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Modelling the impact of climate change on sediment yield in a highly erodible Mediterranean catchment

  • ANALYSIS AND MODELLING OF SEDIMENT TRANSFER IN MEDITERRANEAN RIVER BASINS
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Abstract

Purpose

The assessment of climate change impacts on the sediment cycle is currently a primary concern for environmental policy analysts in Mediterranean areas. Nevertheless, quantitative assessment of climate change impacts is still a complex task. The aim of this study was to implement a sediment model by taking advantage of sediment proxy information provided by reservoir bottom deposits and to use it for climate change assessment in a Mediterranean catchment.

Materials and methods

The sediment model was utilised in a catchment that drains into a large reservoir. The depositional history of the reservoir was reconstructed and used for sediment sub-model implementation. The model results were compared with gauged suspended sediment data in order to verify model robustness. Then, the model was coupled with future precipitation and temperature scenarios obtained from climate models. Climatological model outputs for two emission scenarios (A2 and B2) were simulated and the results compared with a reference scenario.

Results and discussion

Model results showed a general decrease in soil moisture and water discharge. Large floods, which are responsible for the majority of sediment mobilisation, also showed a general decrease. Sediment yield showed a clear reduction under the A2 scenario but increased under the B2 scenario. The computed specific sediment yield for the control period was 6.33 Mg ha−1 year−1, while for the A2 and B2 scenarios, it was 3.62 and 7.04 Mg ha−1 year−1, respectively. Furthermore, sediment transport showed an increase in its time compression, i.e. a stronger dependence of total sediment yield from the largest event contributions.

Conclusions

This study shows a methodology for implementing a distributed sediment model by exploiting reservoir sedimentation volumes. This methodology can be applied to a wide range of catchments, given the high availability of reservoir sedimentation data. Moreover, this study showed how such a model can be used in the framework of a climate change study, providing a measure of the impact of climate change on soil erosion and sediment yields.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the research projects SCARCE-CONSOLIDER (ref. CSD2009-00065) and ECOTETIS (ref. CGL2011-28776-C02-01). Suspended sediment records of the Isábena river and bathymetrical surveys were carried out within the framework of the project “Sediment export from large semi-arid catchments: measurements and modelling (SESAM), funded by the German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). The authors wish to thank the Ebro Water Authorities for permission to install the measuring equipment at the Capella gauging station and or providing hydrological data. Both observed and modelled precipitation and temperature data were provided by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET). Some of the reservoir bathymetric survey reports were provided by Rafael Cobo Rayán (CEH-CEDEX, National Center for Hydrological Studies).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Gianbattista Bussi, Félix Francés & Enguerrand Horel

  2. École des Ponts Paris Tech, Marne-la-Vallée, France

    Enguerrand Horel

  3. School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    José Andrés López-Tarazón

  4. RIUS, Fluvial Dynamics Research Group, Department of Environment and Soil Sciences, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain

    José Andrés López-Tarazón & Ramón J. Batalla

  5. Catalan Institute for Water Research, Girona, Spain

    Ramón J. Batalla

  6. Forest Science Centre of Catalonia, Solsona, Spain

    Ramón J. Batalla

  7. School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX13QY, Oxford, UK

    Gianbattista Bussi

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  1. Gianbattista Bussi
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  2. Félix Francés
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  4. José Andrés López-Tarazón
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Correspondence to Gianbattista Bussi.

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Bussi, G., Francés, F., Horel, E. et al. Modelling the impact of climate change on sediment yield in a highly erodible Mediterranean catchment. J Soils Sediments 14, 1921–1937 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0956-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0956-7

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