Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal

Himalayan regions have increasing sediment yield due to undulating topography, slope and improper watershed management. However, due to limited observation data, and site accessibility issues, less studies have quantiBed sedimentation loads in the Himalayas, especially Nepal. This has hindered the i...

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Autores principales: Chinnasamy, Pennan, Sood, Aditya
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109670
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author Chinnasamy, Pennan
Sood, Aditya
author_browse Chinnasamy, Pennan
Sood, Aditya
author_facet Chinnasamy, Pennan
Sood, Aditya
author_sort Chinnasamy, Pennan
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Himalayan regions have increasing sediment yield due to undulating topography, slope and improper watershed management. However, due to limited observation data, and site accessibility issues, less studies have quantiBed sedimentation loads in the Himalayas, especially Nepal. This has hindered the investments on run-of-river hydropower projects as high and unpredicted sedimentation has increased losses in hydropower production. Therefore, there is a need to understand key physical processes driving sedimentation in these regions, with the available data. This study used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to estimate the sedimentation yields in the Kaligandaki basin of Nepal, which is an important tributary that drains into the Ganges. Multi-source data from Beld observations, remote sensing platforms, surveys and government records were used to set up and run the SWAT model for the Kaligandaki basin from 2000 to 2009. Results for the 10-year model run indicate that 73% of the total sediment load is estimated to come from the upstream regions (also known as High Himalayan region), while only 27% is contributed from the Middle and High Mountain regions (where land managementbased interventions were deemed most feasible for future scenarios). The average sediment concentration was 1986 mg/kg (ppm), with values of 8432 and 12 mg/kg (ppm) for maximum and minimum, respectively. Such high sedimentation rates can impact river ecosystems (due to siltation), ecosystem services and hydropower generation. In addition, model results indicate the need for better high frequency observation data. Results from this study can aid in better watershed management, which is aimed at reducing sedimentation load and protecting Himalayan rivers.
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spelling CGSpace1096702025-03-11T09:50:20Z Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal Chinnasamy, Pennan Sood, Aditya digital elevation models hydrology rain land cover land use sediment yield water yield soil types watershed management hydropower case studies river basins estimation sedimentation Himalayan regions have increasing sediment yield due to undulating topography, slope and improper watershed management. However, due to limited observation data, and site accessibility issues, less studies have quantiBed sedimentation loads in the Himalayas, especially Nepal. This has hindered the investments on run-of-river hydropower projects as high and unpredicted sedimentation has increased losses in hydropower production. Therefore, there is a need to understand key physical processes driving sedimentation in these regions, with the available data. This study used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to estimate the sedimentation yields in the Kaligandaki basin of Nepal, which is an important tributary that drains into the Ganges. Multi-source data from Beld observations, remote sensing platforms, surveys and government records were used to set up and run the SWAT model for the Kaligandaki basin from 2000 to 2009. Results for the 10-year model run indicate that 73% of the total sediment load is estimated to come from the upstream regions (also known as High Himalayan region), while only 27% is contributed from the Middle and High Mountain regions (where land managementbased interventions were deemed most feasible for future scenarios). The average sediment concentration was 1986 mg/kg (ppm), with values of 8432 and 12 mg/kg (ppm) for maximum and minimum, respectively. Such high sedimentation rates can impact river ecosystems (due to siltation), ecosystem services and hydropower generation. In addition, model results indicate the need for better high frequency observation data. Results from this study can aid in better watershed management, which is aimed at reducing sedimentation load and protecting Himalayan rivers. 2020-08-29 2020-09-28T08:30:33Z 2020-09-28T08:30:33Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109670 en Limited Access Springer Chinnasamy, Pennan; Sood, Aditya. 2020. Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal. Journal of Earth System Science, 129(1):181. [doi: 10.1007/s12040-020-01437-6]
spellingShingle digital elevation models
hydrology
rain
land cover
land use
sediment yield
water yield
soil types
watershed management
hydropower
case studies
river basins
estimation
sedimentation
Chinnasamy, Pennan
Sood, Aditya
Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal
title Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal
title_full Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal
title_fullStr Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal
title_full_unstemmed Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal
title_short Estimation of sediment load for Himalayan rivers: case study of Kaligandaki in Nepal
title_sort estimation of sediment load for himalayan rivers case study of kaligandaki in nepal
topic digital elevation models
hydrology
rain
land cover
land use
sediment yield
water yield
soil types
watershed management
hydropower
case studies
river basins
estimation
sedimentation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109670
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