Temporal variability of rainfall in a semiarid environment in Brazil and its effect on sediment transport processes

Purpose The temporal variabilities of both soil erosion by water and sediment redistribution in watersheds are directly related to rainfall characteristics. The purpose of this work was to assess the temporal pattern of rainfall in a semiarid watershed in Brazil and explain how this feature controls soil erosion and sediment yield. Materials and methods Daily and 5-min rainfall records were used to assess the temporal pattern down to the sub-hourly scale. To study the effect of the rainfall on sediment processes, erosivity and sediment yield at the Aiuaba (12 km(2)) and Bengu (933 km(2)) watersheds, Brazil were determined. Erosivity was calculated based on the rainfall kinetic energy method, while sediment yield was estimated from sediment rating curves and daily water discharge measurements. Results and discussion A large portion of annual rainfall is restricted to a few rain events and strong concentration in the sub-daily scale occurs, producing high erosivity. The temporal concentration of erosivity is greater than that of rainfall; the 10th percentile of the highest magnitude events encompasses 51% of the precipitation, but 80% of the erosivity. The temporal concentration of sediment yield is more pronounced; 88 and 98% of the sediment yield for the Aiuaba and Bengu watersheds, respectively, are within the 10th percentile of events. Conclusions The strong temporal concentration of precipitation causes events with high intensity and erosivity, thus allowing for soil detachment. Nonetheless, the low runoff rates limit downstream sediment transport. Such behavior produces a much higher temporal concentration of sediment yield, which reaches its maximal after a sequence of rainy days, when hydrological connectivity is enhanced and the sediments are propagated throughout the entire transport-limited system.