Main characteristics of the winter pit of the Dnepr and Sozh rivers (with the territorial borders of the Republic of Belarus)

Abstract

Information is presented on clarifying the location of wintering pits in the Dnieper and Sozh rivers within their flow on the territory of Belarus, in order to organize the protection of their fish stocks, with the development of an interactive map and a mobile application with the possibility of visualization and navigation. 74 wintering pits were identified, of which: 42 — on the river. Dnepr, 32 — on the river. Sozh with indication of geographical coordinates and description of binding to the area. The main bathymetric and hydrometric characteristics of wintering pits were studied, and a hydrochemical analysis was carried out in the area of their location. On average, the depth of the sections of the rivers to the Dnieper and Sozh at the locations of wintering pits is about 5–6 m, the minimum recorded depth is 3 m, the maximum is 20 m. The smallest area of the pit was 0.5 ha, the largest — 42 ha. The flow velocity was from 0.01 to 0.9 m/s. Studies of the temperature and oxygen regimes of water in the areas where wintering pits are located on the river. The Dnieper and Sozh did not reveal deviations from similar indicators for other sections of the channel.