Original scientific paper
Changes in the Length and Form of the Drava River Channel from Repaš to Ferdinandovac since the End of the 18th Century until Today
Katarina Pavlek
orcid.org/0000-0002-1834-1001
; Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Toni Kulej
; Kutina, Croatia
Neven Bočić
; Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This paper investigates channel changes of the Drava River on the section from Repaš to Ferdinandovac in the last 235 years under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors. The length of the river was measured by the channel centreline based on eight cartographic sources, including maps of military surveys from the Habsburg Empire, topographic maps from the mid and late 20th century, and archival and contemporary aerial photographs and orthophotos. The intensity of changes and the dominant factor of change were determined by analysing the changes in flow length and the occurrence of geomorphological forms in the channel and floodplain, especially the oxbow lakes. During the studied period, observed significant changes in the length of the river in the studied section were mainly caused by human activity. As a result of engineering works on the river, primarily the artificial meander cutoffs due to flood protection, the length of the studied section has decreased by 14.8 km since the end of the 18th century, which corresponds to 48.4% of the initial length. The most significant changes were recorded at the turn of the 20th century, when most of the river regulation works were carried out.
Keywords
the Drava River; fluvial geomorphology; channel changes; river regulation; cartographic sources; aerial images
Hrčak ID:
289265
URI
Publication date:
11.12.2022.
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