Transport processes of sediment materials in Korkuteli Stream

While an average of 24 billion tonnes of agricultural land annually disappear due to soil erosion in the world, many countries are facing the danger of desertification due to erosion today. Erosion is the result of the destruction of the vegetation cover which prevents the erosion of the soil by the effect of water, wind or gravity. All kinds of sediments transported due to erosion in the river basin can accumulate in the dams and decrease the water holding capacities and hence their lifetimes of the dams. Especially in agriculture and industry and many other areas, erosion material in suspension forms pollution. Within the scope of this study, it was tried to determine the ratio and amount of erosion material transported as suspension and melt in the Korkuteli Brook located in the borders of Antalya province. For this purpose, water level changes and flow measurements were made on the river for one year, and the amounts of suspended and dissolved solids in the water samples were determined and these determined amounts were related to rainfall and river runoff in the basin. The flow values in the stream during the measurement period varied between 0-19,05 m3s-1 and the total sediment concentration was 0-149449,7 mg.l-1. Among these values, the suspended sediment concentration ranged from 0 to 144026,9 mg.l-1, while the dissolved sediment concentration ranged from 0 to 5084,4 mg.l-1. During the winter periods, where flow rates are generally increased, there is a direct relationship between suspended sediment concentration and river flow, and a similar relationship between the amount of molten matter carried and the flow rate can not be determined. It has been found that the amount of molten material transported in the stream is higher than the amount of suspended matter in periods where the current values are generally low. In general, it was determined that Korkuteli Dam from Korkuteli Stream transported a total of 144,8 tons/day suspended sediment in approximately one year period, while an average of 15,6 tonnes / day of dissolved sediment was transported. Keywords: Korkuteli Stream, Suspended Sediment, Stream Erosion, Sediment, Dam Sedimentation.