River channel response to runoff variability

Abstract. The focus of this study was to determine river runoff impacts on channel evolution during the last centuries. Comparing a number of maps from the 18th–21th centuries and space images in concert with hydrological data we estimated natural trends, cycles and the intensity of channel formation for periods of high and low runoff. Our analysis for a long period of time enable us assessing mean and maximum rates of erosion and accumulation of river channels and bank dynamics under different conditions. Using links between runoff values and meander size we predict and reconstruct these for several Russian rivers. For forecast validation we use cases of high scale runoff change – water transfer from one basin to another.