Extreme erosion rates in the Nišava River Basin (eastern Serbia) in 2010

Abstract

In the last decade several major floods have been registered on the territory of Serbia. The floods that affected the Nišava River Basin in spring 2010 have been the most severe in the last 50 years. During 2010 daily measurements of suspended sediment were carried out at the last hydrologic profile of Niš along the river. In the study period, mean annual specific runoff was 12.3 L s-1 km-2 and mean annual suspended load concentration was 0.1272 g L-1. A maximum mean monthly concentration of suspended load of 0.3806 g L-1 was recorded in May, when the mean monthly specific runoff was 24 L s-1 km2, and minimum 0.0118 g L-1 in September (2.7 L s-1 km-2). Total suspended load transport was 475,792.2 t (specific yield, 122.9 t km-2 year-1). The suspended transport over the year was 2.1 times higher than the average for the period of 50 years. Out of total annual sediment, 90.7% was moved in the period February to May. On a monthly level, the highest transport was observed in May (31% of the annual transport).