Formation of a new delta-like object in the Kapchagai Reservoir on the Ili River

Abstract

The formation processes of a new delta-like object with a hydromorphic landscape in the upper part of the Kapchagai Reservoir on the Ili R.—an internal delta—are considered. The quantitative characteristics of the development of this delta are evaluated using data of Landsat-2, 5, and 7 space images over period 1975–2012. These processes were found to accelerate considerably in the wet year of 2012, and intense under-flooding and salinization of nearby lands were revealed in the Chilikskii alluvial fan on the southern wing of the Kapchagai delta. A consequence of this accumulative process was found to be the development of planar channel deformations of the Ili R. 30 km upstream the Kapchagai delta.