(Erosion Prediction in Ungauged Basins: Integrating Methods and Techniques (Proceedings of Symposium HS01 held during IUGG2003 at Sapporo, July 2003), IAHS Publication No. 279, 2003, pp. 151–161).
Identifying the areas in a drainage basin that are the most sensitive or susceptible to erosion stimulated the study of within-basin variability of the sediment delivery processes and the use of spatially distributed models coupled with Geographical Information Systems. In this paper, the Sediment Delivery Distributed (SEDD) model applicable at the morphological unit scale is reviewed. The model couples the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), in which different expressions of the topographic factors are considered, with a relationship for evaluating the sediment delivery ratio of each morphological unit.The model is applied to six Sicilian drainage basins, each having a reservoir at the outlet, with areas ranging from 20 to 70 km2. For each drainage basin, the model is applied using a raster scheme and a subroutine of Arc-Info software for identifying the hydraulic path linking each hillslope cell to the nearest stream cell. Finally, a procedure for estimating the single coefficient of the SEDD model for ungauged basins is proposed.
Distributed models, GIS, SEDD model, Sediment yield measurements, Soil erosion, USLE
