Large-scale hydrodynamic modeling of the middle Yangtze River Basin with complex river-lake interactions

•We develop a Coupled Hydrodynamic Analysis Model (CHAM) for a large-scale flow modeling.•A novel approach is introduced for dynamically coupling the 1-D and 2-D models.•CHAM well models flow regimes featured with seasonal wetting and drying controlled by strong river-lake interactions.•CHAM offers a robust tool to better understand flow regimes in the middle Yangtze River.

The flow regime in the middle Yangtze River Basin is experiencing rapid changes due to intensive human activities and ongoing climate change. The middle reach of Yangtze River and the associated water system are extremely difficult to be reliably modeled due to highly complex interactions between the main stream and many tributaries and lakes. This paper presents a new Coupled Hydrodynamic Analysis Model (CHAM) designed for simulating the large-scale water system in the middle Yangtze River Basin, featured with complex river-lake interactions. CHAM dynamically couples a one-dimensional (1-D) unsteady flow model and a two-dimensional (2-D) hydrodynamic model using a new coupling algorithm that is particularly suitable for large-scale water systems. Numerical simulations are carried out to reproduce the flow regime in the region in 1998 when a severe flood event occurred and in 2006 when it experienced an extremely dry year. The model is able to reproduce satisfactorily the major physical processes featured with seasonal wetting and drying controlled by strong river-lake interactions. This indicates that the present model provides a promising tool for predicting complex flow regimes with remarkable seasonal changes and strong river-lake interactions.