Article
English, Spanish
ID: <
oai:doaj.org/article:d5a1f0e831d04325a6b22abea7eff3fc>
·
DOI: <
10.18172/cig.1222>
Abstract
This study shows the analysis of the dynamics of suspended sediment from the cascade developed in the Altoaragonesa Interior Depression (Central Pyrenees). The presence of these morphologies is highlighted by their frequency and their impact on drainage networks, due to their intense geomorphological dynamics. The training and development of these morphologies is associated with two main factors: the geological characteristics of the substrate, made up of marges, and the seasonal contrast that governs the climate in the area, defined as mountain sub-Mediterranean. The geomorphological study of these morphologies started in 2004, from selecting and equipping a small basin, using plots and devices for monitoring weathering and erosion processes (from January 2004 to December 2006). The river basin monitoring was completed by the installation of an aforo station (October 2005) in the Rebullesa valley, which facilitates the monitoring of hydrological response and suspended sediment transport. This work presents an analysis based on 79 events between October 2005 and April 2007. The results, although corresponding to a short period of time, have made it possible to highlight some of the general characteristics of the hydro-sedimentological response specific to these morphologies: high run-off production, even at times of heavy dryness; high speed and intensity of hydrological response; a huge sediment production and export capacity, with concentrations that can timely reach more than 1 000 g· l -1, and the high sensitivity of the meat to climatic seasonality. It has also been found that the precipitation intensity shows a good correlation with sediment concentration, especially during the driest periods, which would confirm that the main process of generating run-off in the cascade is the exceeding of the infiltration capacity (Hortonian flows).