RESEARCH OF WATER OBJECTS OF UKRAINE USING THE DATA OF REMOTE SENSING OF THE EARTH

The paper presents the main areas of the researches of river's bed processes and the most dangerous natural phenomena in the mountain river basins of Ukraine, with which the main hydrological risks and large-scale losses are associated, carried out at the Institute of Water Problems and Land reclamation in recent years. In particular, the results of full-scale and laboratory studies of the patterns and dynamics of the development of river bed' deformation processes, the dynamic equilibrium of the "stream - river bed" system, bed-formation's flow rate, riverbed roughness, sediment runoff, classification of rivers bed, riverbed' regulation schemes in complex hydromorphological conditions are presented, as well, as development of scientific bases of organization of the Ukrainian Carpathians mountain rivers processes' monitoring, development of the Methodology of estimation of channel's deformations dynamics. The Methodology is based on a complex analysis of hydromorphological dependences between the morphological parameters of the riverbed and the hydraulic characteristics of the flow at separate calculated intervals of observations and provides the possibility of discrete quantitative assessment of the planned and vertical riverbed deformations over a long period and their intensities. The paper also highlights the main results of work on the implementation of the Flood Directive 2007/60/EC in Ukraine, in particular, the development of a Flood Risk Management Strategy in the Ukrainian Carpathian River basins. In the Strategy declared the latest approaches to flood response, which foresee the abandonment of the current paradigm of "flood protection" to favor integrated flood risk management. The Strategy identifies national mechanisms for strategic management in flood risk reduction, cross-border cooperation areas, coordination of work within river basin districts to prevent flood-related activities or increasing flood risk in other reach of the river. The composition and scope of activities are determined, depending on the level of flood hazard and calculated risks, at all stages of their management: flood hazard and flood risk assessments; prevention; readiness; response and recovery. For the future development of this Strategy, the paper presents the scientific and methodological bases for a comprehensive assessment of the total levels of flood hazard and flood risk and their mapping on a GIS basis.