Regionalization of sediment rating curve for sediment yield prediction in ungauged catchments

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to regionalize the sediment rating curve (SRC) for subsequent sediment yield prediction in ungauged catchments (UCs) in the Lower Mekong Basin. Firstly, a power function-based SRC was fitted for 17 catchments located in different parts of the basin. According to physical characteristics of the fitted SRCs, the sediment amount observed at the catchment outlets is mainly transported by several events. This also indicates that clockwise hysteretic phenomenon of sediment transport is rather important in this basin. Secondly, after discarding two outlier catchments due to data uncertainty, the remaining 15 catchments were accounted for the assessment of model performance in UCs by means of jack-knife procedure. The model regionalization was conducted using spatial proximity approach. As a result of comparative study, the spatial proximity approach based on single donor catchment provides a better regionalization solution than the one based on multiple donor catchments. By considering the ideal alternative, a satisfactory result was obtained in almost all the modeled catchments. Finally, a regional model which is a combination of the 15 locally fitted SRCs was established for use in the basin. The model users can check the probability that the prediction results are satisfactory using the designed probability curve.