Flood-borne sediment analysis of the Hoanib River, northwestern Namibia

The suspended sediment contained in six flood events in the Hoanib River catchment during the wet season of 1999/2000 were analysed for volatile (or low molecular weight) fine particulate organic material (FPOM), higher molecular weight FPOM and the total organic carbon (TOC). Samples were evaporated to dryness at 80 °C, then heated in a high temperature oven to 250, 550 and 850 °C. The results show that the amount of sediment carried during the flood events varied between 1.54 and 31.27 g/L, with an average of 14.62 g/L. The amount of suspended sediment in the flood-waters (2.789–616.359×106 kg) was found to be dependent on the timing and duration of the flood event. The largest percentage of organic material was found in the volatile FPOM fraction (5.77±6.26%), with lesser amounts being found in the higher molecular weight FPOM (3.36±0.62%) and TOC (4.93±1.86%) fractions.