Annual Estimates of Suspended Sediment Concentration and Load to Support Trend Analysis on the Lower Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River, 1978–2021

This data release contains annual estimates of total, fine (<0.0625 millimeter [mm]), and coarse (≥0.0625 mm) suspended sediment concentration and load for 11 sites located on the Lower Mississippi River and Atchafalaya River through 2021.  Annual and flow-normalized estimates were calculated using WRTDSplus, an extension of the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) model which allows users to add a fourth explanatory variable to the model formulation (DeCicco and others, 2024). Input streamflow and suspended sediment data for these models were retrieved from Murphy and others (2022). Details about data processing and model specifications can be found in the companion publication to this data release (Murphy and others, 2025).

References:

DeCicco, L., Diebel, M., Podzorski, H., Murphy, J., Hirsch, R., 2024, WRTDSplus: Exensions to the WRTDS method, v.1.0.0: GitHub, https://doi.org/10.5066/P14PE5AN.