Evolution and geomorphological dynamics in the Ebro River (Managed Natural Reserve of Sotos y Galachos, Zaragoza)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17735/cyg.v33i1-2.67874Keywords:
Ebro river, river dynamics, aerial imagery, floods, geomorphological changesAbstract
The Ebro River in the Reserva Natural Dirigida de los Sotos y Galachos del Ebro has generated significant geomorphological changes due to its own functionality, standing out by its very active fluvial dynamics in the general context of the middle Ebro. The five aerial photographs of 1927, 1956, 1998, 2006 and 2015 years have permitted to evaluate and interpret these changes. The evolutionary comparison of active channel, the calculation of surface mobilized and the measurement of the displacement of the vertex of meander show a progressive reduction in the fluvial activity along the last 90 years, due to anthropic factors fundamentally. This fact is also reflected in the percentages obtained for land uses. However, the detailed analysis of 2015 orthophoto shows the survival of certain dynamism, mainly associated with the flood of the same year. In the same way, it is an indication of the capacity of geomorphologic change in this stretch of the river. The process of reduction or limitation of the dynamic seems to have stopped nowadays, which would allow recovering partially the geomorphologic mobility of the river with fluvial restoration measures.
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