Fluvial suspended sediment transport and mechanical erosion in the Maghreb (North Africa)

Abstract

Available data on suspended sediment transported by rivers in the Maghreb are reviewed for 130 drainage basins. These data allow a new estimate to be proposed for the delivery of river sediment to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea from the Maghreb region. The influences of several environmental factors (precipitation, runoff, drainage area size and lithology) on mechanical erosion and fluvial sediment transport are analysed. Finally, a multiple regression model is proposed to estimate the river sediment yields in the Maghreb.