Sediment Discharge and Sedimentation

Sediment stations may be designed either to measure total sediment discharge to the ocean or to measure the erosion, transport and deposition of sediment within a country, basin, etc. In designing a minimum network, emphasis should be placed on erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment within a country. An optimum network would contain a sediment station at the mouth of each important river discharging into the sea.

Sediment transport by rivers is a major problem in arid regions, particularly in those regions underlain by friable soils and in mountainous regions where, for engineering applications, the amount of sediment loads should be known.

Emphasis should be placed on those areas where erosion is known to be severe. After a few years of experience, it may be desirable to discontinue sediment measurements at those stations where sediment transport no longer appears to be of importance. Sediment-transport data may be supplemented by survey of sediment trapped in lakes or reservoirs. Echo sounding devices are useful for this purpose. However, information obtained in this way is not considered a substitute for sediment-transport measurements at river stations.