Stability and Bifurcation Analysis of Reservoir Sedimentation Management

The alarming loss of water storage capacity to sedimentation in reservoirs worldwide is prompting a paradigm shift toward sustainable management. Previous research has investigated the physical capability of various technologies to control reservoir sediment, and formulated economic rules governing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe open hydrology journal Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 102 - 112
Main Author Huffaker, Ray
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.01.2010
Subjects
Bifurcations
Dynamics
Management
Perturbation methods
Reservoirs
Sedimentation
Sediments
Storage capacity
Thresholds
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Summary:The alarming loss of water storage capacity to sedimentation in reservoirs worldwide is prompting a paradigm shift toward sustainable management. Previous research has investigated the physical capability of various technologies to control reservoir sediment, and formulated economic rules governing their optimal sustainable use. We ask the next relevant questions: Is sustainable reservoir management structurally stable for particular technologies, or do thresholds exist such that small perturbations in key management parameters abruptly unleash dynamics driving the reservoir toward extinction? What are the dynamic properties of reservoirs in transition? We uncover a saddle-node bifurcation for the particular case of a multi-purpose public reservoir manager who adopts the environmentally friendly 'hydrosuction-dredging' sediment removal technology. Beyond the bifurcation threshold, sustainable management abruptly gives way to eventual loss of storage capacity to sedimentation.
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ISSN:1874-3781
1874-3781
DOI:10.2174/1874378101004010102