New Approach for Estimation of Natural and Anthropogenic Components in the Recent Tendencies of Erosion Intensity and Suspended Sediment Yield Changes in River Basins

The offered approach is based on the establishment of the functional dependence between river water discharge (Q) and suspended sediment yield (R) R = λ×Qm, where λ and m are empirical coefficients, (characteristic for a given river basin) for the earliest period in a number of observations, which noticeably differs from the mean value (R) of subsequent allocated period(s). The earliest period is conventionally accepted as the “pattern” (model), with which the mean value (R) of subsequent period(s) is compared. The anthropogenic component during the subsequent period(s) is the difference between an actual suspended sediment yield and its hypothetical value, which is connected only with changes of natural (mainly, hydro-climatical) factors without any anthropogenic changes of geographical (erosive) conditions in a river basin. This hydro-climatical component is calculated by extrapolation of an early established dependence R = λ×Q m for subsequent period(s). Approbation of the offered approach is made on the examples of some rivers (Zapadny Bug (Ukraine), Magdalena (Colombia), Bei-Nan (Taiwan, China), Sanchuanhe (China) and Indus (India, Pakistan, China).