VULNERABILITY TO CHANNEL MIGRATION OF THE NIRAJ RIVER

Vulnerability to channel migration of the Niraj river. The aim of this paper is to analyze the changes in the geometrical characteristics of the Niraj river. In order to determinate the zone exposed to the migration of the river we tried to identify the channel migration zone and we study the historic migration zone base on a composite area defined by the channel location in 1910, 1960, 2008, so we obtained the zone of channel occupation for a 100 years’ timeframe. Therefore, for delineating the channel migration we digitized polygons for the bank full channel for each time series, and merge them in the same polygon. For anticipated future migration beyond the historic corridor boundary, we added to the channel migration zone an erosion polygon, based on the geological, and land-use characteristics. As a result we obtain a complex set of data which will allow for practitioners to use it in different contexts like: to predict the rate and extend of meander migration, evaluating the risk to existing facilities - necessaries for design countermeasures against the negative effects.