Russian-Kazakh transboundary water bodies: typology, dynamics, economic significance

The issues related to transboundary reservoirs in the state border zone of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan are analysed and their typology is articulated. Issues concerning the legal definition of the concept of "transboundary water body" in the legislation of the two countries are outlined. As a result of comparative decoding of differenttime images of remote satellite sensing of the earth, border sections where the course of rivers change were identified.

Aim. To analyse and classify transboundary water bodies on sections of the state border of Russia and the Republic of Kazakhstan and identify problematic situations.

Material and Methods. The study of these transboundary water bodies was carried out on the basis of both the analysis of interstate agreements on the delineation of the border of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan, the use of cartographic methods and the analysis of retrospective satellite images.

Results. Inconsistencies in the level of legal definition of the concept of "transboundary water body" in the legislation of the two countries are shown. Transboundary water bodies on the state border of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan have been identified and classified. Based on a retrospective analysis of satellite images, problematic situations arising from changes in the location of water bodies as a result of channel deformations of transboundary rivers and fluctuation of lakes have been identified.

Conclusions. According to the results of this work, all waterbodies located in the state border zone along its entire length have been identified. A typology of these has been carried out and the length of boundary watercourse sections has been established. Using the example of the transborder Ural River, the situation of the section of the river along which the state border lies is shown with an analysis of the changes in the channel and their dynamics.

1. Konventsiya po okhrane i ispol'zovaniyu transgranichnykh vodotokov i mezhdunarodnykh ozer [Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes]. Helsinki, March 17, 1992.

2. Vodnyi kodeks Rossiiskoi Federatsii ot 16 noyabrya 1995 g. N167-FZ [Water Code of the Russian Federation No. 167-FZ of November 16]. 1995. (In Russian)

3. Vodnyi kodeks Rossiiskoi Federatsii ot 3 iyunya 2006 g. N 74-FZ [Water Code of the Russian Federation No. 74-FZ of June 3]. 2006. (In Russian)

4. Soglashenie mezhdu Pravitel'stvom Rossiiskoi Federatsii i Pravitel'stvom Respubliki Kazakhstan o sovmestnom ispol'zovanii i okhrane transgranichnykh vodnykh ob"ektov ot 7 sentyabrya 2010 goda [Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the joint use and protection of Transboundary water bodies dated September 7]. 2010. (In Russian)

5. Demin A.P., Bolgov M.V., Shatalova K.Yu. Problems and solutions for water resources management of transboundary rivers of Russia. In: Novye metody i rezul'taty issledovanij landshaftov v Evrope, central'noj Azii i Sibiri [New methods and results of landscape studies in Europe, Central Asia and Siberia]. Moscow, Research Institute of Agrochemistry Publ., 2018, pp. 109-114. (In Russian)

6. Ivanov V.V., Zavadsky A.S. Channel processes on the Amur River border section. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 5. Geografiya [Bulletin of the Moscow University. Series 5. Geography]. 2012, no. 3, pp. 48-56. (In Russian)

7. Zavadsky A.S., Ivanov V.V., Chalov R.S. Geopolitical aspects of riverbed processes. Vodnoe khozyaistvo Rossii: problemy, tekhnologii, upravlenie [Water economy of Russia: problems, technologies, management]. 2010, no. 6, pp. 35-46. (In Russian)

8. Berkovich K.M., Zavadsky A.S., Chernov A.V. Analysis and accounting of channel processes in the development of SKIOVO. Vodnoe khozyaistvo Rossii: problemy, tekhnologii, upravlenie [Water management of Russia: problems, technologies, management]. 2011, no. 6, pp. 83-95. (In Russian)

9. Dogovor mezhdu Rossiiskoi Federatsiei i Respublikoi Kazakhstan o rossiisko-kazakhstanskoi gosudarstvennoi granitse" [Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Russian-Kazakh state border]. Moscow, 2005. (In Russian)

10. Feyisa G.L., Meilby H., Fensholt R., Proud S.R. Automated Water Extraction Index: A new technique for surface water mapping using Landsat imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment, 2014, vol. 140, pp. 23-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2013.08.029

11. Chalov P.C. About the classification of riverbeds. Geomorfologiya [Geomorphology]. 1996, no. 1, pp. 3-15. (In Russian)

12. Sergaliev N.H., Akhmedenov K.M. Channel processes on the Ural River. Novosti nauki Kazahstana [Science News of Kazakhstan]. 2013, no. 3 (117), pp. 201-205. (In Russian)

13. Padalko Y.A., Chibilyov A.A. Problems of riverbed evolution in the basin of the Ural River. Dokl. Earth Sc., 2017, vol. 475, no. 6, pp. 968-971. DOI: 10.1134/S1028334X17080268

14. Chibilev A.A. Reka Ural [Ural River]. Leningrad, Hydrometeoizdat Publ., 1987, 168 p. (In Russian)

15. Chibilev A.A. Bassein Urala: istoriya, geografiya, ekologiya [Ural basin: history, geography, ecology]. Yekaterinburg, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Publ., 2008, 312 p. (In Russian)

16. Chibilev A.A., Debelo P.V. Ryby Uralo-Kaspiiskogo regiona [Pisces of the Ural-Caspian region]. Yekaterinburg, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Publ., 2009, 227 p. (In Russian)