Sediment balance of the Ribarroja Reservoir
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.4894Keywords:
sediment balance, reservoirs, Ebro River, suspended sedimentAbstract
The aim of this study was to build up a sediment budget of the Ribarroja Reservoir, which is located in the lower reach of the River Ebro. For this purpose, we analysed continuous discharge and suspended sediment transport data at several river sections entering the reservoir and at the dam outlet, for the period 2008-2011. The sediment load estimated upstream of the Mequinenza reservoir was 0.66×106 t a-1, whereas the estimated output was 0.04×106 t a-1. The sediment input coming from the large but highly regulated Pyrenean tributaries (Segre and Cinca) was 0.16×106 t a-1, whereas intermittent rivers naturally flowing from the Iberian Range (Matarraña and Algars) supplied an average load of 760 t a-1. The suspended sediment load trapped in the Mequinenza and Ribarroja reservoirs for the study period was estimated at 0.78×106 t a-1, which implies a reduction of ca. 95% of the sediment load of the river. The results illustrate the role of reservoirs in interrupting the sediment transfer in the lower reach of the Ebro, within a context of structural sediment deficit, following widespread land use changes (afforestation) that took place in the catchment after the 1940s.
Downloads
References
Avendaño, C., Cobo, R., Sanz, M.E., Gómez, J.L. 1997. Capacity situation in Spanish reservoirs. I.C.O.L.D. Ninenteenth Congress on Large Dams 74 (52), 849-862.
Balasch, J.C., Pino, D., Ruiz-Bellet, J.L., Tuset, J., Barriendos, M., Castelltort, X., Peña, J.C. 2019. The extreme floods in the Ebro River basin since 1600 CE. Science of the Total Environment 646, 645-660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.325
Batalla, R.J., Kondolf, G.M., Gomez, C.M. 2004. Reservoir–induced hydrological changes in the Ebro River basin, NE Spain. Journal of Hydrology 290, 117-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2003.12.002
Batalla, R.J., Garcia, C., Balasch, J.C. 2005. Total sediment load in a Mediterranean mountainous catchment (the Ribera Salada River, Catalan Pre-Pyrenees, NE Spain). Zeitschrift für Geomorphology 49(4), 495-514.
Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D. 2009. Hydrological and sediment transport dynamics of flushing flows: implications for river management in large Mediterranean rivers. River Research and Applications 25(3), 297-314. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1160
Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D. 2011. An appraisal of the contemporary sediment yield in the Ebro Basin. Journal of Soils and Sediments 11, 1070-1081. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0378-8
Brune, G.M. 1953. The trap efficiency of reservoirs. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 34, 407-418. https://doi.org/10.1029/TR034i003p00407
Dedkov, A.P., Mozzherin, V.I. 1992. Erosion and sediment yield on the Earth. In Erosion and Sediment Yield: Global and Regional Perspectives. IAHS Publications 236, 29-33.
Dolz, J., Armengol, J., Roura, M., De Pourcq, K., Arbat, M., López, P. 2009. Estudio de la dinámica sedimentaria y batimetría de precisión del embalse de Ribarroja. Barcelona.
Frutos, L.M., Ollero, A., Sánchez, M. 2004. Caracterización del río Ebro y su cuenca y variaciones en su comportamiento hidrológico. En Gil Olcina, A. (Coord.): Alteración de los regímenes fluviales peninsulares, Fundación Caja Murcia, Murcia, pp. 233-280.
Gallart, F., Llorens, P. 2004. Observations on land cover changes and water resources in the headwaters of the Ebro catchment, Iberian Peninsula. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 769-773 parts A/B/C (11-12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2004.05.004
Hu, B., Yang, Z., Wang, H., Sun, X., Bi, N. 2009. Sedimentation in the Three Gorges Dam and its impact on the sediment flux from the Changjiang (Yangtze River), China. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussion 6, 5177-204. https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-6-5177-2009
Inbar, M. 1992. Rates of fluvial erosion in basins with a Mediterranean climate type. Catena 19, 393-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/0341-8162(92)90011-Y
Lobera, G., Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D., López-Tarazón, J.A., Tena, A. 2016. Sediment transport in two Mediterranean regulated rivers. Science of the Total Environment 540, 101-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2015.08.018
López-Moreno, J.I., García-Ruiz, J.M., Beniston, M. 2008. Environmental Change and water management in the Pyrenees. Facts and future perspectives for Mediterranean mountains. Global and Planetary Change 66 (3-4), 300-312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2007.10.004
López-Tarazón, J.A., Batalla, R.J. 2014. Dominant discharges for suspended sediment transport in a highly active Pyrenean river. Journal of Soils and Sediments 14(12), 2019-2030. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0961-x
Meybeck, M., Ragu, A. 1997. River discharges to the oceans: an assessment of suspended solids, major ions and nutrients. UN Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya. 245 p.
Milliman, J.D., Syvitski, J.P.M. 1992. Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: the importance of small mountainous rivers. The Journal of Geology 100, 525-544. https://doi.org/10.1086/629606
Milliman, J.D., Farnsworth, K.L. 2011. River Discharge to the Coastal Ocean: A Global Synthesis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 143-144. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511781247
Négrel, P., Roy, S., Petelet-Giraud, E., Millot, R., Brenot, A. 2007. Long-term fluxes of dissolved and suspended matter in the Ebro River Basin (Spain). Journal of Hydrology 342, 249-260. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.05.013
Novoa, M. 1984. Precipitaciones y avenidas extraordinarias en Catalunya. Actas de las Jornadas de Trabajo sobre Inestabilidad de laderas en el Pirineo. Barcelona, 1-15.
Palanques, A. 1987. Dinámica sedimentaria, meneralogía y microcontaminantes inorgánicos de las suspensiones y de los sedimentos superficiales en el margen continental del Ebro. Tesis Doctoral, Universidad de Barcelona.
Piqué, G., Batalla, R.J., López, R., Sabater, S. 2017. The fluvial sediment budget of a dammed river (upper Muga, southern Pyrenees). Geomorphology 293, 211-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.05.018.
Poulos, S.E., Collins, M.B. 2002. A quantitative evaluation of riverine water/sediment fluxes to the Mediterranean basin: natural flows, coastal zone evolution and the role the dam construction. In: Jones SJ, Frostick LE (eds.) Sediment Flux to Basins: Causes, Controls and Consequences. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 191, pp. 227-245.
Prats, J., Dolz, J., Armengol, J. 2009. Variabilidad temporal en el comportamiento hidráulico del curso inferior del río Ebro. Ingeniería del Agua, 16(4), 259- 272. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.2009.2960
Richards, K.S. 1982. Rivers: Form and Process in Alluvial Channels. Methuen, London, 358 p.
Roura, M. 2004. Incidència de l’embassament de Mequinensa en el transport de sòlids en suspensió i la qualitat de l’aigua del riu Ebre. Tesis doctoral. Universidad de Barcelona.
Rovira, A., Ibáñez, C. 2007. Sediment linkages between the river catchment and the sea. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 7 (5), 285-295. https://doi.org/10.1065/jss2007.08.244
Rovira, A., Ibáñez, C., Martín-Vide, J.P. 2015. Suspended sediment load at the lowermost Ebro River (Catalonia, Spain). Quaternary International 388, 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.05.035.
Sanz, M.E., Avendaño, C., Cobo, R. 1999. Influencia de los embalses en el transporte de sedimentos hasta el río Ebro (España). Proceedings of the Congress on Hydrological and geochemical processes in large–scale river basins. HIBAM, Shahin.
Serrat, P., Ludwig, W., Navarro, B., Blazi, J.L. 2001. Variabilité spatio–temporelle des flux de matières en suspension d'un fleuve côtier méditerranéen : la Têt (France)/ Spatial and temporal variability of sediment fluxes from a coastal Mediterranean river: the Têt (France). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences (Series II A). Earth and Planetary Science 333, 389-397. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1251-8050(01)01652-4
Shaw, E.M. 1983. Hydrology in Practice. Van Nostrand Reinhold, London.
Syvitski, J.P.M., Kettner, A. 2011. Sediment Flux and the Anthropocene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 369, 957-975. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0329
Tena, A., Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D., Lopez-Tarazón, J.A. 2011. Suspended sediment dynamics in a large regulated river over a 10-year period (the lower Ebro, NE Iberian Peninsula). Geomorphology 125, 73-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.07.029
Tena, A., Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D. 2012. Reach-scale suspended sediment balance downstream from dams in a large Mediterranean river. Hydrological Sciences Jounal 57, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2012.681784
Tena, A., Książek, L., Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D. 2013. Assessing the geomorphic effects of a flushing flow in a large regulated river. River Research and Applications 29 (7), 876-890. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.2572
Tena, A., Batalla, R. J. 2013. The sediment budget of a large river regulated by dams (The lower River Ebro, NE Spain). Journal of Soils and Sediments 13 (5), 966-980. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0681-7
Tena, A., Vericat, D., Batalla, R.J. 2014. Suspended sediment dynamics during flushing flows in a large impounded river (the lower River Ebro). Journal of Soils and Sediments 14(12), 2057-2069. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-014-0987-0
Topping, D.J., Rubin, D.M. and Vierra, L.E. 2000. Colorado River sediment transport: 1. Natural sediment supply limitation and the influence of Glen Canyon Dam. Water Resources Research 36. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999WR900285.
Vericat, D., Batalla, R.J. 2005. Sediment transport in a highly regulated fluvial system during two consecutive floods (Lower Ebro River, NE Spain). Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 30, 255-272.
Vericat, D., Batalla, R.J. 2006. Sediment transport in a large impounded river: the lower Ebro River, NE Iberian Peninsula. Geomorphology 79, 72-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.09.017
Vericat, D., Batalla, R.J., Garcia, C. 2006. Breakup and reestablishment of the armour layer in a highly regulated large gravel-bed river: the lower Ebro. Geomorphology 76 (1-2), 122-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2005.10.005.
Vörösmarty, C. J., Meybeck, M., Fekete, B., Sharma, K., Green, P., Syvitski, J.P.M. 2003. Anthropogenic sediment retention: major global impact from registered river impoundments. Global and Planetary Change 39(1-2), 169-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8181(03)00023-7
Walling, D.E. 2006. Human impact on land-ocean sediment transfer by the world's rivers. Geomorphology 79, 192-216.
Walling, D.E., Fang, D. 2003. Recent trends in the suspended sediment loads of the world’s rivers. Global and Planearyt Change 39, 111-126. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8181(03)00020-1
Williams, G.P., Wolman, M.G. 1984. Downstream effects of dams on alluvial rivers. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1286, 83 pp.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The authors retain copyright of articles and authorize Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica / Geographical Research Letters the first publication. They are free to share and redistribute the article without obtaining permission from the publisher as long as they give appropriate credit to the editor and the journal.
Self-archiving is allowed too. In fact, it is recommendable to deposit a PDF version of the paper in academic and/or institutional repositories.
It is recommended to include the DOI number.
This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
