Copper dispersion in ephemeral stream sediments

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Abstract
Sediment transport related parameters in ephemeral streams may be used to model and delineate: (1) average dispersion patterns of copper‐laden sediments; (2) differences in dispersion of copper in bedload and suspended sediments; and (3) variability in the copper‐sediment dispersion patterns. A model that effectively describes dispersion of copper in ephemeral stream sediments in a simple mixing model: where Cr is the resultant concentration beneath the confluence of the main channel with a tributary, Ct is the concentration of metal in sediments of the tributary, Cm is the metal concentration in main channel sediments, and Xm and Xt are the basin areas or sediment yields of the main channel and tributary channel at their confluence. Variability in metal concentrations about values predicted by this model may be due to the different responses of bedload and suspended load to changes in stream hydraulics, the dynamics of bedload transport, the spatial and temporal variability rainfall within the drainage basin, and chemical mobility of the copper.