Morphometric Characteristics of the Meanders of the Dniester on the Podilia

The purpose of the work is to determine the exact number of formed meanders on the Podilia part of the Dniester, to provide them with the most complete morphometric characteristics, to separate them into separate groups according to the available morphometric data and territorial proximity. Morphometric characteristics of meanders is an important initial stage of their research. With the help of the Google Earth application, cartographic and generally descriptive methods, 30 separate meanders on the Dniester have been identified. To provide a complete morphometric characteristic of each meander, the following parameters were used in the work - the length of the meander in the circuit, the length of the meandering direction, the length and width of the meandering belt of adjacent meanders, the width of the meander deflection, the radius of curvature of the meander, the curvature of the meander bed and the shape of the meander. Each meander is given a separate name in order to distinguish it from other meanders and to use this name in subsequent works. The names of the meanders coincide with the corresponding name of the locality, which is located closest to the top of the meander. Each name of the meander is the author's and does not always coincide with the names given to them by previous researchers. In the work, detailed attention is paid to the presence or absence of tributaries of the Dniester near the windings. After all, this may indicate active neotectonic movements in this area and help determine the genesis of meanders. Separate large groups of meanders have been identified on the basis of available data - detailed morphometric characteristics and the presence of adjacent meanders in separate territories. It is also worth noting that in the last century such well-known scientists as Oleksandr Marynych and Kalenyk Gerenchuk [6] already carried out the zoning of the Dniester meanders. Everyone used their own methods, so the number of groups of meanders of the Dniester was different for everyone. The work also presents drawings depicting the largest meanders on the Dniester. Using the determined morphometric data, the largest and smallest meanders, the largest belts of meanders, compared different meanders with each other, determined the degree of meandering of the river in these areas, and also expressed the most probable reasons that influenced the development of this kind of meanders.