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

Abstract

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.