Characteristics of mudflow occurrence and the study of mudflow deposits in the Azerbaijani part of the Greater Caucasus mountain
Abstract
Problem definition. In recent years, a series of hydrological observations of the studied area show that mudflows not only weaken, but also in a number of regions where mudflows were not previously noted, began to manifest themselves in an active form. This is explained by the fact that in recent years, the detection of mudflows has increased the saturation of emissions of mixed chemical waste into the lower layers of the atmosphere, associated with military actions in the southwestern part of Eurasia, as well as between Russia and Ukraine. Incoming winds to the territory of Azerbaijan from west with chemical waste, pollute air masses compared to the northern ones. In the troposphere, the radiation balance is increased, which pollutes it and, as a result, the ecological balance is disturbed and affects the passage of mudflows along the Greater Caucasus.
The purpose of the study. The aim of the study is to analyze the distribution of mudflows taking into account the regional specifics of the Greater Caucasus and the natural factors influencing them, causing the formation of mudflows. The rivers of the territory under consideration are generally characterized by the prevalence of all types of mudflows compared to other areas. Mudflows of rivers of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus are special.
Methodology of the study. While performing this study, mainly geographic-hydrological and comparative methods, as well as the analysis of expedition data and their hydrological monitoring were used. Hydrological data are almost the only objective source for judging the formation of mudflows. Therefore, the initial material for this study was the data of stationary observations of the largest discharges of suspended sediments, as well as the results of field expeditionary studies.
Discussion of results. It was determined that mudflows, along with changes in synoptic processes and the intensity of daily precipitation, depend on the direction of highlands to lowlands and vice versa, their precipitation. For these reasons, with the same rainfall, in the first case, mudflows occur on rivers, and in the second case river floods. This is explained in the first case by a sufficient, and in the second case, insufficient amount of weathering products from surface washout.
Conclusion. It was determined that in the belt section, especially formed by strong mudflows, the lithological relationship of differentiation of weathering products, forming the cone deltas, clearly appears. In the nearest foots of the lowlands to the piedmonts in parts of the cone delta, the section almost entirely consists of coarse-grained material with ripple-wake suspensions, with gravel and coarse sands. As moving away from the piedmont plain to the plain, the presence of sloping sands is observed, which are presented in the section of dry deltas and cause water strikes flows. Similar is observed on the cone deltas of the Talachay, Naibbulag rivers, on the cone deltas near the village of Suvagil where water strikes on the surface of the land.
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