The effect of climate change on the annual flow distribution of small rivers in the southern half of the European territory of Russia

G.R. Safina^a*, V.N. Golosov^a,b**

^aKazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia

^bMoscow State University, Moscow, 119991 Russia

E-mail: ^*Safina27@mail.ru, ^**gollossov@gmail.com

Received May 31, 2017

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Abstract

The ongoing climate changes lead to the transformation of the water regime of rivers. The analysis of the flow of small rivers in the southern half of the European territory of Russia has shown that, it has been characterized by intra-annual redistribution since the middle of 1970s: an increase in the underground component and a decrease in the surface component, mostly during the flood period, have been observed. Some decrease in the area of arable lands within the southern forest, forest-steppe, and steppe landscapes after 1991 has had little effect on the change in the ratio of underground and surface water runoff.

The redistribution of the annual flow has a significant impact on the reduction of erosion rates, because it is the surface flow during the snowmelt period that is an important factor in their development. The surface flow from arable lands contributes to the formation of maximum water flow during the snow melt period, because the depth of soil freezing is generally lower under the forest and meadow conditions, while the water permeability of these soils is higher than on arable lands.

Keywords: small rivers, arable lands, river flow, annual variability, maximum flow, minimum flow, erosion, accumulation

Acknowledgments. This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 15-17-20006).

Figure Captions

Fig. 1. The general map of the study area and the location of stream gauges on the rivers under investigation (shown with numbers): 1 – Kazanka River / city of Arsk, 2 – Myosha River / village of Pestretsy, 3 – Ulema River / village of Narmonka, 4 – Sviyaga River / village of Vyrypaevka, 5 – Buzuluk River / village of Perevoznikovo, 6 – Vorona River / village of Chutanovka, 7 – Bityug River / city of Bobrov, 8 – Bityug River / urban-type settlement of Mordovo, 9 – Devitsa River / village of Devitsa, 10 – Kalaus River / village of Sergievka, 11 –Kuma River / village of Bekeshevskaya, Kuma River / village of Aleksandriiskaya.

Fig. 2. Maximum runoff (a), standardized deviation of maximum flow values (b) in Devitsa River / village of Devitsa for the study period.

Fig. 3. Changes in the annual and intra-annual flow of rivers for various periods: a – maximum flow, b – minimum summer flow, c – minimum winter flow, d – annual flow.

Fig. 4. Minimum flow values for the summer-autumn period (a), standardized deviation of minimum flow values for the summer-autumn period (b) in Devitsa River / village of Devitsa River.

Fig. 5. Winter flow low (a), standardized deviation of minimum winter flow low values (b) in Devitsa River / village of Devitsa River.

Fig. 6. The annual flow of Devitsa River / village of Devitsa River.

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For citation: Safina G.R., Golosov V.N. The effect of climate change on the annual flow distribution of small rivers in the southern half of the European territory of Russia. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Estestvennye Nauki, 2018, vol. 160, no. 1, pp. 111–125. (In Russian)

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