Abstract
The rate of bank retreat was measured using erosion pins on the alluvial banks of the rivers in the Podhale region (the boundary zone between Central and Outer Carpathians) during the hydrological year 2013/2014. During the winter half-year (November–April), the bank retreat was mainly caused by processes related to the freezing and thawing of the ground (swelling, creep, downfall). During the summer half-year (May–October), fluvial processes and mass movements such as lateral erosion, washing out, and sliding predominated. The share of fluvial processes in the total annual amount of bank retreat (71 cm on average) was 4 times greater than that of the frost phenomena. Erosion on bank surfaces by frost phenomena during the cold half-year was greatest (up to 38 cm) on the upper parts of banks composed of fine-grained alluvium, while fluvial erosion during the summer half-year (exceeding 80 cm) mostly affected the lower parts of the banks, composed of gravel. The precise calculation of the relative role of frost phenomena in the annual balance of bank erosion was precluded at some stations by the loss of erosion pins in the summer flood.
Highlights
The retreat of river banks is the result of various inter-related natural and anthropogenic geomorphic processes [1,2,3]
Most researchers treat subaerial processes as preparing river banks for actual fluvial erosion because they result in the loosening of material in the vicinity of river-bank margins [15,16,17,18,19,20]
We investigated which parts of the banks are periodically eroded faster by frost phenomena, fluvial processes, or mass movements
Summary
The retreat of river banks is the result of various inter-related natural and anthropogenic geomorphic processes [1,2,3]. Anthropogenic processes include the extraction of alluvium, the fragmentation and flow regulation of river systems, changes in river channels, the construction of dams, and the development of riverside land. Most researchers treat subaerial processes as preparing river banks for actual fluvial erosion because they result in the loosening of material in the vicinity of river-bank margins [15,16,17,18,19,20]. Subaerial processes mainly include drying, wetting, freezing, and thawing, and they are controlled by the local climate [21]
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