Abstract

Along its almost entire length of 580 km, the Serbian sector of the Danube River has typical characteristics of an alluvial watercourse, with significant amounts of suspended sediment. The specificity of this sector are very large alluvial tributaries (Drava, Tisa, Sava and Morava), which effect the sediment regime of the Danube. The erection of the Iron Gate I dam resulted in the creation of a large and specific reservoir on the Danube and its tributaries; its length, backwater and volume vary as a function of discharge and the hydroelectric power plant’s operating mode. The most important consequence of the Iron Gate I dam is permanent deposition of sediment in the Iron Gate Gorge portion of the reservoir. However, on the upstream stretches of the reservoir sediment regime depends on current hydrologic and hydraulic conditions within the watercourse and/or the power plant’s operating mode.

The author used very comprehensive and high-quality results of field investigations, conducted both prior to the erection of the dam and during the period of HPP operation, to highlight relevant phenomena and processes occurring upstream and within the Iron Gate Reservoir. A qualitative analysis of sediment transport in the backwater zone of the Iron Gate reservoir revealed a very complex process which depends on a large number of natural factors and artificial influences and has a significant temporal and spatial dimension. The quantitative assessment of the sediment transport process was based on the conclusions of a previous quantitative analysis and the application of statistical methods to the data obtained from discharge and suspended sediment measurements. This paper presents empirical relations defined for sediment transport along the Danube River, both for its natural regime and backwater regime. The established empirical functions are very significant in scientific and practical terms, since they can be employed in diverse engineering tasks which require expertise on sediment transport along the Danube in its natural or backwater conditions. By presenting the research and investigations conducted, the author’s objective is to contribute to a better understanding of the sediment transport processes on the Danube River.

Keywords: Danube, sediment, transport