A tank model in conjunction with Kalman filter is developed for prediction of sediment yield from an upland watershed in Northwestern Mississippi. The state vector of the system model represents the parameters of the tank model. The initial values of the state vector were estimated by trial and error. The sediment yield of each tank is computed by multiplying the total sediment yield by the sediment yield coefficient. The sediment concentration of the first tank is computed from its storage and the sediment concentration distribution (SCD); the sediment concentration of the next lower tank is obtained by its storage and the sediment infiltration of the upper tank; and so on. The sediment yield computed by the tank model using Kalman filter was in good agreement with the observed sediment yield and was more accurate than the sediment yield computed by the tank model.

• Yeong Hwa Lee(Department of Civil Engineering, Daegu Haany University) Corresponding Author