury, A. F. M. K., and Galelli, S.: On the representation of water reservoir storage and operations in large-scale hydrological models: implications on model parameterization and climate change impact assessments, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 397–416, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-397-2020, 2020a. a, b, c, d, e, f
Dang, T. D., Vu, D. T., Chowdhury, A. K., and Galelli, S.: A software package
for the representation and optimization of water reservoir operations in the
VIC hydrologic model, Environ. Modell. Softw., 126, 104673,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2020.104673, 2020b. a
Didan, K. and Munoz, A. B.: MODIS vegetation index user’s guide (MOD13
Series), Vegetation Index and Phenology Lab, The University of Arizona,
https://vip.arizona.edu/documents/MODIS/MODIS_VI_UsersGuide_09_18_2019_C61.pdf
(last access: 20 May 2021), 2019. a
Ding, T. and Gao, H.: The record-breaking extreme drought in Yunnan
Province, Southwest China during spring-early summer of 2019 and
possible causes, J. Meteorol. Res., 34, 997–1012,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-020-0032-8, 2020. a
Do, P., Tian, F., Zhu, T., Zohidov, B., Ni, G., Lu, H., and Liu, H.: Exploring
synergies in the water-food-energy nexus by using an integrated
hydro-economic optimization model for the Lancang-Mekong River Basin,
Sci. Total Environ., 728, 137996,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137996, 2020. a, b, c
Duan, Z. and Bastiaanssen, W. G. M.: Estimating water volume variations in
lakes and reservoirs from four operational satellite altimetry databases and
satellite imagery data, Remote Sens. Environ., 134, 403–416,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.03.010, 2013. a, b
ECMWF – European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts:
ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5), https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!,
last access: 20 May 2021. a
EGAT – Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand: Dam Monitoring,
http://water.egat.co.th/follow.php, EGAT [data set], last access: 20 January 2022. a
Eyler, B., Basist, A., Carr, A., and Williams, C.: Mekong dam MZonitor:
Methods and Processes, The Stimson Center,
https://www.stimson.org/2020/mekong-dam-monitor-methods-and-processes/
(last access: 20 May 2021), 2020. a
FAO, IIASA, ISRIC, ISSCAS, and JRC: Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.2), FAO, IIASA, ISRIC, ISSCAS, and JRC [data set], https://www.fao.org/soils-portal/soil-survey/soil-maps-and-databases/harmonized-world-soil-database-v12/en/,
last access: 20 January 2022. a
Gao, H.: Satellite remote sensing of large lakes and reservoirs: From
elevation and area to storage, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, 2,
145–157, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1065, 2015. a
Grill, G., Dallaire, C. O., Chouinard, E. F., Sindorf, N., and Lehnera, B.:
Development of new indicators to evaluate river fragmentation and flow
regulation at large scales: A case study for the Mekong River Basin,
Ecol. Indic., 45, 148–159, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.03.026,
2014. a
Grill, G., Lehner, B., Lumsdon, A. E., GrahamKMacDonald, Zarfl, C., and
Liermann, C. R.: An index-based framework for assessing patterns and trends
in river fragmentation and flow regulation by global dams at multiple scales,
Environ. Res. Lett., 10, 145–157,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/1/015001, 2015. a
Hanasaki, N., Kanae, S., and Oki, T.: A reservoir operation scheme for global
river routing models, J. Hydrol., 327, 22–41,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.11.011, 2006. a
Hecht, J. S., Lacombe, G., Arias, M. E., Dang, T. D., and Piman, T.: Hydropower
dams of the Mekong River Basin: A review of their hydrological impacts,
J. Hydrol., 568, 285–300, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.10.045,
2019. a, b
Hoang, L. P., van Vliet, M. T. H., Kummu, M., Lauri, H., Koponen, J., Supit,
I., Leemans, R., Kabat, P., and Ludwiga, F.: The Mekong's future flows
under multiple drivers: How climate change, hydropower developments and
irrigation expansions drive hydrological changes, Sci. Total
Environ., 649, 601–609, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.160, 2019. a
IPAD, FAS, and USDA: Global Reservoirs and Lakes Monitor (G-REALM),
https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/global_reservoir/, last access: 20 May 2021. a
IRN: China's Upper Mekong dams endanger millions downstream,
International Rivers Network,
https://www.irn.org/files/pdf/mekong/MekongFactSheet2002.pdf
(last access: 20 May 2021), 2002. a
Johnson, K.: China commits to share year-round water data with Mekong River
Commission, Reuters,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mekong-river/china-commits-to-share-year-round-water-data-with-mekong-river-commission-idINKBN277135
(last access: 20 May 2021), 2020. a, b
Kallio, M. and Fallon, A.: Critical Nature: Are China’s dams on the
Mekong causing downstream drought? The importance of scientific debate,
The Center for Social Development Studies,
https://www.csds-chula.org/publications/2020/4/28/critical-nature-are-chinas-dams-on-the-mekong-causing-downstream-drought-the-importance-of-scientific-debate
(last access: 20 May 2021), 2020. a
Kattelus, M., Kummu, M., Keskinen, M., Salmivaara, A., and Varis, O.: China’s
southbound transboundary river basins: A case of asymmetry, Water
Int., 40, 113–138, https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2014.980029, 2015. a, b
Keovilignavong, O., Nguyen, T. H., and Hirsch, P.: Reviewing the causes of
Mekong drought before and during 2019–20, Int. J. Water Resour. D., https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1967112, in press, 2021. a, b
Kondolf, G. M., Schmitt, R. J. P., Carling, P., Darby, S., Arias, M., Bizzi,
S., Castelletti, A., Cochrane, T. A., Gibson, S., Kummu, M., Oeurng, C.,
Rubin, Z., and Wild, T.: Changing sediment budget of the Mekong: Cumulative
threats and management strategies for a large river basin, Sci.
Total Environ., 625, 114–134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.361,
2018. a
Li, Y., Gao, H., Jasinski, M. F., Zhang, S., and Stoll, J. D.: Deriving
high-resolution reservoir bathymetry from ICESat-2 prototype
photon-counting lidar and Landsat imagery, IEEE T. Geosci.
Remote, 57, 7883–7893, https://doi.org/10.1109/tgrs.2019.2917012, 2019. a, b
Liang, X., Lettenmaier, D. P., Wood, E. F., and Burges, S. J.: A simple
hydrologically based model of land surface water and energy fluxes for
general circulation models, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 99,
14415–14428, https://doi.org/10.1029/94jd00483, 2014. a
Liu, B., Liao, S., Cheng, C., Chen, F., and Li, W.: Hydropower curtailment in
Yunnan Province, southwestern China: Constraint analysis and
suggestions, Renew. Energ., 121, 700–711,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.01.090, 2018. a
Liu, K.-T., Tseng, K.-H., Shum, C. K., Liu, C.-Y., Kuo, C.-Y., Liu, G., Jia,
Y., and Shang, K.: Assessment of the impact of reservoirs in the Upper
Mekong River using satellite radar altimetry and remote sensing
imageries, Remote Sensing, 8, 367, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8050367, 2016. a, b
Lohmann, D., Nolte-Holube, R., and Raschke, E.: A large-scale horizontal
routing model to be coupled to land surface parametrization schemes, Tellus
A, 48, 708–721,
https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v48i5.12200, 1996. a
Lohmann, D., Raschke, E., Nijssen, B., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Regional scale
hydrology: I. Formulation of the VIC-2L model coupled to a routing
model, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 43, 131–141,
https://doi.org/10.1080/02626669809492107, 1998. a
MRC: The flow of the Mekong, Mekong River Commission Secretariat, Vientiane, https://doi.org/10.52107/mrc.ajhz63, 2009. a
MRC: Understanding the Mekong River's hydrological conditions: A brief commentary note on the “Monitoring the Quality of Water Flowing Through the Upper Mekong Basin Under Mekong Basin Under Natural (Unimpeded) Conditions” study by Alan Basist and Claude Williams (2020), MRC Secretariat, Vientiane, https://doi.org/10.52107/mrc.ajg4w9, 2020a. a
MRC – Mekong River Commission: Discharge Time-series, https://portal.mrcmekong.org/time-series/discharge, last access:
20 May 2021. a
Nguyen, H. T. T., Turner, S. W., Buckley, B. M., and Galelli, S.: Coherent
streamflow variability in Monsoon Asia over the past eight
centuries – links to oceanic drivers, Water Resour. Res., 56,
e2020wr027883, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr027883, 2020. a
Pekel, J.-F., Cottam, A., Gorelick, N., and Belward, A. S.: High-resolution
mapping of global surface water and its long-term changes, Nature, 540,
418–422, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20584, 2016. a, b
Pickens, A. H., C.Hansen, M., Hancher, M., Stehman, S. V., Tyukavina, A.,
Potapov, P., Marroquin, B., and Sherani, Z.: Mapping and sampling to
characterize global inland water dynamics from 1999 to 2018 with full
Landsat time-series, Remote Sens. Environ., 243, 111792,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111792, 2020. a
Piman, T., Cochrane, T. A., Arias, M. E., Green, A., and Dat, N. D.:
Assessment of flow changes from hydropower development and operations in
Sekong, Sesan, and Srepok Rivers of the Mekong Basin, J. Water Resour. Plan. Man., 139, 723–732,
https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000286, 2013. a
Räsänen, T. A., Someth, P., Lauri, H., Koponen, J., Sarkkula, J., and Kummu,
M.: Observed river discharge changes due to hydropower operations in the
Upper Mekong Basin, J. Hydrol., 545, 28–41,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.12.023, 2017. a
Sabo, J. L., Ruhi, A., Holtgrieve, G. W., Elliott, V., Arias, M. E., Ngor,
P. B., Räsänen, T. A., and Nam, S.: Designing river flows to improve food
security futures in the Lower Mekong Basin, Science, 358, eaao1053,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1053, 2017. a, b
Schmitt, R. J. P., Bizzi, S., Castelletti, A., Opperman, J. J., and Kondolf,
G. M.: Planning dam portfolios for low sediment trapping shows limits for
sustainable hydropower in the Mekong, Science Advances, 5, eaaw2175,
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw2175, 2019. a, b
Schwatke, C., Dettmering, D., Bosch, W., and Seitz, F.: DAHITI – an innovative approach for estimating water level time series over inland waters using multi-mission satellite altimetry, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 4345–4364, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-4345-2015, 2015. a, b
Shin, S., Pokhrel, Y., Yamazaki, D., Huang, X., Torbick, N., Qi, J.,
Pattanakiat, S., Ngo-Duc, T., and Nguyen, T. D.: High resolution modeling of
river-floodplain-reservoir inundation dynamics in the Mekong River
Basin, Water Resour. Res., 56, e2019wr026449,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2019wr026449, 2020. a, b, c
Siala, K., Chowdhury, A. K., Dang, T. D., and Galelli, S.: Solar energy and
regional coordination as a feasible alternative to large hydropower in
Southeast Asia, Nat. Commun., 12, 4159, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24437-6,
2021. a
Soukhaphon, A., Baird, I. G., and Hogan, Z. S.: The impacts of hydropower dams
in the Mekong River Basin: A review, Water, 13, 256,
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030265, 2021. a
Tiezzi, S.: Facing Mekong drought, China release water from Yunnan Dam,
The Diplomat,
https://thediplomat.com/2016/03/facing-mekong-drought-china-to-release-water-from-yunnan
(last access: 20 January 2022), 2016. a
Tortini, R., Noujdina, N., Yeo, S., Ricko, M., Birkett, C. M., Khandelwal, A., Kumar, V., Marlier, M. E., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Satellite-based remote sensing data set of global surface water storage change from 1992 to 2018, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 1141–1151, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1141-2020, 2020. a
Turner, S. W. D., Doering, K., and Voisin, N.: Data‐driven reservoir
simulation in a large‐scale hydrological and water resource model, Water Resour. Res., 56, e2020WR027902, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr027902, 2020. a
University of California: CHIRPS: Rainfall Estimation from Rain Gauge and Satellite Observation, University of California [data set], https://data.chc.ucsb.edu/products/CHIRPS-2.0/,
last access: 20 May 2021. a
USGS – United States Geological Survey: Space Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM, https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ (last access:
20 May 2021), 2021a. a
USGS – United States Geological Survey: Landsat Collection-1 Level-2,
https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ (last access: 20 May 2021), 2021b. a
USGS – United States Geological Survey: Global Land Cover Characterization (GLCC), https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov (last access: 20 January 2022), 2022a.
a
USGS – United States Geological Survey: Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ (last access: 20 January 2022), 2022b. a
Vu, D. T.: Codes and Data of Satellite Observations Reveal 13 Years of Reservoir Filling Strategies, Operating Rules, and Hydrological Alterations in the Upper Mekong River Basin, Zenodo [data set and code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6299041, 2022. a
Warner, J. and Zawahri, N.: Hegemony and asymmetry: Multiple-chessboard games
on transboundary rivers, Int. Environ. Agreem.-P., 12, 215–229, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-012-9177-y, 2012. a
Wei, J., Wei, Y., Tian, F., Nott, N., de Wit, C., Guo, L., and Lu, Y.: News media coverage of conflict and cooperation dynamics of water events in the Lancang–Mekong River basin, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1603–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1603-2021, 2021. a
Williams, J. M.: Is three a crowd? River basin institutions and the
governance of the Mekong River, Int. J. Water Resoour.
D., 7, 720–740, https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2019.1700779, 2020. a
Yu, Y., Zhao, J., Li, D., and Wang, Z.: Effects of hydrologic conditions and
reservoir operation on transboundary cooperation in the Lancang-Mekong
River Basin, J. Water Res. Plann. Man., 145,
04019020, https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0001075, 2019. a
Yu, Y., Wang, J., Cheng, F., Deng, H., and Chen, S.: Drought monitoring in
Yunnan Province based on a TRMM precipitation product, Nat. Hazards,
104, 2369–2387, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04276-2, 2020. a
Yun, X., Tang, Q., Wang, J., Liu, X., Zhang, Y., Lu, H., Wang, Y., Zhang, L.,
and Chen, D.: Impacts of climate change and reservoir operation on streamflow
and flood characteristics in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin, J. Hydrol., 590, 125472, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125472, 2020. a, b, c
Zhang, S. and Gao, H.: Using the digital elevation model (DEM) to improve the
spatial coverage of the MODIS based reservoir monitoring network in South
Asia, Remote Sensing, 12, 745, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12050745, 2020. a, b
Zhang, Y., Erkyihum, S. T., and Block, P.: Filling the GERD: Evaluating
hydroclimatic variability and impoundment strategies for Blue Nile
riparian countries, Water Int., 41, 593–610,
https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2016.1178467, 2016. a
Zhao, G. and Gao, H.: Automatic correction of contaminated images for
assessment of reservoir surface area dynamics, Geophys. Res. Lett.
45, 6092–6099, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl078343, 2018. a
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