The changing sediment loads of the world’s rivers

The changing sediment loads of the world's rivers This contribution reviews available evidence of recent changes in the sediment loads of the world's rivers and identifies the key drivers of such change. Land clearance, land use change and other facets of catchment disturbance, soil conservation and sediment control programmes and dam construction are shown to have resulted in significant recent changes in the sediment loads of many world rivers. Some rivers have been characterized by significant increases in sediment load, whereas others show significant decreases. Interpretation of the resulting trends requires consideration of aggregation and storage and buffering effects within a river basin, such that the downstream response of a river may not clearly reflect the changes occurring in the upstream basin and in the loads of tributary rivers.

Английский

Annals of Warsaw University of Life Sciences. – 2008. – № 39. – P. 3–20.