Topic 2 Flashcards
where is soil forming processes dominant?
flat hilltops
with increasing ____, colluvial and mass wasting is dominant
gradient
colluvial footslope
where material accumulates and deposits
what happens if we had no rivers, regarding transport?
there would be no transport over longer distances. for example, on hill slopes, sediment is created and then transported down to rivers.
3 points on channel initiation (diffusive processes)
- Transport rate is proportional to hill slope
- Involve sediment movement without concentrated flow of water wind or ice
- Result in filling of depressions and smoothing of relief
What are two examples of channel initation?
Rainsplash and sheetwash
Rainsplash
raindrop impacts on bare soils cause disaggretion of soil, tiny craters and downslope sediment transport
Sheetwash
overland flow thats not concentrated in discrete channels, occurs when rainfall > infiltration capacity, can move loose material down gentle slopes. but can’t erode channels
Where are diffusive processes dominant ?
areas of shallow slope
Hortonian model
- suggests there’s a critical point where from sheetwash (or Hortonian overland flow) starts eroding bed and initiates channel development.
- moving downslope, volume of water flowing increases and the driving force increases until it can move sediment.
- subparallel rills form downslope which become dominants and a first order stream forms
Channel Initiation (Advective Processes)
Material is moved with the fluid and in direction of fluid motion. Once water is focused into channels, networks evolve
Types of advective processes
Rills and gullies
Rills
sheetflows concentrate and cuts small parallel channels these may form and join to make a gully.
Gullies
deeper V shaped channels carved by concentrated run off
Hydraulic geochemistry
statistical relationships between the channel form/dimensions and Q
what is flooding?
flow that exceeds channel banks and occupies the floodplain
what are the two critical stages of flooding?
bankfull discharge and annual mean flood
megafloods
transport high amount of material but occur less frequently
low flows
incapable of transporting a lot of sediment
so what type of flow intensity allows for sediment transport?
moderate flows
effective discharge
discharge that transports the most sediments. this is due to the fact that it transports a moderate amount of sediment and occurs relative frequently
velocity deforms in 4 ways
- with distance from the bed
- Across the stream
- Downstream
- With time
velocity increases towards ___ in a stream and decreases with ___
the centre, depth