Abstract
Scarcity of long-term series of sediment-related variables has led watershed managers to apply mathematical models to simulate sediment fluxes. Due to the high efforts for installation and maintenance of sedimentological gauges, tracers have been pointed out as an alternative to validate soil redistribution modelling. In this study, the 137Cs technique was used to assess the WASA-SED model performance at the Benguê watershed (933 km²), in the Brazilian semiarid. Qualitatively, good agreement was found among the 137Cs technique and the WASA-SED model results. Nonetheless, quantitatively great differences, up to two orders of magnitude, were found between the two methods. Among the uncertainties inherent to the 137Cs technique, definition of the reference inventory seems to be a major source of imprecision. In addition, estimations of water and sediment fluxes with mathematical models usually also present high uncertainty, contributing to the quantitative differences of the soil redistribution estimates with the two methods.
Highlights
Studies related to erosion and sediment transport present, as a key difficulty, the scarcity of long term series of reliable data
The objective of this study is to apply the 137Cs technique to validate the distributed estimations of sediment yield obtained by modelling in a tropical semiarid watershed in Brazil
Simulation of the Benguê watershed performed with the WASA-SED model over the period 1963-2008, indicates a spatial pattern of soil redistribution closely related to the watershed behaviour concerning runoff
Summary
Studies related to erosion and sediment transport present, as a key difficulty, the scarcity of long term series of reliable data. This fact can be related to the simpler and cheaper way of performing computer simulations using data generated by other researchers. Uncertainties of the 137cs technique for validation of soil redistribution modelling in a semiarid meso-scale watershed. Given this limitation, the quantification of erosion processes, sediment transport and deposition has been performed with the use of computer simulation models. Sedimentological models are intended to estimate erosion and sediment yield in ungauged regions, to simulate the effects of changes in the watershed (land use, for example) in the sediment dynamics, and estimate the spatial patterns of sediment yield
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