Hydrological and morphological outline of the widefloodplain braided channel of the Middle Lena River
Abstract
The paper presents the analysis of the occurrence of different morphodynamic types of widefloodplain braided channel within the middle reaches of the Lena River, i. e. a 40-kilometer long section within the Berezovskaya Depression (upstream the mouth of the Olekma River) and a 400-kilometer long section from the river outlet to the Central Yakut Lowland to the Belaya Gora (downstream the Aldan River mouth). Six types of branching were identified with approximately the same percentage of occurrence. It was found that each type of branching corresponds to certain values of I.F. Karasev’s quasihomogeneity criterion. Hydrological-morphological dependences are obtained, which relate the width of the arms to the channel-forming flow in them, and the relative width of the islands (taken relative to the width of unbraided channel) to specific average maximum discharge (taken relative to the width to the river) and the shape of the islands, forming the branch. The dependencies differ according to the channel types. The coefficients in the constraint equations change from simpler to more morphologically complex branchings. An optimal ratio (relation) between the length and width of the islands is established, which corresponds to a minimum hydraulic resistance of the islands to the flow. The ratio is similar to those obtained for other rivers with braided channel. Because of insufficient data the reasons for different trends of coefficient modifications for different rivers (river size, bed stability, water regime, sediment runoff etc.) are just hypothetical so far.
Supporting agencies: The study was carried out under the research plans of the Department of Land Hydrology and the N.I. Makkaveev Research Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Fluvial Processes and financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation (projects № 14-17-00155 – parametrization of braided channels and 18-17-00086 – hydrological-morphological and morphometric analysis of braided channels of the Middle Lena River)
About the Authors
E. M. Kuz’mina
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
master’s student
Faculty of Geography, Department of Land Hydrology
R. S. Chalov
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Russian Federation
Faculty of Geography, Department of Land Hydrology, Professor; N.I.Makkaveev Research Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Fluvial Processes, Chief Scientific Researcher, D.Sc. in Geography
Russian Federation
Faculty of Geography, Department of Land Hydrology, Professor; N.I.Makkaveev Research Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Fluvial Processes, Chief Scientific Researcher, D.Sc. in Geography
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Review
For citations:
Kuz’mina E.M., Chalov R.S. Hydrological and morphological outline of the widefloodplain braided channel of the Middle Lena River. Lomonosov Geography Journal. 2020;(1):87-96. (In Russ.)
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