Impact of river engineering on Vistula river channel morphometry near Warsaw (Poland): a 172-year perspective

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of river engineering on the morphometry of the Vistula River channel near Warsaw, Poland, over a 172-year period. This research focuses on the examination of modifications in the Vistula channel between 1843 and 2015 that were associated with regulation, and evaluated their immediate and indirect consequences by analyzing parameters such as channel width, length, sinuosity, presence, and number of channel bars and islands. This study used historical topographic maps and contemporary aerial laser-scanning data to verify changes in the Vistula riverbed in the Warsaw region. Research has found that human-induced transformations directly affect erosion and accumulation, as well as material transport, and that changes in the river channels are most apparent in their cross-section and size of mesoforms.

Keywords

• archival maps
• river channel
• river engineering
• human impact