ИЗМЕНЕНИЕ ПАВОДКООБРАЗУЮЩИХ СВОЙСТВ ВОДОСБОРОВ НА РЕКАХ СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАДНОГО КАВКАЗА В 2000–2014 гг.

Abstract

The rivers of the North West Caucasus are characterized by a flood runoff regime. Floods leading to material damage occur on the rivers of the region every year. However, in the XXI century. the development of both automatic monitoring systems and the capabilities of mathematical modeling of hydrological processes make it possible to fill this gap. After the flood of 2012, a network of automatic level gauges is developing in the region, recording water levels every 10 minutes. Analysis of the accumulated archive of observations allows us to determine the features of the formation and passage of floods on the rivers of the region. Among the features of catchments that determine the transformation of precipitation into runoff in the catchment, vegetation and soil cover are distinguished. When it rains in a multi-layer forest, each layer is sequentially moistened from top to bottom. After the vegetation has been moistened, the precipitated water reaches the soil surface and some of it infiltrates into deeper soil horizons up to the waterproof layers, where it replenishes the groundwater lenses. The vegetation cover of the North West Caucasus in the foothill part is represented mainly by plowed steppes with ravine forests, and in the mountainous part – almost entirely by forests. From west to east of the region, mainly oak forests give way to beech and hornbeam forests with a higher water retention. High forest cover and widespread in the region gray, brown forest and soddy-calcareous soils have a water-holding capacity sufficient to absorb intense precipitation. A large proportion of anthropogenic landscapes in the western part of the region causes a lower capacity for absorbing precipitation and, accordingly, a greater flood hazard. Further decrease in forest cover and development of the region will increase the flood hazard.