Climate Controls on Sediment Discharge in Selected Fluvial Systems in Indonesia

Sediment discharge was evaluated in selected rivers in Indonesia where catchment basin size, relief, and gradient are somewhat similar, but where tectonic setting, bedrock lithology, and atmospheric circulation and rainfall, are variables. Rivers were studied in humid to perhumid regions where the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is relatively stable and rainfall exceeds evapotranspiration for all or most months of the year (Sumatra, Borneo, Seram, and Irian Jaya). In contrast, fluvial sediment discharge was evaluated in rivers in Timor where 85 percent of all rainfall occurs during a four-month rainy season (dry subhumid climate) in response to the passage of the ITCZ. Stream sampling was conducted for solid suspended sediment concentrations, solute concentrations, and pH. In addition, the nature of stream channels (meandering or braided), streambed materials, the degree and source of estuarine fill, the degree of delta formation, and the nature of coastlines were used to evaluate fluvial sediment discharge. Very low sediment concentrations (10 mg/l suspended and 10mg/l solute) in rivers in the perhumid to humid regions are indicative of a very low fluvial sediment discharge. The absence of fluvially derived bed loads, river mouth deltas, the lack of fluvial fill of estuaries, and mud-dominated coastal zones are consistent with this observation. In contrast, very high sediment concentrations (2100 mg/l suspended and 340 mg/l dissolved) during rainy season discharge in dry-subhumid regions (Timor) are indicative of very high sediment discharge in dry subhumid climates. Coarse-grained braided streams, the complete fluvial fill of estuaries, the formation of river-mouth deltas, cobbles transported to the coast, and coarse-grained beaches are consistent with this observation. All factors indicate that fluvial sediment discharge is exceedingly low in humid and perhumid areas where denudation is dominated by chemical weathering, whereas fluvial sediment discharge is exceedingly high in relatively dry seasonal climates where denudation appears to be primarily controlled by both chemical and mechanical processes. The dominant variable affecting fluvial sediment discharge among the islands of Indonesia, therefore, appears to be the degree of seasonality in rainfall regardless of tectonic setting.