FLUVIAL PROCESSES

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FLUVIAL PROCESSES

• STREAM FLOW
• STREAM HYDROGRAPH
• SEDIMENT TRANSPORT

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STREAM FLOW

• Stream flow (discharge) usually expressed in
  Cubic Meters per Second (CMS) or CFS.
• Discharge commonly measured in the field.
• Stream width (m or ft), depth (m or ft), and the
  flow of water (m/s or ft/s) at a cross-section of
  a stream. (Q WDV)
• Stream flow is a rate of the amount of water
  moving past a given location per unit of time.

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Gauging the Loosahatchie River
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Stream Hydrograph
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SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
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GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
Low Order Streams
Intermediate Order Streams
High Order Streams
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Equilibrium Longitudinal profile

• 1) Headwaters
• low order streams
• low discharge

• 1) High order streams
• high discharge
• more erosive

2) Steep slopes ? higher erosion
3) Erosion rates for uplands and lowlands become
equal. Equilibrium profile.

• 2) High erosion
• low slopes
• lower erosion

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FLUVIAL LANDFORMS

• I. CHANNEL PATTERNS
• II. STREAM PROFILE
• III. FLUVIAL LANDFORMS

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CHANNEL PATTERNS

• 3 basic types of channel patterns
• 1. Braided Channels
• 2. Straight Channels
• 3. Meandering Channels

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1. Braided streams

• Anastomorphosing channels
• Turbulent flow

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Braided channels
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Turbulent Flow
Laminar Flow
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2. Straight streams

• Straight rivers are unnatural!
• Even when there is laminar flow.

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2. Meandering streams

• Straight rivers evolve into meandering streams.

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CHANNEL PATTERNS

• 2. Meandering channels

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Confluence of Missouri and Mississippi Rivers
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POOL
RIFFLE
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RIFFLE
POOL
POOL
RIFFLE
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Meanders west of Anchorage Alaska
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SirC-X Radar Image of Mississippi River
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FLUVIAL LANDFORMS

• FLOODPLAINS

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Figure 14-21
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Terraces
Figure 14-23
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FLUVIAL LANDFORMS

• DELTAS

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Nile River Delta Figure 14-25
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Space Shuttle Images of the Mississippi River
Delta
Figure 14-26
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STREAM PROFILES
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Figure 14-18
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Dolomite
Figure 14-19