Rivers Flashcards
What is discharge?
The amount of water in the river.
What is the width of a river?
The number of meters perpendicular to the line of river flow from one side of the river to the other.
What is the depth of the river?
How many meters the river is from the surface to the base.
What is the gradient of the river?
How steep the river is.
What is the velocity of the river?
How fast the river is moving.
What is the sediment size in a river?
How large particles in the river are.
What is the friction of a river?
The surface to volume ratio.
What is the carrying capacity of a river?
How much sediment it can carry.
What is the carrying competence of the river.
The mass of sediment the river can carry.
What are the 4 processes of erosion.
Hydraulic actionAttritionCorrasionAbrasion
What is Hydraulic action?
Waves breaking at the foot of a cliff force air in cracks to be compressed. Loose rocks are dislodged and removed. When the wave retreats the compressed air rushes out of the crack and can further weaken faults in the cliff face.
What is attrition?
Attrition is when rocks carried by seawater collide – gradually making them smaller and smoother.
What is Corrasion?
Corrasion is when rock caught up in surging waves are hurled at a cliff face – causing it to be chipped and gauged.
What is Abrasion?
Abrasion is the sandpaper effect of loose rocks being scraped along bare rock. It often smooth’s and polishes the rock.
What is transportation?
Transportation is movement of sediment by the action of waves.
What are the 4 processes of transportation?
Traction, Saltation, Solution, Deposition
What is traction?
Traction involves the rolling of large and heavy rocks along the seabed.
What is a Saltation?
Saltation involves smaller material being bounced along the seabed.
What is Solution?
Sediment that has dissolved completely will be transported in solution.
What is suspension?
Suspension is when lighter sediment is suspended within the water. This often discolours the water close to the shore.
What is deposition?
Deposition occurs when energy levels decrease in environments such as bays and estuaries. Where deposition occurs on the inside of a spit a salt marsh can form.
Describe a river delta.
This is a ‘D’ shaped area of sandy/ muddy sediment built up into the open water where the river meets the sea.
Where is the line of fastest flow in a river?
The thalweg.
What is a Levee?
If a river floods, material is deposited on the banks, the material that is dropped first is the coarsest, and creates a natural embankment