Studying the Delta and Shallow Offshore Zone of the Volga River Based on Space Photographs

Abstract

The main results obtained by processing satellite photographs of the delta and the shallow offshore mouth area of the Volga made from 1975 to 1997. The study includes electronic treatment of the photographs, zoning of the delta and shallow offshore mouth area, and the evaluation of their main quantitative characteristics. Space and time variations in the boundaries of zones, main landscape components, and the hydrological characteristics (higher aquatic plants, currents, water flow, sediments, etc.). The environmental state of the identified zones and the role of anthropogenic load are estimated.