sedimenttiaines

Sedimenttiaines is a hydrological term used in Finnish hydrology to describe the flux of solid material transported by running water. In English, this concept is commonly referred to as sediment load or sediment transport. It denotes the amount of sediment carried by a stream or river per unit time and is often expressed as mass per year (tonnes per year) or as a yield per area (tonnes per square kilometer per year). The sediment load includes the solids in suspension and those moving along the bed; dissolved minerals carried in solution are typically treated separately from sediment transport.

The two principal components are suspended load and bedload. The suspended load consists of fine particles that remain dispersed in the water column, while the bedload comprises coarser material that is rolled, slid, or saltated along the stream bed. In some basins, wash load or fine-grained sediment that would be part of the suspended load only under high flows is noted separately. The sediment load is controlled by processes in the watershed, including rainfall intensity, runoff, soil and rock erodibility, slope, land cover, and human activities. Dams and reservoirs often trap sediments, reducing downstream sediment supply and altering channel morphology, while removing sediment can increase erosion downstream.

Measurement and estimation of sedimenttiaines use field sampling (water-sediment grab samples, bedload traps), turbidity and nephelometric measurements, acoustic methods, and sediment rating curves. Sediment budgets and yield estimates inform river engineering, habitat management, and coastal sediment dynamics.