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Floods and Flash-Floods Related to River Channel Dynamics

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Landform Dynamics and Evolution in Romania

Part of the book series: Springer Geography ((SPRINGERGEOGR))

Abstract

Floods and flash-floods are a major factor in hydrogeomorphological river dynamics. This chapter has two main aims: (i) to analyse the characteristics of floods in Romania, based on their origin, frequency and magnitude; (ii) to present case studies on the relation between river channel dynamics and floods. In most cases, in Romania, floods occur in spring and summer (up to 3/4 of the total number of floods) and have mostly pluvial origins. Rivers from the External Curvature (Carpathians, Subcarpathians and Romanian Plain) suffered historical floods in 2005, reflected by a slight extension of the river channel (for example, Putna and Buzău watercourses). Rivers from Banat Plain also recorded floods in 2005; a high volume of water created breaches in dikes and the long stagnation of water determined morphological modifications of the floodplain. The Danube River registered historical floods in 2006; due to the morphometry of the floodplain, the river overflowed the banks and the dikes, covering the floodplain between Rast and Bistreţ towards the homonym lake. The flash-flood from Ilişua River basin in June 2006 generated some modifications in the river channel morphology due to fine materials accumulation, with a thickness of 0.2–1.5 m, and coarser ones, which created bars with heights of 0.5–1 m; materials came from landslides and bank collapse. The interactions between hydrological phenomena and morphological processes may have consequences with ephemeral character, reversible on short-term, but also on long-term, with a potential impact on the environment and on the society. This analysis underlines the applied character of hydrogeomorphology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, N. Bălcescu 1, 010041, Bucharest, sector 1, Romania

    Florina Grecu, Liliana Zaharia, Gabriela Ioana-Toroimac & Iuliana Armaș

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  1. Florina Grecu
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  2. Liliana Zaharia
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  3. Gabriela Ioana-Toroimac
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  4. Iuliana Armaș
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Correspondence to Florina Grecu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Geography, Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Suceava, Romania

    Maria Radoane

  2. Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania

    Alfred Vespremeanu-Stroe

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Grecu, F., Zaharia, L., Ioana-Toroimac, G., Armaș, I. (2017). Floods and Flash-Floods Related to River Channel Dynamics. In: Radoane, M., Vespremeanu-Stroe, A. (eds) Landform Dynamics and Evolution in Romania. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32589-7_33

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