A Comparison of Load Estimates Using Total Suspended Solids and Suspended-Sediment Concentration Data

Abstract

This paper presents the results to-date from a continuing investigation into the differences between total suspended solids (TSS) and suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) data and the ramifications of using each type of data to estimate sediment loads. It compares estimates of annual suspended-sediment loads that were made using regression equations developed from paired TSS and SSC data, to annual loads computed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) using traditional techniques and SSC data. Load estimates were compared for 10 stations where sufficient TSS and SSC paired data were available to develop sediment-transport curves for the same time period that daily suspended-sediment records were available. Results of these analyses indicate that as the time frame over which the estimates were made increases, the overall errors associated with the estimates decreases with respect to loads computed using traditional USGS techniques. Using SSC data to compute loads tends to produce estimates closer to those computed by traditional techniques than those computed from TSS data. Loads computed from TSS data tend to be negatively biased with respect to those computed by traditional USGS techniques.