Seasonal variations of suspended sediment concentration in rain and snow melting floods

Sediment concentration in rivers, especially in seasonal ones, is affected by flood situation due to changes of rainfall or snowmelt events. Due to the importance of flooding flows in inundation and the useful age of reservoirs built on seasonal rivers, the study and assessment of this issue seems to be essential. In the present research, suspended sediment concentration variation in spring and autumn floods and runoff from snowmelt in spring, have been studied for Abshine River in Ekbatan Dam Watershed. Over the forecast period, three storms in autumn, two storms in spring and five snow melt events were selected and compared. Analyzing 226 suspended load samples showed its variability in the area. Sediment rating curves in different base times showed different trends. The correlation coefficient (r) were 0.79 and 0.50 for storms and snowmelts and 0.81 for all data, respectively. Also, coefficient and power value analysis of sediment rating curve, presented the same erodibility for hill slope in both seasons (spring and autumn). Separating falling and rising limbs of flow hydrograph and assessing their effect on discharge explains a better Q-sediment concentration relationship. The hysteretic shape of discharge and sediment concentration had clockwise and anticlockwise form and compound pattern of both forms that reflected the distribution of probable sediment sources throughout the catchment.