OICC Press Iranian Journal of Earth Sciences 2228-785X 16 4 2024 11 04 Study the relationship between rainfall erosivity and sediment yield in Shirin Darreh dam catchment, NE Iran 1 11 10.57647/j.ijes.2024.1604.23 EN Maryam Tajbakhshian Department of Geology, Faculty of science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5352-1606 Abolfazl Mosaedi Department of Water Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9698-5005 Mohamad Hosein Mahmudy Gharaie Department of Geology, Faculty of science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2477-3679 Moussavi Harami Department of Geology, Faculty of science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9788-9237 Journal Article 2024 11 04 The main goal of this study is to better understand the relationships between rainfall erosivityand sediment yield during 1982 to 2018 in the Shirin Darrehdam (SDD) basin (1750 km2), NorthKhorasan Province, northeastern Iran. Rainfall erosivity was evaluated by the Fournier index (FI),Modified Fournier index (MFI), and rainfall erosivity (R factor), and specific sediment yield (SSY)was obtained based on the Fournier empirical model (FEM) using daily precipitation data from 3and 2 gauging stations in the upstream and downstream of the dam, respectively. The relationshipbetween rainfall erosivity, precipitation, and sediment yield was assessed by the coefficient ofdetermination (R2)and Pearson coefficient (r). The results showed that the upstream of the dam wasmore affected by rainfall and produced more sediments than the downstream. Strong correlationswere observed between the sediment yield, precipitation, and rainfall erosivity indices (R2≥0.5 andthe correlation was significant at the 0.01 level based on the r2. The primary sources of sedimentsupply are the easily eroded sedimentary rocks such as the shale (Sanganeh Formation) and marl(Sarcheshmeh Formation) which cover the considerable area in the study basin.