Drainage basin, sediment discharge rivers

Figure 4. Discharge of suspended sediment from world rivers in 10 tons ear. Sediment yield in tons/km ear for major drainage basins is shown by pattern (see key).

Livingstone, 1963 Burton and Liss, 1976 Meybeck, 1979 Berner and Berner, 1996). When examining the relationship between drainage basin area and total sediment discharge in major rivers of the world it becomes clear that factors other than basin area are important (table 4.2). In addition to basin area other factors typically include the following relief... 

Table 4.2 Sediment discharge and rank, water discharge and rank, and drainage basin area of the dominant rivers in the world.

River Sediment discharge (106 ty 1) Sediment discharge rank Water discharge (109 m3 y 1) Water discharge rank Drainage basin area (106 km2)... 

It has been shown that the main part of both soluble (53%) and particulate (> 99%) nitrogen was inputting into the Yellow sea from Northern China in spite of only 30% excess of river water discharge from the Chinese area. Totally riverine input from watershed drainage basin was equal to 52% from input values (2,581 kt/yr). Both wet and dry depositions were responsible for 20 and 22 % from input values with relatively small values of N fixation in marine waters. Denitrification is the main output items (37%) with similar values of sedimentation and water exchange with East the China Sea (7 and 8% from total input) and with negligible values of losses as N2O (< 1%). 

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