Lecture Topic: Fluvial Processes and Drainage Networks and Floods

Figures 17.1, 17.2 (or some image of the water cycle), 17.5**, 17.7; 18.1, 18.3, 18.5,
18.6, 18.8, 18.9, 18.10, 18.15, 18.20 (upland part only; we did not cover deltas),
18.22, 18.23, 18.25
Key Terms hydrologic cycle; antecedent stream, base level, bed load, braided stream,
channel, dendritic drainage, discharge, divide, drainage basin, drainage network,
floodplain, longitudinal profile, meander, oxbow lake, point bar, superposed stream,
suspended load, tributary
The distribution of water on Earth shows the most water is not fresh, liquid water. The
most accessible sources of fresh water available for human consumption are rivers and
lakes. The largest volume of fresh water available for human consumption is
groundwater.
Ocean 95.96%
Glaciers and polar ice 2.97%
Underground waters 1.05%
Lakes and rivers 0.009%
Atmosphere 0.001%
Biosphere 1(10^-4)%

The Water Cycle: in the hydrologic cycle, a portion of precipitation:

(1) infiltrates into the subsurface,
(2) evaporates to atmosphere, and
(3) enters a surface-water drainage system

Water laden winds from warm oceanic regions rise and cool over nearby
continents resulting in precipitation
Runoff is directly related to the amount of precipitation. In arid regions, much
precipitation is lost by evaporation and infiltration. In humid regions, a higher
proportion of precipitation runs off in rivers.
 Runoff flows downhill in streams and rivers that make up a drainage system.
A river flows in a channel that migrates across a floodplain
o Channel the trough through which the water runs
o Floodplain a flat area level with the top of the channel
The valley forms from erosion of surrounding uplands, and its shape may vary
from narrow and steep to broad and flat.
Drainage networks are the patterns of connections among the small and large
streams.
The river channel carries all the water at normal, non-flood times. At low flow,
the water may run only along the bottom of the channel.
At high water levels, the river spills over its banks and occupies the floodplain.
The sediment load carried by the flooding river is spread over the floodplain.

River valleys have

characteristic shapes
depending on the relief of
the terrain that they are
draining.

A rapidly down-cutting river

in a terrain recently
tectonically uplifted will form a narrow, V-shaped canyon. A tectonically old and stable
landscape will have broad valleys and low relief.

A ridge of high ground

divides the directions of
runoff. The drainage
basin for a stream is
defined by all the divides
that separate it and its
tributaries. The size of the
drainage basin is
 correlated to the size of the stream.

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Drainage networks the patterns of connections among the small and large
streams. The patterns depend on the nature and structure of the underlying rock.
Dendritic drainage irregular branching pattern. Most typical for a uniform
bedrock.
Trellis drainage develops in a valley and ridge terrain where rocks
contrast in their resistance to erosion.
 Streams may cut through resistant ridges rather
than follow the lowland.
Antecedent stream a pre-existing stream kept its
course while a ridge was uplifted
Superposed stream a stream flowing on a
younger layer of rock cuts down through time to
an underlying layer of more resistant rock.

All rivers have a longitudinal profile. In the headwaters, the riverbed is at its
highest elevation above sea level. Downstream, closer to its mouth, the riverbed is
at a lower elevation. The profile is controlled by the rivers base level the
elevation at which it enters a large standing body of water.
Flowing current transports clastic material in two ways:
(1) Bed load, sliding and rolling along the bottom (coarse particles)
(2) Suspended load, temporarily or permanently suspended. (suspended
particles)
Intermittent jumping saltation of sand grains results from grains being sucked
up into the flow by turbulent eddies, moving with the current for a while, and then
falling back to the bottom due to the downward pull of gravity
Smaller grains will be picked up more frequently and higher, and will take
longer to settle
Shape of an idealized stream channel that develops through erosion at the outside
bend and deposition at the inside bend:
Meanders can migrate over time and eventually get cut off during floods. The
former meander becomes an oxbow lake:
Rivers with large variations in volume of flow and easily eroded banks tend to
form many channels in the valley bottom with highly mobile sand bars braided
stream.
Drainage Networks and Floods:
Riparian wetlands are intermittently or seasonally flooded. Riparian wetlands are
characterized by the combination of high species diversity, species density, and
biological productivity.
Upper course of a river water flows quickly though a narrow channel with
a steep gradient. As it does so, it cuts downwards. Vertical erosion
dominates. (V-shaped hill)
Lower course of a river the valley continues to become wider and flatter
with an extensive floodplain surrounding the channel. The river erodes
laterally and desposition also becomes important. The river is wider and
deeper here. When the river floods over the surrounding land it loses
energy and deposits its suspended load. Regular flooding results in the
building up of layers of nutrient-rich sediment forming a flat and fertile
floodplain.
Hydrograph a graph that depicts discharge as a function of time at a particular
point of observation. The volume of water passing a point in the stream per unit
time increases shortly after rainfall events and then returns to baseflow levels that
are maintained by groundwater input.

A natural floodplain shows broad floodplain, meanders, and riparian wetlands.

After human actions to straighten and shorten the channel and to construct levees,
the land behind levees is farmed, and a diminished area of wetlands is confined
between the levees.
Water is stored in the reservoir during times of high runoff and is released from
the reservoir during times of low runoff.

A flood-frequency curve shows the probability of a certain magnitude of river

discharge occurring in any given year. A recurrence interval is an expression of
that probability in terms of the average time interval between two floods of similar
magnitude. There are not many observations of high discharge events so its hard
to extrapolate the expectancy of discharges.
Generally, large floods have a low probability of occurring in any one year so that
on average they have a long recurrence interval. (100 year flood, 1% probability,
2 year flood, 50% probability, 25 year flood, 4% probability)
Flood stage the stage at which overbank flows are of sufficient magnitude to
cause considerable inundation of land and roads and/or threat of significant hazard
to life and property
Use of water to produce thermoelectric power has increase by almost 500% since
1950.