An assessment of the suspended sediment rating curve approach for load estimation on the Rivers Bandon and Owenabue, Ireland

Geomorphology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 185 ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sen T. Harrington ◽  
Joseph R. Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Load Estimation ◽  
Rating Curve ◽  
Sediment Rating Curve

Impact of Chelicorophium curvispinum on the concentration-discharge response of suspended sediment in the Rhine River

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel van der Perk
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Rhine River ◽  
Rating Curve ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
Sediment Rating Curve ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentrations

<p>In an ongoing study to the decline in suspended sediment concentrations and loads in the Rhine river since the mid-1950s, the temporal changes in the power-law sediment rating curve parameters were examined. This revealed that the rating exponent of the rating curve increased substantially between the early and late 1980s. Until the early 1980s, the ratings curves were relatively flat with values of the rating exponent b varying around 0.2. In the mid-1980s, the exponent suddenly increased to a value between 0.4 and 0.6 and since then has remained within this range. This change in the rating exponent was mainly caused by a decrease in suspended sediment concentrations during low discharges. During high discharges, the suspended sediment concentration initially increased during the late 1980s, but this increase was nullified soon afterwards due to the declining trend in suspended sediment concentration.</p><p>The sudden increase of the rating exponent coincided with the period that the Ponto-Caspian <em>Chelicorophium curvispinum</em> (Caspian mud shrimp) invaded the Rhine river basin. This suggests that this suspension-feeder species bears the prime responsibility for this increase, although this hypothesis requires further independent evidence. The sudden increase in the rating exponent does however not manifest itself in the long-term gradual trend of declining suspended sediment concentrations and vice versa. Apparently, the sequestration of sediment by <em>Chelicorophium curvispinum</em> is only temporary: the suspended sediment sequestered during periods of relatively low discharges is likely remobilised again during periods of high discharge. This implies that the invasion of <em>Chelicorophium curvispinum</em> has not played a significant role in the decline of suspended sediment concentrations. The precise reasons for the gradual long-term decline in suspended sediment concentration remain yet unknown.</p>

scholarly journals Scale breaks of suspended sediment rating in large rivers in Germany induced by organic matter

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-678
Author(s):  
Thomas O. Hoffmann ◽  
Yannik Baulig ◽  
Helmut Fischer ◽  
Jan Blöthe
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Suspended Matter ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Suspended Sediments ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Rating Curve ◽  
Organic Fraction ◽  
Sediment Rating Curve ◽  
Aquatic Biomass

Abstract. Understanding the transport of suspended sediment and associated nutrients is of major relevance for sustainable sediment management aiming to achieve healthy river systems. Sediment rating curves are frequently used to analyze the suspended sediments and their potential sources and sinks. Here we use more than 750 000 measurements of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) and discharge (Q) collected at 62 gauging stations along 19 waterways in Germany based on the suspended sediment monitoring network of the German water and shipping authority, which started in the 1960s. Furthermore, we analyze more than 2000 measurements of the loss on ignition (LOI) of suspended matter at two stations along the rivers Moselle and Rhine to provide a proxy for the relative contributions of mineral load and organic matter. SSC and LOI are analyzed in terms of the power-law rating curve to identify discharge-dependent controls of suspended matter. Our results indicate that for most studied gauging stations, rating coefficients are not constant over the full discharge range, but there is a distinct break in the sediment rating curve, with specific SSC–Q domains above and below this break. The transition of the rating exponent likely results from increased supply of mineral suspended sediments from hillslope erosion at high flow and a shift of the organic matter sources from aquatic biomass-derived organic matter (i.e., high % LOI) at low flow, to mineral-associated organic matter with low % LOI eroded from hillslopes at higher flow. Based on these findings we developed a conceptual rating model for large (>10 000 km2) and low-turbidity (SSC < 1000 mg L−1) rivers separating the mineral and organic fraction of the suspended matter in German waterways. This model allows evaluating the sources of the mineral and organic fraction of the suspended matter and facilitates new insights into the first-order control of discharge on the quality and quantity of suspended sediments.

scholarly journals Classifications of runoff and sediment data to improve the rating curve method

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Khaledian ◽  
Homayoun Faghih ◽  
Ata Amini
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Data Classification ◽  
Suspended Sediments ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Rating Curve ◽  
Sediment Rating Curve ◽  
Curve Method ◽  
Sediment Data

In this study, data classification method was evaluated to increase accuracy of estimating suspended sediment load. To achieve this objective, suspended sediment in Chehelgazi and Khalifeh-Tarkhan rivers in Kurdistan, Iran, were estimated using Sediment Rating Curve (SRC) method in three different approaches of data classification. At first, measured data were modeled without classification. Then, data based on flow statues were divided into two series as high and low flow. Eventually, based on sediment concentration, the data were divided into low and high sediment concentration. Long-term runoff and sediment data were used to calibrate rating curve model. The estimated values were compared with recorded data and the performances of these models were evaluated using statistical criteria. The results indicated an effective role of data classification to improve estimating sediment transportation by rating curve method. In one of the stations, it was observed that due to classification based on river flow and sediment concentration, model efficiency was increased about 45% and 28%, respectively. Furthermore, in case of improving efficiency of SRC method, classifying data based on flow statues was found to be more effective than sediment concentration. The results of this study can be used to improve the management of the basin by more accurately estimating the amount of suspended sediments transporting in the rivers draining to reservoirs.

scholarly journals Copula-Based Infilling Methods for Daily Suspended Sediment Loads

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1701
Author(s):  
Jenq-Tzong Shiau ◽  
Yu-Cheng Lien
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Conditional Distribution ◽  
Sediment Load ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Rating Curve ◽  
Similar Frequency ◽  
Sediment Rating Curve ◽  
Sediment Loads ◽  
Recorded Data ◽  
Sediment Data

Less-frequent and inadequate sampling of sediment data has negatively impacted the long and continuous records required for the design and operation of hydraulic facilities. This data-scarcity problem is often found in most river basins of Taiwan. This study aims to propose a parsimonious probabilistic model based on copulas to infill daily suspended sediment loads using streamflow discharge. A copula-based bivariate distribution model of sediment and discharge of the paired recorded data is constructed first. The conditional distribution of sediment load given observed discharge is used to provide probabilistic estimation of sediment loads. In addition, four different methods based on the derived conditional distribution of sediment load are used to give single-value estimations. The obtained outcomes of these methods associated with the results of the traditional sediment rating curve are compared with recorded data and evaluated in terms of root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and modified Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (MNSE). The proposed approach is applied to the Janshou station located in eastern Taiwan with recorded daily data for the period of 1960–2019. The results indicate that the infilled sediments by the sediment rating curve exhibit better performance in RMSE and NSE, while the copula-based methods outperform in MAPE and MNSE. Additionally, the infilled sediments by the copula-based methods preserve scattered characteristics of observed sediment-discharge relationships and exhibit similar frequency distributions to that of recorded sediment data.

Understanding watershed suspended sediment transport

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Gao
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Sediment Load ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Suspended Sediment Transport ◽  
Suspended Sediment Load ◽  
Watershed Scale ◽  
Rating Curve ◽  
Sediment Rating Curve ◽  
Sediment Monitoring

Suspended sediment at the watershed scale has played a critical role in sediment pollution, water-quality degradation, and the impairment of riparian ecosystems, and thus has been widely studied in many disciplines. This paper synthesizes a variety of methods adopted in suspended sediment monitoring, estimation and modelling for understanding sediment transport processes and determining the suspended sediment load. Methods for sediment monitoring are described in terms of direct and indirect approaches. Estimation of suspended sediment load is commonly achieved by establishing a sediment rating curve. Different approaches toward the establishment of a sediment rating curve are examined thoroughly. Techniques of sediment modelling are summarized via depiction of various hydrological and sediment models at the watershed scale. The paper ends with the discussion of future developments in suspended sediment studies at the watershed scale.

scholarly journals A new approach for estimation suspended sediment yield

1999 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Lidén
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Rating Curve ◽  
Sediment Rating Curve ◽  
Daily Series ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentrations ◽  
Model Equations

Abstract. A semi-distributed conceptual model, HBV-SED, for estimation of total suspended sediment concentration and yield at the outlet of a catchment was developed and tested through a case study. The base of the suspended sediment model is a dynamic hydrological model, which produces daily series of areal runoff and rainfall for each sub-basin as input to the sediment routine. A lumped measure of available sediment is accumulated continuously based on a linear relationship between log-transformed values of rainfall and erosion, while discharge of suspended sediment at the sub-basin outlet is dependent on runoff and amount of stored available sediment. Four model parameter are empirically determined through calibration against observed records of suspended sediment concentration. The model was applied to a 200 km2 catchment with high altitude differences in the tropical parts of Bolivia, where recorded suspended sediment concentrations were available during a two-year period. 10,000 parameter sets were generated through a Monte Carlo procedure to evaluate the parameter sensitivity and interdependence. The predictability of the model was assessed through dividing the data record into a calibration and an independent period for which the model was validated and compared to the sediment rating curve technique. The results showed that the slope coefficients of the log-transformed model equations for accumulation and release were much stronger than the intercept coefficients. Despite and existing interdependence between the model parameters, the HBV-SED model gave clearly better results than the sediment rating curve technique for the validation period, indication that the supply-based approached has a promising future as a tool for basic engineering applications.

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