An et al. (2026) Water Storage Changes of Lakes and Reservoirs Across Asia (2018–2023) and Their Effects in Flood Control

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-05
• Authors: Zhiyuan An, Li Zhao, Taoyong Jin, W. Jiang, Peng Yuan, Kai Liu, Jian Wang, Peng Chen
• DOI: 10.1029/2025gl119131

Research Groups

Not specified in abstract.

Short Summary

This study integrates Sentinel-3A/B and ICESat-2 altimetry to reconstruct monthly water levels and estimate storage variations for 7,433 lakes and reservoirs across Asia, revealing that reservoirs exhibit significantly higher annual water level changes and effectively mitigate floods, while lakes' insufficient self-regulation capacity can trigger flood events.

Objective

• To reconstruct monthly water levels (2018–2023) and estimate storage variations for 7,433 lakes and reservoirs (>5 km²) across Asia using integrated satellite altimetry.
• To assess the distinct roles of lakes and reservoirs in surface water dynamics and their capacity to modulate hydrological extremes, particularly flood events.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: 7,433 lakes and reservoirs (>5 km²) across Asia, including analysis of eight Asian basins for flood events.
• Temporal Scale: Monthly water level reconstruction from 2018 to 2023.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Integration of satellite altimetry data.
• Data sources: Sentinel-3A/B altimetry, ICESat-2 altimetry.

Main Results

• Monthly water levels (2018–2023) were reconstructed for 7,433 lakes and reservoirs (>5 km²) across Asia, and their storage variations were estimated.
• Reservoirs exhibit a median annual water level change of 0.36 m/yr.
• Lakes exhibit a median annual water level change of 0.05 m/yr, indicating reservoirs' dominant role in surface water dynamics.
• Analysis of eight Asian basins revealed that insufficient self-regulation capacity of lakes is a primary flood trigger.
• Large reservoirs effectively mitigate flood frequency and intensity through regulation.

Contributions

• Provides a large-scale, high-precision assessment of water level changes and storage variations for a significant number of Asian lakes and reservoirs using integrated Sentinel-3A/B and ICESat-2 altimetry.
• Quantifies the distinct contributions of lakes and reservoirs to regional surface water dynamics and their differing roles in modulating hydrological extremes.
• Emphasizes the critical role of reservoirs in flood mitigation and highlights the importance of high-precision satellite altimetry for water resource management and flood risk assessment under climate change.

Funding

Not specified in abstract.

Citation

@article{An2026Water,
  author = {An, Zhiyuan and Zhao, Li and Jin, Taoyong and Jiang, W. and Yuan, Peng and Liu, Kai and Wang, Jian and Chen, Peng},
  title = {Water Storage Changes of Lakes and Reservoirs Across Asia (2018–2023) and Their Effects in Flood Control},
  journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025gl119131},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl119131}
}