Hydrological hazards at the mouth of the Pechora River

• Published in: Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation
• Main Authors: D. V. Magritsky, S. A. Agafonova, L. S. Banshchikova, K. I. Golovnin, L. Yu. Sevastyanova, А. E. Sumachev, Д. В. Магрицкий, С. А. Агафонова, Л. С. Банщикова, К. И. Головнин, Л. Ю. Севастьянова, А. Э. Сумачев
• Other Authors: The work was carried out within the framework of the research topics No I.10 of the Department of Land Hydrology of Lomonosov MSU (registration number 121051400038-1), and No FMWZ-2022-0001 of WPI RAS (charts on floods and dangerous shoals), and No 2.2 of Roshydromet, registration number AAAAA-A20-120112690064-2 (chart on ice jams), Работы выполнены в рамках тем НИР I.10 кафедры гидрологии суши МГУ по Государственному заданию, № FMWZ-2022-0001 Государственного задания ИВП РАН (наводнения и опасные обмеления) и 2.2 НИР Росгидромета, регистрационный номер АААА-А20-120112690064-2 (заторы льда)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Государственный научный центр Российской Федерации Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт 2024
• Subjects: уровень воды; dangerous phenomenon; delta; flooding; gauge; ice dam; river; satellite image; water level; затопление; затор льда; обмеление; опасное явление; пост; река; спутниковый снимок; Arctic; Pechora
• Online Access: https://www.aaresearch.science/jour/article/view/612; https://doi.org/10.30758/0555-2648-2024-70-2-185-209

The paper presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of the situation with dangerous hydrological processes at the mouth reaches of the Pechora River (from the mouth of the Sula River to the Pechora Bay). The study used data from observations of water levels, discharges and ice phenomena at hydrological gauges (until 2022), information about inundations and adverse shallowing that occurred here, satellite images (since 1991). It was found that the main damage in the mouth of the Pechora River is caused by river inundations, one of the main factors of which is ice dams. It has also been established that the long-term repeatability of the icedam formation is actually greater than the gauge observation shows. During the spring flood, the floodplain is flooded almost annually, and in 25–50 and 10–14 % of years the water level exceeded the adverse and dangerous values. The city of Naryan-Mar often suffers from floods. Until the 1970s, these occurred almost every other year; more recently, there were major inundations in 1998, 2008, 2014 and 2017. The most dangerous season for the formation of ice dams and the occurrence of inundations has been determined. On a long-term scale, the frequency of flooding and ice-dam formation has remained practically unchanged, the duration of floodplain flooding has increased everywhere, whereas the time of the water level exceeding the adverse mark has increased in the river mouth segment upstream from the delta and decreased in the delta. The empirical dependencies between the water levels and the area of flooding, between maximum water levels and the duration of flooding are substantiated. There are four main scenarios of the channel of the Pechora River and delta branches opening from the ice cover in spring. The location of the main points of ice-dam formation has been specified. The third unfavorable hydrological process within the Pechora River mouth is adverse water runoff shallowing, which disrupts river navigation. In the vast majority of cases, it is associated not ...