Particulate composition of suspended sediments: characteristics, classifications and spatial variability

The approaches to the study of the grain size of suspended sediments are analyzed. The congruency of mechanical, hydromechanical and migratory classifications is considered, and thereupon river sediments are defined as insoluble substances with grain size larger than 0,001 mm, which are the products of destruction of rocks, soils or organic compounds transformed by flocculation and sorption processes. At the same time, the "methodological" definition relevant to the filters parameters considers river deposits to be particles larger than 0,45 mm moving in the water column. Following on the database of processed sediment samples (736 samples for 36 rivers) the features of suspended river sediments of various natural territories are described. The average particle diameter of suspended sediments is 0,083 mm; fractions less than 0,001 mm account for 4%; 0,001–0,01 mm for 37% and 0,01–0,1 mm for 44%. Two-modal (49% of cases) and single-modal (46%) grain-size compositions of suspended sediments prevail in the rivers of different natural conditions. Lowland rivers have mainly two-modal and in some cases three-modal fraction distributions, due to the presence of a third maximum of large fractions (>0,75 mm). Approximately identical turbidity peaks (0,005–0,01 and 0,05–0,1 mm) are characteristic of mountain glacial rivers, while in semi-mountain and plain rivers the turbidity peaks shift towards smaller fractions (0,001–0,005 and 0,01–0,03 mm). The peak of 0,01–0,03 mm (up to 35–50% of the total sediment amount) reaches its maximum in semi-mountain rivers; it decreases as the discharge increases and the channel type changes downstream. The greatest degree of discrimination of fractions is typical for lowland and semi-mountain rivers relative to mountain glacial rivers. The rivers of lakhar valleys, as well as the Terek, Kolyma and Lena rivers, are specific groups in terms of the distribution of fractions of suspended sediments.

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