1. Yields of suspended sediment and dissolved solids from the Andean basins of Ecuador.
- Author
-
Armijos, Elisa, Laraque, Alain, Barba, Sonia, Bourrel, Luc, Ceron, Catalina, Lagane, Christelle, Magat, Philippe, Moquet, Jean Sebastien, Pombosa, Rodrigo, Sondag, Francis, Vauchel, Philippe, Vera, Andrea, and Guyot, Jean Loup
- Subjects
- *
SUSPENDED sediments , *SOLIDS , *GEOLOGICAL basins , *ECUADORIANS , *HYDROLOGY , *SOIL erosion - Abstract
Water discharge and suspended and dissolved sediment data from three rivers (Napo, Pastaza and Santiago) in the Ecuadorian Amazon basin and a river in the Pacific basin (Esmeraldas) over a 9-year period, are presented. This data set allows us to present: (a) the chemical weathering rates; (b) the erosion rates, calculated from the suspended sediment from the Andean basin; (c) the spatio-temporal variability of the two regions; and (d) the relationship between this variability and the precipitation, topography, lithology and seismic activity of the area. The dissolved solids load from the Esmeraldas basin was 2 × 106t year-1, whereas for the Napo, Pastaza and Santiago basins, it was 4, 2 and 3 × 106t year-1, respectively. For stations in the Andean piedmont of Ecuador, the relationship between surface sediment and the total sediment concentration was found to be close to one. This is due to minimal stratification of the suspended sediment in the vertical profile, which is attributed to turbulence and high vertical water speeds. However, during the dry season, when the water speed decreases, sediment stratification appears, but this effect can be neglected in the sediment flux calculations due to low concentration rates. The suspended sediment load in the Pacific basin was 6 × 106t year-1, and the total for the three Amazon basins was 47 × 106t year-1. The difference between these contributions of the suspended sediment load is likely due to the tectonic uplift and the seismic and volcanic dynamics that occur on the Amazon side. EditorZ.W. Kundzewicz CitationArmijos, E., Laraque, A., Barba, S., Bourrel, L., Ceron, C., Lagane, C., Magat, P., Moquet, J.-S., Pombosa, R., Sondag, F., Vauchel, P., Vera, A., and Guyot, J.L., 2013. Yields of suspended sediment and dissolved solids from the Andean basins of Ecuador.Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (7), 1478โ1494. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF