Fluvial Processes and Landforms

What are fluvial processes?

Exogenetic processes Fluvial processes River erosion River transportation River deposition

River erosion
Ways of erosion:
Hydraulic action Force of running water Abrasion / corrasion Load of a river

Attrition Rock fragments rub and hit against each other Solution / corrosion Water as a solvent

Directions of river erosion:

Headward erosion

Vertical erosion

 Lateral erosion

Compare the characteristics of the two valleys shown in Figure 14.5.

(a)

Narrow V-shaped
(b)

Broad V-shaped

Account for their differences in terms of the main erosional process carried out by the river.

(a)

Vertical erosion (riverbed) Deepening of a river channel

Lateral erosion (outside banks) Widening of a river channel

(b)

River transportation
Smaller rock fragments bounced downstream Floating small rock fragments carried downstream Large rock fragments dragged downstream

Dissolved materials carried downstream

Nature of load Vs. Ways of transportation

Dissolved load Suspended load Bed load

Solution

Suspension

Saltation

Traction

Smallest----------------------------------------------largest Soluble ----------------------------------------------insoluble

Soluble minerals are removed by solution For the insoluble load, the largest one is pushed along the river bed by traction, the smaller one is carried by saltation, while the finest one is suspended in the moving water.

River deposition
Dropping of a rivers load Occurs when load > rivers carrying capacity

Conditions favourable for river deposition:

Decrease in the velocity Decrease in the volume Increase in the load

Volume of water
In times with rainfall In times with drought or low rainfall (over a long period of time)

Other conditions for a lower volume

river flows into arid areas river flows across areas of permeable rocks flood water subsides

Where deposition takes place:

At any point of a river Inside banks of bends Floor of the river valley

Deposition
large Energy small

-----------------------------smallest particle Pebbles small stones sandsilt clay Sorting of fluvial deposits
The smaller the particle size, the further it is carried

Deposition takes place

At any point of a river with lower energy Inside banks of winding channel
Floor of the river valley

Main fluvial process Outer bank erosion

inner

B
outer

inner

Inner bank deposition

outer

deposition

erosion

Inner bank A

Outer bank

Study the Figure 1 Describe the relationship between erosion and deposition.

Erosion and deposition are balanced throughout a river.

Erosion provides load for deposition to take place.

Deposition reduces load and encourage erosion to take place.

(a) How the amount of load affects the level of energy of a river? When the river has too little load, its energy increases and vice versa.

(b) What are the other factors affecting the energy of a river?

Gravity

Channel friction

Shape Roughness

Channel discharge

Slope

River velocity

Roughness

Explain why erosion and deposition occur?

When the river has a lot of energy, erosion takes place. When the river has little energy, deposition resumes.