dc.contributor.author | Batalla, Ramon J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Gibbins, Chris N. | |
dc.contributor.author | Alcázar Montero, Jorge | |
dc.contributor.author | Brasington, J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Buendia, C. | |
dc.contributor.author | Garcia, Celso | |
dc.contributor.author | Llena Hernando, Manel | |
dc.contributor.author | López Alonso, Raúl | |
dc.contributor.author | Palau, Antoni | |
dc.contributor.author | Rennie, C. D. | |
dc.contributor.author | Wheaton, J. M. | |
dc.contributor.author | Vericat Querol, Damià | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2021-02-22T12:34:10Z | |
dc.date.available | 2021-02-22T12:34:10Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2021-01-27 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1748-9326 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/70585 | |
dc.description.abstract | Hydropower is considered a renewable form of energy production, but generating electricity from rivers is not always environmentally benign. The global demand for renewables is increasing rapidly as fossil fuels are gradually phased out, so rivers will continue to be subjected to the pressures imposed by hydropower for decades to come. Finding ways of operating hydropower plants that limit impacts on downstream river ecosystems is therefore a pressing global concern. Usually, these plants cause marked and rapid fluctuations in flow in downstream river reaches, termed 'hydropeaking'. Hydropeaks result in a variety of ecological changes in the dynamic mountain rivers they typically affect; declines in fish and insect populations are evident, especially in reaches immediately downstream from the plant. While these changes are often acute and readily apparent, the underlying causal mechanisms remain unclear. We argue here that riverbed sediments are a critical but neglected causal link between hydropeaking flow regimes and ecological changes. We outline how a variety of tools from different branches of river science can now be brought together to understand precisely why hydropeaking alters sediment dynamics; these tools provide a mechanistic explanation for changes in bed sedimentary conditions and channel form across multiple scales and, consequently, a better understanding of ecological changes. By allowing us to simulate the effects of flow fluctuations on sediment dynamics and channel form, these tools also allow us to develop ways of releasing water from hydropeaking dams that limit impacts on aquatic habitat and species. | ca_ES |
dc.description.sponsorship | This work was undertaken and benefited from results and discussions provided in the background of the MorphPeak (Grant No. CGL2016-78874-R) and the MorphHab (Grant No. PID2019-104979RB-I00) projects funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness, Science and Innovation, and the European Regional Development Fund Scheme. Authors acknowledge the support of the Economy and Knowledge Department of the Catalan Government through the Consolidated Research Group 'Fluvial Dynamics Research Group'—RIUS (Grant No. 2017SGR-0459) and the CERCA Program. Damià Vericat is funded through the Serra Húnter Programme (Catalan Government). | ca_ES |
dc.language.iso | eng | ca_ES |
dc.publisher | IOP Publishing | ca_ES |
dc.relation | MINECO/PN2013-2016/CGL2016-78874-R | ca_ES |
dc.relation | MINECO/PN2017-2020/PID2019-104979RB-I00 | ca_ES |
dc.relation.isformatof | Reproducció del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abce26 | ca_ES |
dc.relation.ispartof | Environmental Research Letters, 2021, vol. 16, núm. 2, p. 021001 | ca_ES |
dc.rights | cc-by (c) Batalla et al., 2021 | ca_ES |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
dc.subject | Hydropeaking | ca_ES |
dc.subject | Hydro-power | ca_ES |
dc.subject | Fluvial ecosystems | ca_ES |
dc.subject | River sediments | ca_ES |
dc.subject | River habitat | ca_ES |
dc.title | Hydropeaked rivers need attention | ca_ES |
dc.type | info:eu-repo/semantics/article | ca_ES |
dc.identifier.idgrec | 030800 | |
dc.type.version | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion | ca_ES |
dc.rights.accessRights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess | ca_ES |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abce26 | |