Modelling sediment delivery ratio over the Murray Darling Basin

This paper presents a scientific and technical description of the modelling framework and the main results of modelling the long-term average sediment delivery at hillslope to medium-scale catchments over the entire Murray Darling Basin (MDB). A theoretical development that relates long-term averaged sediment delivery to the statistics of rainfall and catchment parameters is presented. The derived flood frequency approach was adapted to investigate the problem of regionalization of the sediment delivery ratio (SDR) across the Basin. SDR, a measure of catchment response to the upland erosion rate, was modeled by two lumped linear stores arranged in series: hillslope transport to the nearest streams and flow routing in the channel network. The theory shows that the ratio of catchment sediment residence time (SRT) to average effective rainfall duration is the most important control in the sediment delivery processes. In this study, catchment SRTs were estimated using travel time for overland flow multiplied by an enlargement factor which is a function of particle size. Rainfall intensity and effective duration statistics were regionalized by using long-term measurements from 195 pluviograph sites within and around the Basin. Finally, the model was implemented across the MDB by using spatially distributed soil, vegetation, topographical and land use properties under Geographic Information System (GIs) environment. The results predict strong variations in SDR from close to 0 in floodplains to 70% in the eastern uplands of the Basin. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[1]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  An investigation into the physical causes of scaling and heterogeneity of regional flood frequency , 1997 .

[2]  Billy J. Barfield,et al.  Design Hydrology and Sedimentology for Small Catchments , 1994 .

[3]  Stefan Hajkowicz,et al.  The strategic landscape investment model: a tool for mapping optimal environmental expenditure , 2005, Environ. Model. Softw..

[4]  P. S. Eagleson.  Dynamics of flood frequency , 1972 .

[5]  Ramesh P. Rudra,et al.  Targeting remedial measures to control nonpoint source pollution. , 1990 .

[6]  Anthony J. Parsons,et al.  Experimental analysis of size and distance of travel of unconstrained particles in interrill flow , 1998 .

[7]  M. Raupach,et al.  Decomposition of vegetation cover into woody and herbaceous components using AVHRR NDVI time series , 2003 .

[8]  A. S. Rogowski,et al.  QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF SEDIMENT DELIVERY RATIOS , 1984 .

[9]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Correction to “A theoretical exploration of catchment‐scale sediment delivery” , 2006 .

[10]  D. Walling.  The sediment delivery problem , 1983 .

[11]  M. Sivapalan,et al.  A theoretical exploration of catchment‐scale sediment delivery , 2005 .

[12]  I. Prosser,et al.  Patterns of Erosion and Sediment and Nutrient Transport in the Murray-Darling Basin , 2003 .

[13]  Ian P. Prosser,et al.  Investment prioritization based on broadscale spatial budgeting to meet downstream targets for suspended sediment loads , 2004 .

[14]  David C. Goodrich,et al.  KINEROS: A kinematic runoff and erosion model documentation and user manual , 1986 .

[15]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Modelling sediment delivery ratio based on physical principles , 2004 .

[16]  Leonard J. Lane,et al.  Processes controlling sediment yield from watersheds as functions of spatial scale , 1997 .

[17]  K. Edwards,et al.  World Soil Erosion and Conservation: Soil erosion and conservation in Australia , 1993 .

[18]  Desmond E. Walling,et al.  Erosion and sediment yield : global and regional perspectives , 1996 .

[19]  C. J. Rosewell,et al.  Rates of erosion and sediment transport in Australia , 1996 .

[20]  J. Poesen,et al.  The European Soil Erosion Model (EUROSEM): A dynamic approach for predicting sediment transport from fields and small catchments. , 1998 .

[21]  Sam B. Maner.  Factors affecting sediment delivery rates in the red hills physiographic area , 1958 .

[22]  Peter Strauss,et al.  AgriBMPWater: systems approach to environmentally acceptable farming , 2005, Environ. Model. Softw..

[23]  Anthony J. Jakeman,et al.  A framework for integrated hydrologic, sediment and nutrient export modelling for catchment-scale management , 2004, Environ. Model. Softw..

[24]  Ian P. Prosser,et al.  Predicting sheetwash and rill erosion over the Australian continent , 2003 .

[25]  W. H. Wischmeier,et al.  Predicting rainfall erosion losses : a guide to conservation planning , 1978 .

[26]  Anton Van Rompaey,et al.  Modelling mean annual sediment yield using a distributed approach , 2001 .

[27]  Chris Moran,et al.  ASRIS: the database , 2003 .

[28]  F. Durst,et al.  Eulerian and Lagrangian predictions of particulate two phase flows , 1984 .

[29]  Mario Minacapilli,et al.  Sediment delivery processes at basin scale , 1995 .

[30]  Murugesu Sivapalan,et al.  Linearity and nonlinearity of basin response as a function of scale: Discussion of alternative definitions , 2002 .

[31]  K. Beven,et al.  Channel network hydrology , 1993 .