Abstract
In situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be was measured in 17 sediment samples to estimate the rate and distribution of sediment generation in the upper Río Chagres basin over the last 10 to 20 kyr. Results indicate that the upper Río Chagres basin is generating sediment uniformly. Nuclide activities suggest basin-wide sediment generation rates of 143 and 354 tons/km/yr (avg. = 234 ± 74 tons/km/yr; n = 7) for small tributary basins and 248 to 281 tons/km/yr (avg. = 267 ± 97 tons/km/yr; n = 3) for large tributary basins. The weighted average of all tributaries is 269 ± 63 tons/km/yr; n = 10). A sample collected upstream of Lago Alhajuela suggests that the entire basin is exporting sediment at a rate of 275 ± 62 tons/km/yr. These cosmogenic nuclide measurements all suggest that the upper Río Chagres basin (when considered on scales <5 km2 to >350 km2) is generating sediment at ∼270 tons/km/yr. This long-term (1 −20 kyr) sediment generation rate that is equivalent to the estimate derived from suspended sediment yield measured below the upper Río Chagres- Rió Chico confluence from 1981–96 (289 tons tons/km/yr). Such similarity implies that decadal and millennial sediment yields are similar. Thus, short-term sediment yields and long-term sediment generations are in balance, implying steady landscape behavior over time. The background sediment yield suggests that it would take ∼3,600 years to completely fill Lago Alhajuela, the reservoir for the Panama Canal. Taking into account the present day 2- to 3- fold increase in sediment yields for adjacent human-impacted Rió Boquerón and Rió Pequení basins, the filling time is reduced to ∼2,000 years. However, it would only take between 250 to 600 years to reduce the reservoir capacity (69% of maximum) enough to drain the entire reservoir for precipitation conditions similar to the 1982 El Niño event. Such models highlight the importance of proper watershed management in order to reduce the sedimentation of Lago Alhajuela.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Adams, HW, 1947, Data on Sediment Transportation and Deposition in the Canal Zone: Dept. Operation. Maint., and Spec. Eng. Div., Panama Canal Commission, Balboa Heights, Panama.
Alvardo, L.A. 1985. Sedimentation in Madden Reservoir: Meteorol. Hydrog. Branch, Eng. Div., and Eng. Const. Bureau, Panama Canal Commission, Balboa Heights, Panama.
Bierman, P, Clapp, E, Nichols, K, Gillespie, A, and Caffee, M, 2001a, Using cosmogenic nuclide measurements in sediments to understand background rates of erosion and sediment transport: in Landscape Erosion and evolution Modeling, (RS Harmon and WW. Doe, eds.), Kluwer Acad./Plenum Pub., New York, NY: 89–116.
Bierman, P, Pavich, M, Gellis, A, Larsen, J, Cassell, E, and Caffee, M, 2001b, Erosion of the Rio Puerco basin, New Mexico — First cosmogenic analysis of sediments from the drainage network of a large watershed: (abs) Geol. Soc. Am. Abs. Prog., 33: A–314.
Bierman, PR, Larsen, P, Clapp, E, and Clark, DH, 1996, Refining estimates of 10Be and 26Al production rates: Radiocarbon, 38: 149
Bierman, PR, and Steig, E, 1996, Estimating rates of denudation and sediment transport using cosmogenic isotope abundances in sediment: Earth Surf. Proc. Landf., 21: 125–139.
Brown, E, Stallard, RF, Larsen, MC, Raisbeck, GM, and Yiou, R, 1995, Denudation rates determined from the accumulation of in situ-produced 10Be in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 129: 193–202.
Bush, MB and Colinvaux, PA, 1994, Tropical forest disturbance: Paleoecological records from Darien, Panama: Ecology, 75: 1761–1768.
Bush, MB, Poperno, DR, Colinvaux, PA, DeOliveira, PE, Krissek, LA, Miller, MC, and Rowe, WE, 1992, A 14,300-yr paleoecological profile of a lowland tropical lake in Panama: Ecol. Monogr., 62: 251–275.
Clapp, EM, Bierman, PR, Nichols, KK, Pavich, M, and Caffee, M, 2001, Rates of sediment supply to arroyos from upland erosion determined using in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al: Quat. Res., 55: 235–245.
Clapp, EM, Bierman, PR, Schick, AP, Lekach, J, Enzel, Y, and Caffee, M, 2000, Sediment yield exceeds sediment production in arid region drainage basins: Geology, 28: 995–998.
Clapp, EM, Bierman, PR, Caffee, MW, 2002, Using 10Be and 26Al to determine sediment generation rates and identify sediment source areas in an arid region drainage basin: Geomorph., 45: 89–104.
Coates, AJ, Jackson, JBC, Collins, LS, Cronin, TM, Dowsett, HJ, Bybell, LM, Jung, P, and Obando, JA, 1992, Closure of the Isthmus of Panama: The near-shore marine record of Costa Rica and western Panama: Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., 104: 814–828.
Condit, R, Robinson, WD, Ibáñez, R, Aguilar, S, Sanjur A, Martínez, R, Stallard, RF, García, T, Angehr, G, Petit, L, Wright, SJ, Robinson, TR, and Heckadon, S, 2001, The status of the Panama Canal watershed and its biodiversity at the beginning of the 21st century: BioScience, 51: 389–398.
Desilets, D, Zreda, M, and Lifton, NA, 2001, Comment on 'scaling factors for production rates of in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides: a critical reevaluation’ by TJ Dunai: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 188: 283–287.
Dunai, TJ, 2000, Scaling factors for production rates of in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides: a critical reevaluation: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 176: 157–169.
Dunai, TJ, 2001, Reply to comment on 'scaling factors for production rates of in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides: a critical reevaluation: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 188: 289–298.
Espinosa, JA, 2003, The Climatology of Panama: in International Scientific Symposium, The Rio Chagres: A Multidisciplinary Profile of a Tropical Watershed: Gamboa, Panama.
Espinosa, D, Méndez, A, Madrid, I, and Rivera, R, 1997, Assessment of climate change impacts on the water resources of Panama: the case of the La Villa, Chiriquí, and Chagres river basins: Climate Change, 9: 131–137.
Georgakakos, KP and Sperfslage, JA, 2005, this volume, operational rainfall and flow Forecasting for the Panama Canal Watershed: in The Río Chagres: A Multidisciplinary Perspective of a Tropical River Basin (RS Harmon, ed.), Kluwer Acad./Plenum Pub., New York, NY: 323–333.
Granger, DE, Kirchner, JW, and Finkel, R, 1996. Spatially averaged long-term erosion rates measured from in-situ produced cosmogenic nuclides in alluvial sediment: Jour. Geol., 104: 249–257.
Harmon, R.S. this volume. The Geologic Development of Panama: in The Río Chagres: A Multidisciplinary Perspective of a Tropical River Basin (RS Harmon, ed.), Kluwer Acad./Plenum Pub., New York, NY: 45–62.
Heimsath, AM, Chappell, J, Spooner, NA, and Questiaux, DG, 2002, Creeping soil: Geology, 30: 111–114.
Kirchner, JW, Finkel, RC, Riebe, CS, Granger, DE, Clayton, JL, King, JG, and Megahan, WF, 2001. Mountain erosion over 10 yr, 10 ky, and 10 my time scales: Geology, 29: 591–594
Kohl, CP, and Nishiizumi, K, 1992, Chemical isolation of quartz for measurement of in-situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides: Geochim, Cosmochim. Acta, 56: 3583–3587.
Lal, D, 1991, Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: In-situ production rates and erosion models: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 104: 424–439.
Larsen, MC, and Torres-Sánchez, AJ, 1998, The Frequency and distribution of recent landslide in three montane tropical regions of Puerto Rico: Geomorph., 24: 309–331.
Larson, C, 1979, Erosion and sediment yield as affected by land use and slope in the Panama Canal watershed: Proc. III World Cong.Water. Resour., Int. Water Resour. Assoc., Mexico City, Mexico, Part III, 1086–1095.
Larson, CL and Albertin, W, 1984, Controlling erosion and sedimentation in the Panama Canal watershed: Water Intern., 9: 161–164.
Matmon, A, Bierman, PR, Larsen, J, Southworth, S, Pavich, M, and Caffee, M, 2003, Temporally and spatially uniform rates of erosion in the southern Appalachian Great Smoky Mountains: Geology, 31: 155–158.
Nichols, KK, Bierman, PR, Hooke, RL, Clapp, EM, and Caffee, M, 2002, Quantifying sediment transport on desert piedmonts using 10Be and 26Al: Geomorph., 45: 105–126.
Nott, J, and Roberts, R, 1996, Time and process rates over the past 100 my; A case for dramatically increased landscape denudation rates during the late Quaternary in northern Australia: Geology, 24: 883–888.
Perg, LA, Anderson, RS, and Finkel, RC, 2001, Use of a new 10Be and 26Al inventory method to date marine terraces, Santa Cruz, California, USA: Geology, 29: 879–882.
Phillips, WM, McDonald, EV, Reneau, SL, Poths, J, 1998, Dating soils and alluvium with cosmogenic 21Ne depth profiles; case studies from the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico, USA: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 160: 209–223.
Schaller, M, von Blanckenburg, F, Hovius, N, and Kubik, PW, 2001, Large-scale erosion rates from in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides in European river sediments: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 188: 441–458.
Stallard, RF, ed., 1999. Erosion and the effects of deforestation the Panama Canal basin: in Report of the Panama Canal Watershed Monitoring Project (Panama Canal Watershed Monitor. Proj.: Chap. II.8.
Wadsworth, FH, 1978, Deforestation: death to the Panama Canal: in Proc. US Strat. Conf. on Tropical Deforestation, US Dept. State and US Agency. Inter. Devel., Washington DC: 22–24.
Wörner, G, Harmon, RS, Hartmann, G, and Simon, K, 2005, Igneous geology and geochemistry of the upper Río Chagres basin: in The Río Chagres: A Multidisciplinary Perspective of a Tropical River Basin (RS Harmon, ed.), Kluwer Acad./Plenum Pub., New York, NY: 65–82.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nichols, K.K., Bierman, P.R., Finkel, R., Larsen, J. (2005). Long-Term Sediment Generation Rates for the Upper Río Chagres Basin. In: Harmon, R.S. (eds) The Río Chagres, Panama. Water Science and Technology Library, vol 52. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3297-8_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3297-8_20
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3298-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-3297-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)