VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT IN THE AREA OF MOUTH IN THE DELTA OF MAGDALENA

Abstract

Vertical measurements of velocity and suspended sediment concentration obtained in two climatic seasons at the mouth of the Magdalena River (South America-Colombia) were used to estimate (1) bed shear velocity, bed shear stress and the bed roughness length by Wall law; (2) the settling velocity, by fitting distributions Rouse and Rouse equation modified and vertical profiles of suspended sediment concentration. (3) with the parameter estimates bedload sediment transport was determined with the formulations of Meyer-Peter and M ϋ ller, Nielsen and Ribbernk. From the estimated parameters, a number of Rouse significantly less than one (0.01 to 0.18), settling velocity (0.08-3.15 mm s -1 ) was obtained much less bed shear velocity (15-70 mm s -1 ), it can be said that in the Magdalena river sediment transport predominates in suspension. The values of bottom sediment transport calculated with the three formulations represent lower rates to 5% of total sediment transport. The formulation of Meyer-Peter and M ϋ ller underestimate the transport of bottom sediment due to the conditions under which it was originally calibrated, while formulations Nielsen and Ribbernk can generate better estimates, because they were originally calibrated with fine sediment, similar the sediment type reported in the study area.