Genesis of sediments and siltation of the accumulation 'Duboki Potok' of the Barajevska river basin, Serbia

Abstract

Soil erosion is a natural process, occurring over geological time and is essential for soil formation. The concerns about erosion are related to accelerated erosion, where the natural rate is significantly increased by human activity. Soil erosion by water is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the Globe, being equally challenging problem for the countries of the Balkan Peninsula, changing the quantity and quality of their water resources, reducing at the same time availability and use of fresh water. Most natural watercourses are approximately balanced with respect to sediment inflow and outflow. The dam construction dramatically alters this balance since the increased flow depth and decreased flow velocity of a reservoir, reduces the sediment transport capacity and causes settling. Reservoir sedimentation is a complex process that varies with watershed sediment production, rate of transportation, and mode of deposition. The importance of watershed management in relation to the sediment management has increased, as the number of dams and their ages increase. The paper presents the research of the sediments siltation intensity of the accumulation Duboki Potok in the Barajevska River Basin in Serbia, in the period from 1991 to 2015. The survey data are based on the origin of sediment accumulation and change of the accumulation storage subsequent to the sedimentation within the section of the accumulation. The research comprised the recording of the configuration of the bottom of the lake and determination of the current state of storage capacity, using the echo-sonar 'Garmin Echo-200' and the GPS receiver 'Topcon GMS-2' for the recording of the positions. The used equipment and the measuring method show promising results. The post-processing, once the measurement is transferred into the computer-graphic environment, will simplify further monitoring of the siltation of the studied accumulation.