The Vakhsh and Pyandj rivers, main tributaries of the Amu Darya River in the mountainous region of the Pamir Alay, play an important role in the water resources of the Aral Sea basin (Central Asia). In this region, the glaciers and snow cover significantly influence the water cycle and flow regime, which could be strongly modified by climate change. The present study, part of a project funded by the European Commission, analyses the hydrological situation in six benchmark basins covering areas of between 1800 and 8400 km², essentially located in Tajikistan, with a variety of topographical situations, precipitation amounts and glacierized areas. Four types of parameter are discussed: temperature, glaciation, snow cover and river flows. The study is based mainly on a long-time series that ended in the 1990s (with the collapse of the Soviet Union) and on field observations and data collection. In addition, a short, more recent period (May 2000 to May 2002) was examined to better understand the role of snow cover, using scarce monitored data and satellite information. The results confirm the overall homogeneous trend of temperature increase in the mountain range and its impacts on the surface water regime. Concerning the snow cover, significant differences are noted in the location, elevation, orientation and morphology of snow cover in the respective basins. The changes in the river flow regime are regulated by the combination of the snow cover dynamics and the increasing trend of the air temperature.

Carried out is the analysis of stationarity of minimum runoff series in summer and winter for the Volga basin rivers. Two conditionally homogeneous periods are singled out within the temporal...

Under consideration are results of solving the problem of the river water content estimation under conditions of uncertainties of climate change forecasts and the catchment state with a reference to...

Flow regulation by large dams has transformed the freshwater and floodplain ecosystems of the Middle Amur River basin in Northeast Asia, and negatively impacted the biodiversity and fisheries. This study aimed to develop environmental flow recommendations for the Zeya and Bureya rivers based on past flow rate records. The recommended floodplain inundation by environmental flow releases from the Zeya reservoir are currently impracticable due to technical reasons. Therefore, the importance of preserving the free-flowing tributaries of the Zeya River increases. Future technical improvements for implementing environmental flow releases at the Zeya dam would improve dam management regulation during large floods. The recommendations developed for environmental flow releases from reservoirs on the Bureya River should help to preserve the important Ramsar wetlands which provide habitats for endangered bird species while avoiding flooding of settlements. The results emphasize the importance of considering environmental flow during the early stages of dam planning and the need to enhance the role of environmental flow in water management planning.

The problem of level regime regulation in Lake Baikal under the contradictory conditions of the legislation now in force in RF is considered. The concepts analyzed in the study include the normal and extreme water abundance, the frequency of the useful inflow, and the factors that influence the level regime. The results of simulation of the level regimes under normal, extremely low, and extremely high water content are given. The possible changes in the level variation range in Baikal are estimated at different water content with technical and socioeconomic limitations taken into account.

For solving the problems of analyzing the 2013 flood within the Amur river basin we undertook an array of investigations including field work, a statistical processing of hydrological monitoring...