Estimation of sediment yield during storms based on soil and watershed geomorphology characteristics

SummaryConcentrated rainfall usually results in serious soil erosion on steep hillslopes. Since the itinerary of the eroded sediment is complicated, estimating watershed erosion during storms is practically difficult. A physically-based approach for sediment yield estimation during storms was proposed in this study. By using soil and watershed geomorphologic information, analytical solutions for sediment travel time in different orders of overland areas and channels were derived to develop a geomorphologic instantaneous unit sedimentgraph (GIUS) which showed the temporal distribution of sediment discharge resulting from an instantaneous rainfall excess input. The resultant GIUS was a function of the rainfall excess intensity and sediment delivery ratio. The linearity restriction of the unit hydrograph theory was relaxed. Sediment yields during storm events were calculated by convoluting rainfall intensities with the proposed GIUS, which had been verified by using data from the Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed in Mississippi, the United States. The simulated and the measured sediment yields were in good agreement for the test storms. Sensitivity of the sedimentgraph to the model parameters was also investigated. The proposed model was considered a promising application for sediment yield estimation in the field of water resources design.