Determining lithological units contribution and ranges of peak ground acceleration in sediment yield using the sediment fingerprinting technique (Talar drainage basin of Mazandaran province)

One of the main issues in drainage watersheds is erosion and sediment yield. Lack of proper management in this field can be environmental hazards and even a threat to human life. The purpose of this study is fingerprinting the sources of sediment yield in sub-basins 1 and 2 of Talar drainage basin in Mazandaran province.140 soil samples in first approach and 80 samples in second approach collected respectively sub-basin 1 (77) and (47), sub-basin 2 (63) and (33) of lithological units and range of peak ground acceleration and 20 drape sediment samples at the outlet sub-basins and 28 geochemical elements measured as tracers in the samples. Using the Kruskal-Wallis test and discriminant function analysis, the composite fingerprints was determined. The largest relative contribution of sediment yield based on the Bayesian un-mixing model is in the first approach (sub-basin 1 unit sandstone and conglomerate with 59.1%, sub-basin 2 unit marl and shale with 47.2%), in the second approach (sub-basin 1 unit the range of peak ground acceleration at the level (0.51-0.6) g with 50.3%, and sub basin 2 units channel bank with 64.6%). The results of this study showed that the range of peak ground acceleration have a direct effect on control of sediment yield and erosion processes. Also, division of lithological groups as sources sediment yield based on range of peak ground acceleration, which have a great impact on sediment yield, as a new approach, can be of great help in understanding sediment yield processes.