RIVER MORPHOLOGY

River Morphology
Definition: used to describe the shapes of river channels and how they change in shape and
direction over time.

Synonym: Stream Morphology

Sediment Transport
AEOLIAN
FLUVIAL
COASTAL
GLACIAL
HILLSLOPE
DEBRIS FLOW
is the movement of solid particles (sediment), typically due to a combination of
gravity acting on the sediment, and/or the movement of the fluid in which the
sediment is entrained.
is the term for sediment transport by wind.
This process results in the formation
of ripples and sand dunes. Typically, the
size of the transported sediment is
fine sand (<1 mm) and smaller,
because air is a fluid with
low density and viscosity, and can therefore
not exert very much shear on its bed.
In geology, physical geography, and
sediment transport, fluvial processes
relate to flowing water in natural systems.
This encompasses rivers,
streams, periglacial flows, flash
floods and glacial lake outburst floods.
Sediment moved by water can be larger
than sediment moved by air because
water has both a
higher density and viscosity. In typical
rivers the largest carried sediment is
of sand and gravel size, but larger floods
can carry cobbles and even boulders.
Coastal sediment transport takes place
in near-shore environments due to the
motions of waves and currents. At the
mouths of rivers, coastal sediment and
fluvial sediment transport processes
mesh to create river deltas.
As glaciers move
over their beds, they
entrain and move
material of all sizes.
Glaciers can carry the
largest sediment, and
areas of glacial
deposition often
contain a large
number of glacial
erratics, many of
which are several
metres in diameter.
In hillslope sediment transport, a variety of processes move regolith downslope.
These include: Soil creep, Tree throw, Movement of soil by burrowing animals,
Slumping and landsliding of the hillslope
Large masses of material are moved in debris flows, hyperconcentrated mixtures of mud,
clasts that range up to boulder-size, and water. Debris flows move as granular flows down
steep mountain valleys and washes. Because they transport sediment as a granular mixture,
their transport mechanisms and capacities scale differently from those of fluvial systems.