Choosing methods for estimating dissolved and particulate riverine fluxes from monthly sampling |
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| Authors: | Sébastien Raymond Florentina Moatar Michel Meybeck Vincent Bustillo |
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| Institution: | 1. Université Fran?ois Rabelais – Tours, EA 6293, Géo-Hydrosystèmes Continentaux, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Tours, France;2. Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Québec, Québec, G1K 9A9, Canadasebastien.raymond@etu.univ-tours.fr;4. Sisyphe, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France;5. CESBIO, UMR 5126 CNRS-CNES-IRD-UPS 18, Toulouse, France |
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| Abstract: | AbstractIn discrete water quality surveys, riverine fluxes are associated with unknown uncertainties (biases and imprecisions). Annual flux errors have been determined from the generation of discrete surveys by Monte Carlo sorting for monthly sampling, from 10 years of daily records (120 records). Eight calculation methods were tested for suspended particulate matter, dissolved solids and dissolved and total nutrients in medium to large basins (103 to 106 km2) covering a wide range of hydrological conditions and riverine biogeochemistry. The performance of each method was analysed first by type of riverine material, which appeared to be much less pertinent than the flux variability matrix. The latter combines the river flow duration in two percent of time (W2%) and the truncated exponent (b50sup) defining the relationship of concentration vs discharge (C–Q) at higher flows (C = aQb50sup). As flux variability increases (high W2% and/or high b50sup), averaging and rating curve methods become less efficient compared to hydrograph separation methods. Flux biases and imprecisions were plotted in the W2%, b50sup] matrix for discrete monthly surveys.Editor Z. W. KundzewiczCitation Raymond, S., Moatar, F., Meybeck, M., and Bustillo, V., 2013. Choosing methods for estimating dissolved and particulate riverine fluxes from monthly sampling. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (6), 1326–1339. |
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| Keywords: | river fluxes flux uncertainties suspended particulate matter total dissolved solids nutrients |
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