Variations in sediment runoff in the lower reaches and the delta of the Kuban River in the XX–XXI centuries

Data of network and expedition measurements and information about water management arrangements were used to study in detail the peculiarities of along-channel and long-term variations in the major characteristics of suspended sediment runoff in the lower reach and the delta of the Kuban River. For characteristics periods, the annual volumes of actual and estimated sediment runoff and the contribution of economic activity in its variations are evaluated and possible changes in sediment runoff characteristics in the XXI century are forecasted. The specific features, values, and causes of sediment runoff transformation in Kuban delta in the past and the present are analyzed; sediment balance in the delta is calculated.