Comparison of the relative sediment yield potential of lithological units using sediment

Soil is one of the main treasures of each country that serious measures must be done for its protection, preservation and restoration. The first step in planning for the soil conservation and erosion control programs comprises the familiarity with the erosion condition, determining the relative importance of sediment sources, and identification of critical zones within the watershed. The main objective of this study is to determine the relative sediment yield potential of each lithological units of the Vartavan catchment by comparing the color of sediment grains median diameter with the grains color of each lithological unit. The results show that the soil particles of each sediment source unit almost were formed of a dominant color while the sediment samples were formed of the composition of different colors. Independent T-test between the mean values ​​of the observed pigments and expected pigments indicate that the lithological units have different sediment yield from the expected amounts. The results has also show that the relative sediment yield potential in the lithological units with black pigment (black shale containing coal horizons), white and red (plagioclase tuff and red mudstone), green (sandstone), gray (andesine) and finally brown (orbitolina limestone, Shale Limestone, red sandstone and tuff) is reduced, respectively. In general, the source fingerprinting method using the sediment grain color is a valuable method for determining the relative power of different lithological units.