Fluvial sediment in Ohio
Characteristics of fluvial sediment in Ohio streams and estimates of sediment yield are reported. Results are based on data from several daily record stations and 5 years of intermittent record from a 38-station network. Most of the sediment transported by Ohio streams is in suspension. Mean annual bedload discharge, in percentage of mean annual suspended-sediment discharge, is estimated to be less than 10 percent at all but one of the sediment stations analyzed. Duration analysis shows that about 90 percent of the suspended sediment is discharged during 10 percent of the time. Concentration of suspended sediment averages less than 100 milligrams per liter 75 percent of the time and less than 50 milligrams per liter 50 percent of the time. Suspended sediment in Ohio streams is composed mostly of silt and clay. Sand particle content ranges from 1 to 2 percent in northwestern Ohio to 15 percent in the east and southeast. Sediment yields range from less than 100 tons per square mile per year (35 tonnes per square kilometer per year) in the northwest corner of Ohio to over 500 tons per square mile per year (17,5 tonnes per square kilometer per year) in the southern part, in Todd Fork basin, lower Paint Creek basin, and the Kentucky Bluegrass area. Yield from about 63 percent of Ohio's land area ranges from 100 to 200 tons per square mile per year (35 to 70 tonnes per square kilometer per year).