JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

The application of “Modified Einstein Procedure” is recommended by the Specialized Committee on Sediment, Iranian Ministry of Energy. However, this method has not been applied to any river in the country. It is the purpose of this study to investigate the total sediment load of the Karun and Karkheh rivers at Ahwas and Hamidieh stations.

The graphical calculations of the method are very complicated and time consuming. Therefore, a mathematical model has been developed in this study to improve the accuracy, simplicity and speed of computations. The required data were obtained from the above stations for seven years (1988-95), and applying these data, the total sediment load was calculated using the model. The bed load for the above stations was also computed and the ratio of bed load to total sediment load was calculated. In addition, measured data from East Fork river (in USA) were applied to examine the accuracy of the method in estimating the bed load. Comparison of the measured and computed results shows that the “Modified Einstein Procedure” estimates the amount of bed load with a high accuracy. The relationship between the bed load and suspended load and also between the total load and the stream discharge have also been established.

Finally, it is concluded that the “Modified Einstein Procedure” with minor modifications can be successfully applied for the above-mentioned rivers of Karun and Karkheh.