The Rhine Basin Hydrography, hydrology, geology, sedimentology human-impact history, channel geometry Dr. Roy Frings RWTH Aachen University Hydrography The Rhine Basin Basin: 185,000 km2 Length: 1232 km Inhabitants: 58 Million Countries: 9 3 BELGIUM Discharge: 2300 m /s Societal functions Culture Ecology Food supply Recreation Shipping Waste disposal LIECHTENSTEIN 2 (Modified after CHR 1976) ITALY Water supply History of human impact Since Neolithic Since Industrialisation • Land-use changes • Narrowing (canalisation) • Bank protection Since Middle ages • Barrages • Embankment • Shipping • Meander cut-offs • Sediment mining • Bifurcation modification • Sediment feeding 3 Hydrology Major tributaries Aare Moselle Neckar Meuse Main (Image: Paul Maas, 1998) 4 Hydrology Max. discharge ever recorded: 12,200 m3/s (1926) Mixed regime Snow-melt regime 5 Geology and Relief (SRTM data, H. Braxmeier) North Sea Basin Lower Rhine Embayment Rhenish Plateau Upper Rhine Graben Alps 6 Longitudinal bed profile Alpine section Impounded section Freeflowing section Delta section Delta branches (Frings et al, 2008) 7 Erosion base The Alpine Section Bodensee Konstanz Alpenrhein Vorderrhein 50 km Hinterrhein Tectonic setting • Uplift 8 The Alpine Section Bodensee Konstanz Alpenrhein Vorderrhein 50 km Hinterrhein Tectonic setting • Uplift 9 The Impounded Section Iffezheim Oberrhein Basel Hochrhein 50 km Tectonic setting • Uplift / Subsidence 10 The free-flowing Section Mainz Oberrhein 50 km Iffezheim Tectonic setting • Subsidence 11 The free-flowing Section Bonn Mittelrhein Mainz 50 km Tectonic setting • Uplift 12 The free-flowing Section Lobith Niederrhein Bonn 50 km Tectonic setting • Slight uplift 13 The Delta Section North Sea IJssel Amsterdam Nieuwe Lek/ Waterweg Nederrijn Waal Haringvliet 50 km Tectonic setting • Subsidence 14 The Alpine Section 15 (Foto: Frings, 2013) Lai da Tuma The Alpine Section 16 Rein da Tuma The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 17 Rein da Maighels The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 18 Vorderrhein The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 19 Rein da Somvitg The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 20 Vorderrhein (Tavanasa) The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 21 Vorderrhein (Rheinschlucht Flims) The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2012) 22 Hinterrhein The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2012) 23 Hinterrhein The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2012) 24 Hinterrhein (Viamala) The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 25 Confluence Vorderrhein-Hinterrhein The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 26 Alpenrhein (Vaduz) The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 27 Alpenrhein (Vorstreckung) The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 28 Bodensee The Alpine Section (Foto: Rizzo, 2008) 29 Bodensee (Insel Mainau) The Alpine Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 30 Seerhein The Impounded Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 31 Hochrhein (Schaffhausen Dam) The Impounded Section (Foto: Frings, 2012) 32 Hochrhein (Rheinfall) The Impounded Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 33 Hochrhein (Aare confluence) The Impounded Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 34 Hochrhein (canal Albbruck-Dogern) The Impounded Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 35 Oberrhein (Grand Canal d’Alsace) The Impounded Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 36 Oberrhein (Restrhein) The Impounded Section (Foto: BfG) 37 Oberrhein (Wehr Kembs) The Impounded Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 38 Oberrhein (Weisweil) The Impounded Section (Foto: BfG) 39 Oberrhein (Iffezheim dam) The free-flowing Section (Foto: Gehres, 2010) 40 Mittelrhein The free-flowing Section (Foto: Frings, 2011) 41 Mittelrhein (bed rock outcrop) The free-flowing Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 42 Moselle The free-flowing Section (Foto: BfG) 43 Confluence of Mittelrhein and Moselle The free-flowing Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 44 Niederrhein (Emschermündung) The free-flowing Section (Foto: Bilderbuch Köln) 45 Niederrhein (Cologne) The Delta Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 46 Waal The Delta Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 47 Pannerdensch Kanaal The Delta Section (Foto: B. Boekhoven) 48 Pannerdensch Kanaal, Nederrijn, IJssel The Delta Section (Foto: Van der Voort, 2004) 49 Merwede The Delta Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 50 Lek (Kinderdijk) The Delta Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 51 Port of Rotterdam The Delta Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 52 Port of Rotterdam The Delta Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 53 Nieuwe Waterweg (Mouth of the Rhine) The Delta Section (Foto: Frings, 2013) 54 Haringvliet (Mouth of the Rhine) Thank you! Dr. Roy Frings Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management RWTH Aachen University Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. 17 52056 Aachen Germany E-Mail: [email protected] www.iww.rwth-aachen.de Birgit Astor Karin Banhold Dr. Roy Frings Nicole Gehres 55 Dr. Gudrun Hillebrand55 18. September 2013 Dr. Stefan Vollmer 25.03.2015.