Author(s): Candela Angela; Ciraolo Giuseppe; Noto Leonardo Valerio; Santoro Mario
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Erosion; Soil loss; WEPP model; Reservoir management
Abstract: Reservoir sediment results mainly from soil erosion of the corresponding catchment. Generally soil erosion mechanisms are complex and difficult to determine, and the transport process of eroded materials and their settling in reservoirs or lakes depend on complicated hydrological phenomena. Several studies have been carried out to build models suitable to quantify the results of erosion processes. Since the phenomena are complex and depend on many parameters, models calibration from experimental investigations is difficult, especially because field data are usually not sufficient and relate to small spatial and temporal contexts. This study focuses on the application of the physically based model of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) to two Sicilian catchments upstream of reservoirs. Each catchment has been subdivided into hillslopes in order to estimate the scale effect on the sediment yield evaluation; more over the effect of the DEM resolution on the results has been investigated. Simulated sediment yields have been compared with measurements of deposited sediment in the reservoirs. Bathymetric surveys have been performed in June 2006 in one of two reservoirs using a single frequency eco-sounder coupled with a DGPS receiver installed on an inflatable boat. About ten thousand points, collected on a regular grid, have been interpolated using a kriging method in order to obtain the reservoir bathymetry. The amount of the deposited sediment within the reservoir has been calculated by comparing the bathymetry of 1996 on the new bathymetry.
Year: 2007