Chemical and sediment mass transfer in the Yamuna River — A tributary of the Ganges system

Abstract

Maximum mass transfer, in the Yamuna River takes place during the monsoon season. The sediment load constitutes 58–86% of the total load carried by the river depending upon the sites. Tributaries are chemically more active than the mainstream. The total load of the river seems to be controlled by lithology. At Allahabad, the Yamuna carries 42 × 10 6t dissolved chemical load and 64 × 10 6t sediment load to the Ganges river. The TSM/TDS ratio shows that upstream physical weathering is more dominant than chemical weathering. The negative relation between basin area and total erosion rate and the positive relation between the chemical and sediment erosion in the Yamuna basin is in agreement with the global trend. The average chemical erosion rate (165 t km −2yr −1) of the Yamuna is much higher than that of the Ganges and the Indian average. The total erosion rate (973 t km −2yr −1) is 1.7 times greater than that of the Ganges. Upstream the Yamuna removes 1.04 mm yr −1 of the basin surface; the removal rate decreases downstream to 0.19 mm yr −1 at Allahabad, the point of confluence with the Ganges.