4.2 SSC-Q hysteresis
Temporal analyses on discharge and suspended sediment concentrations was
conducted to understand the behaviour of the suspended sediment
hysteresis loops. In this study, hysteresis loops were plotted based on
the average monthly Q values against SSC values to obtain the
variability patterns (Figure 5). Hysteresis loops for the 3 hydrological
years were represented by clockwise hysteresis (Figure 5a-c), with a
higher SSC-value on the rising limb than that for the same discharge on
the falling limb. For instance, at the discharge of 25
m3/s, SSC was higher during the rising stage as
compared to the falling stage (110 mg/L versus 80 mg/L in 2013, 288 mg/L
versus 153 mg/L in 2015, and 220 mg/L versus 90 mg/L in 2016). The
patterns across the 3 hydrological years suggest the sediment
availability is depleted by the end of the ablation season (the
beginning of the falling limb), resulting in clockwise hysteresis loops.
For clarity, the clockwise hysteresis loop for the entire 2016 is shown
in Figure 5d.