Modelling of sedimentation processes inside Roseires Reservoir (Sudan)

Abstract

Roseires Reservoir, located on the Blue Nile River in Sudan, is the first trap to the sediments coming from the vast upper river catchment in Ethiopia, which suffers from high erosion and desertification problems. The reservoir has already lost more than one-third of its storage capacity due to sedimentation in the last four decades. Appropriate management of the eroded soils in the upper basin could mitigate this problem. In order to do that, the areas providing the highest sediment volumes to the river have to be identified, since they should have priority with respect to the application of erosion control practices. This requires studying the sedimentation record inside Roseires Reservoir in order to assess when and how much sediment is deposited and to identify its source. This paper deals with the identification of deposition time and soil stratification inside the reservoir, based on historical bathymetric data, numerical modelling and newly acquired soil data. The remoteness of the study area and the extreme climate result in coring campaigns being expensive and difficult. Therefore, these activities need to be optimised and coring locations selected beforehand. This was done by combining bathymetric data and the results of a depth-averaged morphodynamic model recording the vertical stratification in sediment deposits. The model allowed for recognising the areas that are potentially subject to neither net erosion nor bar migration during the lifespan of the reservoir. Verification of these results was carried out by analysing sediment stratification from the data collected during the subsequent field campaign.