| Environment
is the surface water temperature if the water surface body is wide enough and conditions are clear. Such data from the Landsat mission has already been used extensively in the study of the impact of various dam projects on water temperature in the developing region (Bonnema et al., 2021; Ahmad et al. 2021). One caveat of using such data is that the temperature is not representative of the depth-averaged temperature and may also be influenced by overlying and diurnal variations of the air temperature. Here, we quantified the time series of temperature of
the water surface from Landsat at locations upstream of the Belo Monte Project, on the reservoirs and downstream of the Belo Monte Project. Figure 10 reveals that surface water temperature has not been impacted much after the filling and operation of the Belo Monte Dams. However, one interesting pattern observed is that after 2016 (since the start of dam operations), the spatial variability of temperature along the Xingu River system appears to have lessened. There is a noticeable shift in temperature variations from the natural (pre-dam) fluctuations. Such a finding could have important implications for conservation biologists, freshwater ecologists and communities that depend on the biotic environment for their livelihood needs.
Unprecedented insight Satellite monitoring can provide unprecedented insight
into the operations of dams like the Belo Monte Dam Project and their impact on downstream populations, particularly the vulnerable and local indigenous populations of the Xingu River. In this study, we have shown an example of the insights we can gain from the vantage of space that are otherwise impossible to gain using traditional ground-based approaches. Existing satellite data can be used to monitor recent historical behaviour of a dam’s operations, track the state of the river and patterns of inflow and outflow at the dam, and even forecast the likely state of the reservoir. Much of that data is easily accessible and free. For example, a tool created for the regional governing body of the Mekong River Commission is now empowering communities along the river in Southeast Asia by giving them access to satellite data about water flow at each dam – data that cannot be hidden or modified by those in power (Das et al., 2022; see http://depts.washington. edu/saswe/mekong).
References
Ahmad, S., F. Hossain, G. Holt, S. Galelli, and T. Pavelsky (2020) Predicting the likely thermal impact of current and future dams around the world, Earth’s Future,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001916,
Biswas, N., F. Hossain, M. Bonnema, H. Lee, F. Chishtie (2021). Towards a Global Reservoir Assessment Tool for Predicting Hydrologic Impacts and Operating Patterns of Existing and Planned Reservoirs, Environmental Modeling and Software, vol. 140, https://doi. org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105043
Biswas, N. and F. Hossain (2022) A Multi-decadal Analysis of Reservoir Storage Change in Developing Regions, Journal of Hydrometeorology, vol. 21(1), pp 71-85.
Blackman, A. and P. Veit (2018) Titled Amazon Indigenous Communities Cut Forest Carbon Emissions, Ecological Economics, vol. 153 pp. 56-67, ISSN 0921-8009
Bonnema, M., F. Hossain, B. Nijssen and G. Holt (2020) Hydropower’s Hidden Transformation of Rivers in the Mekong, Environmental Research Letters,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab763d
Das, P., F. Hossain, S. Khan, N. K. Biswas, H. Lee, T. Piman, C. Meechaiya, U. Ghimire, K. Hosen (2022) Reservoir Assessment Tool 2.0: Stakeholder driven Improvements to Satellite Remote Sensing based Reservoir Monitoring, Environmental Modeling and Software, vol. 157.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j. envsoft.2022.105533,
de Oliveira CARVALHO, N., Arruda CAFÉ, F., de Oliveira MOTA, G., Costa de Barros FRANCO, H., Eng, C., & -Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras, E. S. (2004). Assessment of the Sedimentation in the Reservoirs of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Complex, Xingu River, Brazil.
https://www.iahr.org/library/ infor?pid=17352
Fearnside, P. M. (2017). Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam: Lessons of an Amazonian resource struggle. DIE ERDE – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin, vol. 148(2-3), pp. 167-184. https://doi. org/10.12854/erde-148-46
Langlois, J. (2022, January 13). An Amazon Defender Stands Up for Her Land and Her People. Yale E360.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/an- amazon-defender-stands-up-for-her-land-and-her- people
Thiede, B. C and C. Gray (2020). Characterizing the indigenous forest peoples of Latin America: Results from census data, World Development, vol. 125, ISSN 0305-750X,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j. worlddev.2019.104685.
Richey, J.E., C. Nobre and C. Deser. (1989) “Amazon River discharge and climate variability: 1903 to 1985.” Science, vol. 246, no. 4926, 6 Oct. 1989, pp. 101
3 2 1 0
-104 Reservoir 1 (Pimental Dam)
3 2 1 0
2016 2017
2018 Year
2019 2020 Annual pattern – Release: October to February -104 Reservoir 2 (Belo Monte Dam)
2016
2017
2018 Year No diversion 30% diversion
2019
2020
While estimates based on remote sensing can
have higher uncertainty than on-site measurements, unfettered access to such information can provide local populations with evidence to argue for more water releases or make suggestions on how dam projects could be revised to have less negative impact on indigenous livelihood. We hope the approach we have shown here will inspire others to explore the use of satellite remote sensing to decipher the less documented impact of water resources projects on local populations in developing and remote regions. ●
Median yearly temperature
32 31 30 29 28
2000 2005 2020 Time 2015 2020
Above: Figure 9. Reservoir outflow simulated by the mass balance approach using gauge- regressed inflow and reservoir storage change estimated by satellite data
Below: Figure 10. Satellite-derive surface water temperature patterns in the vicinity of the Belo Monte Dam project
Dam installed Upriver Reservoir Downriver Bend
Authors information The authors are Faisal Hossain, Pritam Das, George Brencher, Hannah Conroy, George Darkwah, Andrew McCall, Sanchit Minocha, Geneva Schlepp, Shunyu Yao and Shahzaib Khan. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, US.
www.waterpowermagazine.com | February 2023 | 31
Temperature (C)
Discharge (m3
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Discharge (m3
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