The fords of the Danube

Abstract

The paper deals with the fords of the riverbed of the navigable Danube reach between Regensburg and Sulina, on the basis of relevant data collected and published by the Danube Commission from 1961 to 1990. First the notion of ford and the related characteristics are defined. Then the sources of ford data and the methods of their processing are described. In the main section, a survey is offered of the ford conditions along the Danube stretch considered, including the morphological factors favouring ford genesis and the frequency of ford occurrence. The hydrological regime of the period investigated is analyzed. The distribution of ford-days both in time and along the river is evaluated. Finally, the measures taken by the Danube Countries and the River Authorities for maintaining the waterway are surveyed. An additional investigation is directed to the impacts of dredging of the riverbed, both for the purposes of river training and the construction industry. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.