Comparative study of different estimation approaches to quantify suspended sediment transport at hydrometric stations: case of the wadi Mina basin, Northwest Algeria

The lack of sediment transport concentration measurements at the hydrometric stations justifies the choice of the methodological approach adopted. This is based essentially on statistical models for the homogenization of data and their extension to quantify the water erosion of the basin area. The Oued Abtal and Sidi Abdelkader Djillali hydrometric stations, each controlling the wadi Mina and wadi Haddad sub-basins upstream of the Sidi M’hamed Ben Aouda dam, were the subject of this evaluation methodology. This article aims to find the best approach among the seven proposed. Model results were tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient, root mean square error, index of agreement, and mean absolute error. Based on the comparison of statistical metrics, it is evident that the 6th and 7th approaches stand out as the top performers, providing results that closely resemble reality. The approach that employs homogenization and extension of data from instantaneous water level measurements to liquid flows, utilizing the solid flow-liquid flow relationship developed at flood scale, seems to outperform the alternative approaches. Moreover, we found that these approaches fall into three categories: one that gives values close to the reference approach and two others that underestimate and overestimate the suspended solids transport values. The difference between approaches is strongly related to the variation of the flood ratio (FR), the ratio of observed (gauged) floods to recorded floods. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University 2024.