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Landform Dynamics and Evolution in Romania pp 489–518Cite as

Styles of Channel Adjustments in the Last 150 Years

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Abstract

By analysis of representative case studies employing a unitary method, we determined a general trend of active channel narrowing in Romanian rivers (ranging from 30 to 76 % between 1860 and 2010), very similar to other European rivers. The narrowing tendency was not a linear process throughout the past century; around 1980 the greatest variability in the active channel width was documented, particularly in terms of narrowing, whereas post-2000 a tendency toward recovery of the active channel width became noticeable, as both the sinuosity and braiding indices display the same behavior. In the vertical plan, the rivers occurring in a quasi-natural state are dominated by channel bed incision throughout their entire length, increasing in downstream direction. Within the upper basin where the main channel receives numerous tributaries originating in the mountain sector which deliver coarse sediment to the main river, aggradation may occur sporadically. Higher incision rates were documented in the lower course of rivers. It was determined that incision was prevalent among the processes acting on the channel bed sections under investigation (representing 62 % of the altered area and changing bed level between −0.25 and −2.70 m), with aggradation accounting for the remaining 38 % (causing changes ranging from +0.15 to +1.25 m). The magnitude of the processes (incision or aggradation) for sections with an MQI <0.3 was four times higher than for sections with a moderate or good MQI (>0.3). The variable that exhibited the strongest response to climate conditions was water discharge (Qw), whereas the sediment load (Qs) was highly responsive to both climatic signals and anthropogenic factors. The sediment load has been instrumental in the adjustments of the channel beds by maintaining a balance between the two controlling factors, nature and man.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The database comprised of measurements on the stream discharge (mean annual and annual maximum values), measurements of suspended sediment loads and minimum annual water stages in the warm season (April to September) and cold season (December to March), respectively. It was determined that of the two periods, the lowest values were recorded during the cold season. The annual minimum water levels were compared starting from the same reference plan. The minimum water level time series were available from 1960 to 2012 for 6 rivers out of 8 (with the exception of Buzău river, where a complete data series is available only for 10 years), whereas for the annual discharge and suspended sediment load we obtained complete data series from 1950 to 2010 for all 7 rivers included in the study.

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Acknowledgments

The research leading to these results also has received partial funding from the Exploratory Research Projects PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3, “Reconstruction of Romanian river channel changes in the last 11,700 years: The role of climatic conditions and human impact.” This work was also partially supported by a grant of the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS–UEFISCDI, project number PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-0855 “Reconstruction of Late Holocene History of Romanian rivers based on geomorphological and dendrochronological interpretation of subfossil trunks.”

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  1. Stefan cel Mare University, Universității 13, 720229, Suceava, Romania

    Maria Rădoane, Ioana Perșoiu, Francisca Chiriloaei, Ionuț Cristea & Delia Robu

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  1. Maria Rădoane
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  2. Ioana Perșoiu
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  3. Francisca Chiriloaei
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  4. Ionuț Cristea
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Correspondence to Maria Rădoane .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geography, Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Suceava, Romania

    Maria Radoane

  2. Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania

    Alfred Vespremeanu-Stroe

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Rădoane, M., Perșoiu, I., Chiriloaei, F., Cristea, I., Robu, D. (2017). Styles of Channel Adjustments in the Last 150 Years. In: Radoane, M., Vespremeanu-Stroe, A. (eds) Landform Dynamics and Evolution in Romania. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32589-7_21

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