HOW MUCH SEDIMENT IS CARRIED IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER?
The amount of soil being carried is termed the river’s sediment load. It is divided into two portions: • suspended load – that which is suspended in the water column. • bed load – that which is moving along the bottom. Studies have shown that particles in the bed load actually somersault (move by saltation) along the bottom. Though sediment loads in the river had been occasionally studied, the annual data collection and reporting began in 1949 for the Lower Mississippi, and 1951 for the Atchafalaya. The data are compiled on 26 samplings between October and September of each year. It is very important to understand that these data, collected and maintained by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, are extrapolations based on 26 collections, coupled with estimates of water flow in the river. They are the best information available, and the methods followed in their accumulation are rigorous. However, one should be aware of the variability that may (probably) exist in a system when several va
