Introduction

Question One

River morphology refers to all features that form along the river as it flows downstream. Some of the morphological features that are created as the river flows include watershed, erosive activities, deposition, and some other streamflow characteristics. Some of the stream characteristics that can be identified include discharge which refers to the amount of water that flows past a given point of the stream. The stream power depends on the gradient difference of the stream in question which in turn impacts the velocity of the river flow. The feature that is formed is either through erosion or river deposition.

Question Two

This experiment was meant to help and enhance the understanding of how a stream shapes the land and how the human activities impact the river’s ecosystem and morphology. It is going to illustrate how the physical features are formed along the river course. Some of the functionality that can be identified along the river course include the oxbow lakes, menders river delta and much more. Additionally, it will provide a clear demonstration of how one can analyze the different morphological features of the rivers. The report, on the other hand, will give some knowledge on how to calculate some aspects such as relief, river sinuosity, velocity, and discharge velocity. It will finally prove the different hypothesis stated at the start of the experiment.

Question Three

The hypothesis for activity one

The higher the degree of tilt, the higher the river velocity and the low the expected level of sinuosity of the stream.

The hypothesis for activity two

Human activities such as agriculture, constructions, and forest clearing promote surface runoffs and eventually contributes much to the stream morphology.

Materials and Methods

Question Four

Materials for the experiment

• Tray or cookie sheet (or something similar)
• 2–3 lb bag of sand or 1 lb bag (or more) of cornmeal
• Single-use cup that can have a hole poked in it (e.g., plastic yogurt cup, foam cup) •   Cup, such as glass, mug, or plastic cup
• Paper clip, skewer, or thumbtack (to poke a hole in the single-use cup)
• Two books, one approximately twice as thick as the other
• Ruler
• Tap water
• 2 Plastic bags
• Cell phone with a timer
• Cell  phone capable of taking photographs

A method in Creating a Stream Table

• Take out a tray and place the thicker book in a plastic bag. It is situated at the end of the book to be tilted.
• Fill the cup without a hole with tap water and pour the water slowly into the single-use bowl ensuring it is right above the end of the tray.
• Let the water trickle out of the hole in the single-use cup down the sand
• Draw and the formed stream on a different piece of paper.

 

Results

Thicker book

First trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance /straight distance = 24/12=2cm

Velocity: =Distance traveled/Time taken=42/7=6cm/s

Relief:

Highest elevation– lowest elevation = 18-16=6cm

Gradient: Relief /total distance= 6/42=0.1429

Second trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance /straight distance =28/7= 4

Velocity:

Distance traveled/Time it takes to travel = 45/9=5cm/s

 

Relief:

Highest elevation– lowest elevation =20-12 = 8cm

Gradient: Relief /total distance = 8/45 0.1778

Third trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance (35cm)/straight distance (7cm) = 5

Velocity:

Distance traveled /Time it takes to travel = 5cm/s

 

Relief:

Highest elevation (24cm) – lowest elevation (14cm) = 10cm

Gradient: Relief (10cm)/total distance (45cm) = 0.2222

Thinner book

First trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance (21cm)/straight distance (7cm) = 3

Velocity:

Distance traveled (32cm)/Time it takes to travel (8s) = 4cm/s

 

Relief:

Highest elevation (24cm) – lowest elevation (18cm) = 6cm

Gradient: Relief (6cm)/total distance (32cm) = 0.1875

Second trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance /straight distance =18/9 = 2

Velocity:

Distance traveled/Time it takes to travel = 21/7=3cm/s

Relief:

Highest elevation – lowest elevation =18-14= 4cm

Gradient: Relief/total distance=4/27 = 0.1481

Third trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance (18cm)/straight distance (6cm) = 3

Velocity:

Distance traveled (28cm)/Time it takes to travel (7) = 4cm/s

 

Relief:

Highest elevation (20cm) – lowest elevation (15cm) = 5cm

Gradient: Relief (5cm)/total distance (28cm) = 0.1786

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data Tables

Worksheet Data table one

	Trial	Sinuosity	Velocity (cm/s)	Relief (cm)	Gradient (cm)
Thicker Book	1	2	6	6	0.1429
	2	4	5	8	0.1778
	3	5	5	10	0.2222
Thinner Book	1	3	4	6	0.1875
	2	4	3	4	0.1481
	3	3	4	5	0.1786

 

 

Worksheet Data table two

 

Calculations

First trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance (36cm)/straight distance (6cm) = 6

Velocity:

Distance traveled (35cm)/Time it takes to travel (7s) = 5cm/s

 

Relief:

Highest elevation (28cm) – lowest elevation (18cm) = 10cm

Gradient: Relief (10cm)/total distance (36cm) = 0.2778

Second trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance (20cm)/straight distance (5cm) = 4

Velocity:

Distance traveled (30cm)/Time it takes to travel (6s) = 5cm/s

Relief:

Highest elevation (20cm) – lowest elevation (14cm) = 6cm

Gradient: Relief (6cm)/total distance (30cm) = 0.2

Third trial

Sinuosity: curvy distance (20cm)/straight distance (5cm) = 4

Velocity:

Distance traveled (30cm)/Time it takes to travel (6s) = 5cm/s

 

Relief:

Highest elevation (22cm) – lowest elevation (16cm) = 6cm

Gradient: Relief (6cm)/total distance (22cm) = 0.2727

Trial	Sinuosity	Velocity (cm/s)	Relief (cm)	Gradient (cm)
1	6	5	10	0.2778
2	4	5	6	0.2
3	4	5	6	0.2727

 

Photography:

Thicker Book

Thinner Book

Question four

The experiment involved placing 21lb of maize meal in the plastic cup with a hole poked in the plastic container, paper clip, two books, a timer, ruler, and plastic bags. Using the steps below an experiment was conducted. The involved tray was placed leaning on the thicker book set in a plastic bag. A cup without a hole was then filled with water, and the water was allowed to trickle smoothly out of the hole in the bowl as it flows down through the maize meal for a whole night. At the end of the night, measurements were made and recorded.

Discussion

Question Five

From the results obtained, the hypothesis is accepted. The experimental results confirm that human activities and gradient of flow are the key actions that impact the morphology of a river. It was identified that the velocity and the erosivity of a stream increase with the angle and the higher the number of human activities the more the surface runoff thus increase erosivity of the river in question.

Question Six

From the experiment, it can be concluded that the river morphology is influenced by the different human activities and gradient of flow. Human activates along the river banks, and the higher slopes are the critical contributions to the features that exist along the river course. To control the above aspects is essential for the human being to take part in environmental conservation approaches such as planting of trees along river banks and growing grass to ensure that surface runoff is mitigated.

Question Seven

One of the critical challenge incurred during the experiment is an aspect of establishing accurate values. The materials used on the other hand contributed to errors that were committed during the experimental period.

 

References

Edmonds, D.A. & Slingerland, R.L. (2017). Mechanics of River Mouth Bar Formation: Implications for The Morpho Dynamics of Delta Distributary Networks. New York: Oxford University

Environmental Science Stream Morphology Investigation Manual, (2016) www.carolina.com/distancelearning 866.332.4478

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