Assessment of the Exogeodynamic Hazard of Catastrophic Flash Floods on the Territory of the Ulaanbaatar Agglomeration

Abstract

The study area is located in the Ulaanbaatar basin and is characterized by complicated environmental conditions determined by the peculiarities of an extremely continental climate with high rainfall intensity, a structural–tectonic pattern, the geological structure of the Ulaanbaatar intermountain depression, high seismic activity reaching 8 points, and the occurrence of catastrophic flash floods. In the conditions of rapid urban expansion, the high population density and housing development of Ulaanbaatar, and the implementation of large investment projects, it is an urgent task to assess the exogeodynamic hazard of the Ulaanbaatar catchment basin and develop the concept of geoecological safety of the territory. These methods and approaches consist of combining a complex of methods of engineering geology and geomorphology: monitoring the dynamics of exogenous processes; environmental assessment; the analysis of development factors (climatic, geomorphologic, tectonic, and lithological) and interaction of processes; laboratory methods of analyzing the composition, structure, and properties of soils; a detailed morphometric analysis of catchment areas; and the application of the basin approach. Based on the analysis of topographic maps on a scale of 1 : 50 000 and of digital relief models in GIS programs, the parameters of the drainage network of the catchment areas and of energy and basin geometry were calculated and reflected on map layers, and specialized maps were compiled. A detailed assessment of erosion-prone soils (composition, structure, and specific properties) revealed a moderate resistance of sediments to geodynamic impacts. As a result, maps of flood hazard of catchments under different rainfalls—short intensive heavy rainfalls and long-term rains—were compiled. The elaborated concept of geoecological safety of territories includes successive stages of works aimed at (a) identifying the exogeodynamic hazard, (b) the organization and implementation of monitoring works, (c) assessing geoecological safety with respect to hazardous exogenous geological processes, and (d) the development of recommendations for further use and specification of information.