Fluvial Landscapes and Processes

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to fluvial landscapes, hydrology, and sediment transport.

Channel Head

The upstream boundary of concentrated water flow and sediment transport between definable banks. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Catchment Hydrology

The study of how water passes through hillslopes and its interaction with the landscape.(Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

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Stream Head

The point where perennial flow occurs in a river system. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Overland Flow

Water that flows over the ground rather than being absorbed into the soil. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Groundwater Flow

The flow of water through aquifers, which can be slow and has a unique chemical nature. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Sediment Transport Modes

The three modes include solution, suspension, and traction, which shape the riverbed. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Hjulstrom Curve

A graphical representation that indicates the relationship between sediment size and the velocity of water required for erosion or deposition. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Fluvial Sediment Budgets

The calculation of sediment transport and deposition from catchment areas to global scales, particularly in relation to rainfall. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Braided River

A river consisting of multiple channels that interweave, often due to excess sediment load. (Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

Anthropogenic Activities

Human actions that have significant impacts on fluvial landscapes and environmental change. (Lane, 2007)

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Process: channel initiation

• (Anderson and Anderson, 20100

  

Types of runoff

• (Kirkby, 2007)

 

diagram showing timescale of when we might see these flows

Occurrence of infiltration-excess overland flow

(Anderson and Anderson, 2010)

 

Properties of flowing water

(Knighton, 2014)

Continued

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Transportation

• (Knighton, 2014)

  

Measuring river flows

• Knighton, 2014 - for the picture

  

Gauging a river with a cross-section

Measures how fast a river is going - Knighton, 2014

Weirs and Flumes

Funnel rivers into a structure so it can be measured more easily - Knighton, 2014

Acoustic Doppler current profiler

Scans river bed, covers the whole cross-section - Knighton, 2014

Fluvial sediment budgets: catchment to a global scale

• Knighton, 2014

  

Sediment delivery to streams by landslides during earthquakes

River response to landslides

types of events that are responsible for high sediment flux

the way sediment is delivered to oceans is not stable

Channel platform

• Knighton, 2014

  

 

 

Case study: Peace River Canada

• Knighton, 2014