Features and Factors of Hydrological and Morphological Changes in the Agrakhan Bay at the Mouth of the Terek River in the 20th–Early 21st Centuries

Water Resources - The Agrakhan Bay of the Caspian Sea is a unique hydrographic and environmentally valuable object at the mouth of the Terek River. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was a...     

Regularities in the Space and Time Flow Variations in the Near-Mouth Reach and Delta of the Lena R.

Lena flow showed considerable, mostly climate-induced, changes in the recent 30–40 years. The character of these changes at the river watershed–sea border somewhat differs from that in the basin outlet station because of flow transformations in the near-mouth reach and, especially, in the delta. The new stationary and occasional expedition observations were used to improve the estimates of the major characteristics of the discharges of water, suspended sediment, and heat in the Lena outlet section and to identify the features and causes of their long-term and seasonal variations. Another important result is the estimation of flow characteristic in the reach downstream of the basin outlet station, at delta head, and on its coastline. New data are given on the present-day distribution of water and suspended sediment discharges between the major delta branches, their long-term variations, and the character of inundation of the near-head delta area during spring floods.     

The response of river mouths to large-scale variations in sea level and river runoff: Case study of rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea

Regularities in the response of the mouths of major rivers, flowing into the Caspian Sea, to large-scale variations in its level and river water runoff and sediment yield are considered. Changes in the morphological structure and hydrological regime of the Volga, Terek, Sulak, Ural, and Kura mouths have been analyzed in both geological past and separately for three modern periods: a considerable drop in Caspian Sea level before 1978, its abrupt rise in 1978–1995, and a relative stabilization in the subsequent years. Specific features were identified in the hydrological-morphological processes in different mouths, caused by the differences in river sediment yields, and the slopes of delta surface and mouth nearshore beds. Some theoretical and methodological approaches were verified in the analysis and evaluation of the processes under consideration. The obtained results of studies of the mouths of rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea can be regarded as examples and analogues in the assessment of processes, which take place at the mouths of other Russian and world rivers at present and can take place in the future under anticipated natural and anthropogenic variations in sea level and river runoff.     

Hydrological hazards at mouths of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora rivers,Russian Federation

The article presents results of long-term monitoring, detailed studies and numerical simulation of hydrological hazards at the mouths of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora rivers. The Northern Dvina River discharges into the White Sea and the Pechora River flows into the Barents Sea. They are major rivers in northern European Russia. The main hydrological hazards at the mouths of these rivers include dangerous ice phenomena, inundations from both pure maximum stream flow and peak discharges with ice jams, surge-induced flooding, wind-induced down-surges, low-water periods and seawater intrusion into the delta branches. These hazards repeatedly caused significant socioeconomic loss and environmental damage to the riparian areas. Causes and characteristics of hydrological hazards have been evaluated and considered with respect to features, pattern and factors of their long-term, seasonal and spatial variability using statistic methods, remote sensing data and numerical simulation. Furthermore, the impact of regional climate change and economic activities is discussed. As a result, detailed information about the Northern Dvina river mouth is presented. It included the structure and the efficiency of measure for preventing ice jam formation and protecting from river discharge, ice jam and surge-induced inundations. The article also included fundamental and updated data on the structure, parameters and hydrological regime of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora river mouths and specifics of their changes in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.