Evaluating the Amount of Erodability and Sedimentation by Comparing Sediment Weight Model and PSIAC Experimental Model (Case Study: Lali Water Catchment, Khuzestan, Iran)

The upstream water catchments are the main source providing sediments in rivers and sedimentary basins. The balance between the erosion phenomenon and the amount of sediment entering into the basin relies on the geometrical specifications and the morphology of the river along the water catchment direction and the amount and type of the sediments. The sedimentary feed of rivers and basins are changed for the sake of natural factors or human disturbances. The river and basin react against this change in that their shape, morphology, plan and profile get changed due to the increase or decrease of the input sediment into the basin. It is essential to know the sediment amount produced by erodability and sedimentation of upstream basins and effects of projects and also to evaluate the amount of sedimentary load in base studies, civil projects, optimizing rivers and dam construction studies specially calculating the amount of sediment amount entering into the dams’ reservoirs in order to take engineering decisions and related alternatives. Sediment Weight Model and PSIAC Experimental Model are recognized as two common methods calculating the amount of the produced sediment caused by erosion applied in this research. Holistically, these methods have been used and compared. Although the results are almost close to one another, more sediment load has been produced in PSIAC method. As more affective parameters are used to cause erosion and produce sediment in PSIAC experimental model, it is recommended to refer to the results of this method because they are closer to reality.

Evaluating Sediment Production Caused by the Lithology of the Geological Formations in Sedimentary Basins (Case Study: Lali Area, Khuzestan, Iran)

As sediments are produced and accumulated in sedimentary basins especially in dams’ reservoirs and they highly affect the reservoirs life span, it is essential to scrutinize the effect of lithology and types of geological formations of an area on the life span of reservoirs specifically from the viewpoints of the erodability of these formations due to their lithology type. Lali area, Khuzestan, Iran and the water catchment of the intended area (based on geological situation and Taraz dam situation) are placed in the sedimentary-structural zone of the folded Zagros. The method of this research is based on analyzing the topography and geology maps and field work in order to identify the lithology of the geological formations. In fact, the amount of its erodability has been characterized by the type of the geological formations. The current research aims at putting the geological results, lithological data of the formations types and the outcrop of the soil-lithological units together in order to evaluate the sedimentary and erosive factors of these units and precisely identify the area’s geological formations to remove the ambiguities in this issue. Studies indicate that formations made of looser gypsum and marl like Pabde-Gurpi and Gachsaran are exposed to more sedimentation and erosion than the formations made of compacted lime stone and conglomerate with silica-lime cement such as Bakhtiary and Asmari formations and the sand stones of Aghajari formation reveal the moderate to high resistance. Thus, the lithological identification of the formations, the type of sediments and their looseness and hardness contribute to detect the amount and type of deposits entering into the dam reservoir. The type and amount of these transported and deposited sediments are assessed to predict more suitable optimized ways to exploit dams’ reservoirs.

Analyzing Factors Affecting Erosion and Sedimentary Deposits Using the Empirical Method of PSIAC

PSIAC empirical method is considered as one of the methods calculating and estimating the amount of erodibility and sedimentation of sedimentary deposits in sedimentary basins and dams’ reservoirs. This method is based on analyzing nine influential factors including: surface geology, solid, weather, runoff, unpaved area, limited plant coverage, land usage, high lands erosion, river erosion and sediment transportation. These factors are rated according to their level of importance. The case study of this research is Lali Water Catchment, Khuzestan, Iran. The amount and intensity of adorability will be ranked as low, moderate and high. This research is based on field work, laboratorial studies and analyzing results obtained from statistics. Results indicated that the unpaved area and high land erosion are identified as the most effective factors, respectively. In contrast, runoff and surface geology are considered as the lowest rate. Other factors reflect moderate effects. Since any significant studies have not been done in this regard, the current research can present a new method to scrutinize the empirical effects of these factors. It is noteworthy to highlight that different methods are compared with each other in order to scrutinize the amount of erodibility in most studies, but the present study has analyzed the influential factors of the sub-methods of one major method. This essay focuses on the affectability of each one of the nine factors, independently. In conclusion, the outcomes of this research can contribute to identify and determine suitable alternatives to stabilize sedimentary basins and increase the life span of dams and watershed management projects and also reduce the destructive effects of floods. Additionally, it contributes civil projects in such lands.