Seasonal patterns of suspended sediment load and erosion-transport assessment in a Mediterranean basin |
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| Authors: | A Millares H A Chikh M Habi B Morsli J P Galve J V Perez-Peña |
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| Institution: | 1. Environmental Fluid Dynamic Group, Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research, Granada, Spainmivalag@ugr.es;3. Faculty of Technology, Department of Hydraulic, University Abou Bekr Belkaid of Tlemcen, Tlemcen, Algeria;4. National Institute for Forest Research, Tlemcen, Algeria;5. Department of Geodynamics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTTo assess seasonal patterns of suspended sediment load and its erosion–transport interactions, 17 years of river monitoring data from the Isser River Basin (northwest Algeria) were studied, considering continuous and event-scale approaches. The results show significant differences in sediment yield and transport processes between dry and wet periods. A rate of 8 t ha?1 year?1 was estimated from continuous analysis, with values of 4.3 and 13 t ha?1 year?1 for wet and dry periods, respectively. Estimates of soil delivery ratio pointed to higher values during dry periods and the dominance of hillslope erosion processes. At the event scale, the hysteresis loops confirmed these seasonal patterns in transport dynamics. The calibration of the MUSLE model highlighted the severity of rainfall during the dry period. These results emphasize the importance of seasonality in erosion and transport processes with special relevance in terms of climate change predictions. |
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| Keywords: | suspended load sediment yield seasonality Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE) sediment delivery |
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