River regulation and embankment construction have fundamentally altered the hydrological relationships and sediment accumulation dynamics of floodplains worldwide. This study examines the accumulation conditions in the Upper Tisza (Hungary) floodplain, focusing on the different surface development conditions of oxbow lakes and fossil natural levees following human intervention. During the study, we integrated high resolution LIDAR terrain models with detailed sedimentological analyses (grain size composition, pH, EC, OC, CaCO₃). We used multivariate statistical methods (principal component and cluster analysis) to separate soil formation processes and sediment accumulation. Based on our results, we identified sharp sedimentological boundaries indicating artificial meander cutting (1852). We demonstrated that the cut meanders function as sediment traps, where the accumulation of fine grained sediments is significantly faster (>0.34 cm/year) than on the higher elevation natural levees (0.1 cm/year). Statistical analysis identified five distinct sedimentation environments, successfully separating recent soil levels from river sediments. These results provide an important basis for the complex management of floodplains, such as flood protection, water retention, and habitat management planning.

Enhancing spatial orientation and map-reading skills is a cornerstone of geography education, yet the comparative efficacy of physical versus virtual reality learning environments (VRLEs) remains a subject of ongoing debate. This study evaluates the development of navigational competencies through a counterbalanced crossover experimental design involving 20 geography and geography teacher major students. Participants performed standardized spatial tasks, including bearing calculation and distance estimation, in both the volcanic landscape of the Tapolca Basin, Hungary, and its smartphone-based 360-degree virtual reality (VR) counterpart. To assess longitudinal retention and cross-modal transfer, a three-month interval was maintained between the two learning phases, supported by a robust pre-test/post-test framework. Results indicate that while both environments are susceptible to spatial distortions driven by the visual dominance of physiographic landmarks, VR-based training effectively scaffolds the cognitive frameworks required for real-world navigation. The findings confirm that spatial mental models acquired in a virtual setting possess significant cognitive resilience, as navigational accuracy was maintained over the three-month interval. In conclusion, this research justifies a hybrid pedagogical approach, where immersive digital simulations serve as a preparatory tool for physical fieldwork. The synergy of both modalities is essential for cultivating the resilient spatial intelligence required for professional geographic practice.

Floodplain oxbow lakes and natural levees preserve sedimentary archives that can provide information on long-term changes in depositional environments. This study investigates three oxbow lake–natural levee pairs of different ages along the Upper Tisza River using 258 sediment records. Grain size composition, pH, electrical conductivity, CaCO₃-equivalent values, and organic carbon were characterized. Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine relationships among the measured properties, while principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, and isometric log-ratio-transformed grain-size data. The profiles showed pronounced vertical and between-site heterogeneity, indicating that geomorphological position alone does not determine sediment properties. PCA identified four major sedimentological and geochemical gradients, whereas cluster analysis distinguished four broad sediment groups with distinct sedimentological and geochemical characteristics. These multivariate statistical analyses revealed relative vertical zonation and sedimentological and geochemical changes associated with oxbow-lake infilling and natural-levee development. Long-term mean sediment accumulation rates were estimated separately from the multivariate analyses using sediment thickness, documented channel-cutoff ages, and, where applicable, stratigraphic correlations. Time-averaged post-cutoff oxbow-lake sediment accumulation rates were approximately 10.2 cm yr⁻¹ for GYM1, 4.56 cm yr⁻¹ for GYM2, and ≤4.62 cm yr⁻¹ for GYM3. For the natural levees, no accumulation rate was estimated for GYF1 because of the absence of an independent chronological marker, whereas tentative correlation of buried paleosol horizons in GYF2 and GYF3 with dated paleosols on the Bereg Plain suggests conditional long-term mean accretion rates of approximately 0.042–0.090 cm yr⁻¹ for GYF2 and 0.032–0.069 cm yr⁻¹ for GYF3, respectively. Integrating vertical sedimentological and geochemical records with multivariate statistical analyses and independent chronological and stratigraphic constraints therefore provides a framework for reconstructing relative depositional succession and estimating long-term sediment accumulation during floodplain evolution.