Long-Term Variations of Maximal Water Levels in the Lower Amur

Abstract

The specific features of formation of maximal water levels in the lower Amur R. are studied. They are correlated with streamflow formation factors in different parts of the Amur Basin and Zeya R. flow regulation. Water level variations in high-water season of the year were analyzed for 1955−2013, including the periods of natural runoff variations (1955−1979) and after the start of Zeya Hydroengineering Structure operation (1980−2013). Five phases of seasonal level rise and water discharge increase in the Lower Amur are identified, and the role of higher discharge, which forms in the river basin in years with different water abundance, is assessed in the absence and presence of the effect of economic activity on the annual streamflow distribution.