<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The paper investigates experts’ perceptions of hydropower, sediment regime, and their interaction in the 20th century with an environmental historical approach, based on various case studies at both the Danube River and one of its tributaries, and on a review of contemporary literature authored by engineers. Results show that questions of sediment continuity have engaged planners of hydropower plants since the advent of this technology, and decisions were at any time influenced by multiple interests (navigation, electricity demand, nature conservation). In such an intricate fluvial landscape, phenomena like reservoir sedimentation and riverbed incision can be approached as “legacies” of past technical interventions, which limit the options of current and future river management.</p></abstract>

The paper investigates experts’ perceptions of hydropower, sediment regime, and their interaction in the 20th century with an environmental historical approach, based on various case studies at both the Danube River and one of its tributaries, and on a review of contemporary literature authored by engineers. Results show that questions of sediment continuity have engaged planners of hydropower plants since the advent of this technology, and decisions were at any time influenced by multiple interests (navigation, electricity demand, nature conservation). In such an intricate fluvial landscape, phenomena like reservoir sedimentation and riverbed incision can be approached as “legacies” of past technical interventions, which limit the options of current and future river management.

A History of Pebbles and Silt – Fluvial Sediment Transport, Hydropower and Technical Expertise at the Austrian Danube and its Tributaries

Transylvanian Review of Systematical and Ecological Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The paper investigates experts’ perceptions of hydropower, sediment regime, and their interaction in the 20th century with an environmental historical...

A History of Pebbles and Silt – Fluvial Sediment Transport, Hydropower and Technical Expertise at the Austrian Danube and its Tributaries

Published Online: Jan 18, 2017

Page range: 1 - 18

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/trser-2015-0083

Keywords
hydropower, sediment regime, environmental history, technical experts, Danube tributaries

© 2016 Angelika Schoder, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A History of Pebbles and Silt – Fluvial Sediment Transport, Hydropower and Technical Expertise at the Austrian Danube and its Tributaries

Published Online: Jan 18, 2017

Page range: 1 - 18

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/trser-2015-0083

Keywordshydropower, sediment regime, environmental history, technical experts, Danube tributaries

© 2016 Angelika Schoder, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
hydropower, sediment regime, environmental history, technical experts, Danube tributaries