Hydraulic geometry analysis of Ceyhan River, Turkey

Abstract

Depth, width, velocity and suspended load are critical fluvial hydraulic characteristics, which mainly determine the shape of the cross-section of a river. The aim of this study is to determine at-a-station and the downstream hydraulic geometry parameters and obtain a relationship between sediment discharge and flow discharge of the Ceyhan River. Eleven hydrological stations were utilised in the analyses which are located on the river and its tributaries. Three of these stations have sediment, flow discharge and cross-sectional data, while four of them have only sediment and flow discharge and the other four have only flow discharge and cross-sectional data. The downstream hydraulic geometry parameters b, f, m, a, c and k were found to be 0.33, 0.38, 0.29, 14.82, 0.61 and 0.12, respectively. At-a-station hydraulic geometry parameters b, f, m, a, c and k were found to be 0.1676, 0.00654, 0.7669, 25.676, 1.8542 and 0.0901, respectively. A good power function correlation was noted between the sediment discharge and flow discharge with the average coefficient and exponent of 1.23 and 2.05, respectively. The results of the study are expected to be valuable for water resources planning and management projects in the basin.