Climatic and hydrogeomorphic controls on sediment characteristics in the southern Sierra Nevada

The magnitude of sediment yield from headwater catchments is controlled by the interactions among hydrology, geomorphology, and soil disturbance. In montane regions like the Sierra Nevada, snow is one of the main factors controlling the timing and magnitude of hydrological fluxes. However, the role of snow on modulating spatial and temporal variation of sediment yield remains unclear. Using 120-site years of sediment yield data from 10 headwater catchments (drainage area 50-475 ha), we examined the sediment yield characteristics across an elevational gradient (1,777-2,381 m elevation) in the southern Sierra Nevada. Across space and time, we calculated an average annual suspended sediment yield of 62 +/- 147 Mg/km(2). In contrast, the measured mean annual bedload yield from the study catchments was small, 1.1 +/- 2.4 Mg/km(2). A linear mixed-effects model showed that maximum annual discharge alone can only explain 24 % (marginal R-2 = 0.24) of the variance in sediment yield. Similarly, the hypsometric integral, which is often used as a metric for erosion susceptibility, showed no predictive power (marginal R-2 = 0.005). As much as 65 % of the variance in sediment yield can be explained by fixed effects when snow related drivers (i.e., center of flow timing and aspect) were included in the model along with maximum annual discharge, suggesting a strong influence of snowmelt. Moreover, the relationship between area normalized suspended sediment yield (Q(s)) and unit discharge (Q) was significantly different between rain and snow events (p = 0.001). Both average slope (alpha) and exponent (beta) terms of the Q(s) = alpha Q beta relationship across the ten catchments were higher for rainfall (alpha = 5.8, beta = 1.84) than those for snowmelt (alpha = 3.1, beta = 1.77) events. As the erosion severity and power were higher during rainfall than the snowmelt events, a shift in the precipitation form from snow to rain under a warming climate will likely increase sediment yield. These results provide critical insights on background sediment yield in the southern Sierra Nevada and likely changes under future climate.

Automated summary

The sediment yield from headwater catchments is controlled by hydrology, geomorphology, and soil disturbance. The role of snow on modulating spatial and temporal variation of sediment yield remains unclear. This study in the southern Sierra Nevada found that snowmelt is a strong driver of sediment yield, and rainfall events have higher erosion severity and power than snowmelt events. A shift from snow to rain under a warming climate is likely to increase sediment yield.