Original paper
Reliability of suspended load estimates in chalk streams
Farr, I.S.; Clarke, Ralph T.
Archiv für Hydrobiologie Volume 102 Number 1 (1984), p. 1 - 19
20 references
published: Nov 14, 1984
DOI: 10.1127/archiv-hydrobiol/102/1984/1
ArtNo. ESP141010201000, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Several methods of estimating the throughput of suspended material are tested and compared for an English chalk stream. The use of a weekly sampling programme for suspended solids concentration combined with a similar or continuous discharge record led to annual throughput estimation errors of between 25 % underestimation and 50 % overestimation. A daily sampling programme gave accurate annual estimates, but monthly loads were still estimated imprecisely and still with a tendency for underestimation. The relationship between suspended solid concentration and discharge was never close, not even when separate rating curves were fitted for summer and winter, and for the “rising” and “falling or steady” sections of the hydrograph. Using these rating curves with a continuous discharge record gave more precise estimates than using the above weekly sampling of suspended solids concentration.
Keywords
chalk streams • summer • winter • suspended solids • rating curves • England