H. Muhammad Ridha Adhari, S.T., M.

Sc

Dept. of Geological Engineering

Faculty of Engineering
Syiah Kuala University
Darussalam, Banda Aceh
2016
COURSE OUTLINE
Introduction
The Fluvial System
The Driving Variable
Summary
 Fluvial is derived from the Latin fluvius, meaning river.
 Rivers are found in many different environments.
 Amazing diversity of form.
 Rivers are found in many different climatic zones.
Some of the larger rivers even flow across different
climatic zones.
 Nile River, Colorado River.
Channel
 Bedrock Channels. Sections of channel that are cut
directly into the underlying bedrock.
 Alluvial Channels. Formed in alluvium sediment that
has previously been laid down in the valley floor by
rivers.
 Bedrock channels
 Channels cut into bedrock are high-energy channels.
 No accumulation of substantial amounts of sediment.
 Bedrock channel morphology reflects the nature of the
underlying bedrock.
Bedrock channels are cut directly into the underlying bedrock.
Bedrock channel, Yoho Canyon, Canadian Rockies.
Waterfall produced by a rock step, Aysgarth Falls, Yorkshire, England.
Hanging valley waterfall, Les Ecrins, French Alps.
 Alluvial channels

Alluvial channels are formed in alluvial deposits that have been deposited on the valley
floor by fluvial processes.
Alluvial channels :
 Straight
 Meandering
 Braided
 Anastomosing.
Several types of river can be distinguished, based on whether the river channel is
straight or sinuous (meandering), has one or multiple channels (anastomosing), and
has in-channel bars (braided). Combinations of these forms can often occur.
PERKEMBANGAN ALIRAN SUNGAI
TAHAPAN EROSI SUNGAI

AWAL

INTERMEDIATE

LANJUT
 Karakteristik Tahapan Sungai

Karakteristik Muda Dewasa Tua

Saluran lurus berkelok bermeander

Bentuk lembah V U U lebar asimetri

Dasar lembah Bedrock, berjeram, Sebagian aluvial, Aluvial, tidak ada

air terjun berjeram, rapid jeram

Sedimentasi Hampir tidak ada Point bar Point bar, flood

plain
erosi Vertikal dominan Vertikal - lateral Lateral dominan

Hubungan Efluent atau tidak Umumnya efluent Umumnya influent

dengan air ada kontak (air sungai mengisi
tanah akifer)

Lebar lembah = lebar penampang < 10 x lebar >10 x lebar

basah penampang basah penampang basah
 Sinuosity ratio definition.

The continuum of variants of channel

platform. After Brierley and Fryirs (1992), adapted
from Church (1992) and Schumm (1977).
Transformation of a
straight channel with
a riffle–pool bed into
a meandering
channel. After Keller
(1972).
Aspects of meander
geometry.
(a) Meander wavelength.
(b) Radius of curvature.
(c) Typical channel
crosssections at pools (W to
X) and riffles (Y to Z).
Meandering
Examples of chute and neck cut-offs. Owl Creek, Alberta, Canada. Photograph
by Airphoto, Jim Wark.
Meandering sand-bed river, the Red River, Texas, United States. Photograph
by Airphoto, Jim Wark
Incised meanders, Colorado River, Arizona, United States. Photograph by
Airphoto, Jim Wark.
Mechanisms of braid development,
based on flume experiments of
Leopold and Wolman (1957) and
Ashmore (1991) and cartoons from
Ferguson (1993). After Knighton
(1998).
Main morphological features of a braided river. Deposition of sand and/or gravel
occurs on mid-channel bars.
Braided River
Braided River
Anastomosing River, Alaska, United States. Photograph by Airphoto, Jim Wark.
Anastomosing River
Rivers exist on a continuum from bedrock to alluvial and there are
also many mixed alluvial/bedrock channels.
 Rivers :
 Flow to the oceans,
 Drain to inland seas and lakes,
 Dry up completely before reaching the ocean.

 Each river drains an area of land called drainage basin

(catchment or watershed) which supplies water and
sediment to the channel.
The drainage basin is the area of land drained by each river.
The chief hydrological processes that influence the geomorphology of hillslopes
and streams. Water flows over and through landscapes in unconcentrated and
concentrated forms.
Classifications of channel
patterns.
 Parameters for describing meanders.

Meandering is favoured where banks resist erosion,

so forming deep and narrow channels.
Braided channels tend to form where :
 Stream energy is high;
 The channel gradient is steep;
 Sediment supply is high.
 Bank material is erodible, allowing the channel to shift
sideways with relative ease.
Fluvial systems are open systems  energy and materials are
exchanged with the surrounding environment.
Inputs :
 Water and sediment derived from the breakdown
of the underlying rocks.
 Biological material and solutes derived from
atmospheric inputs.
 Rock weathering and the breakdown of organic
material.
Outputs :
 Water and sediment move to the drainage basin,
where material is discharged to the ocean.
 Flow into inland lakes and seas, or dry up before
reaching the ocean.
 The loss of water by evaporation to the atmosphere.
 A certain amount of material is stored along the way.
 Water is stored in lakes and reservoirs, and
below the ground in the soil and aquifers.
 Sediment is stored when it is deposited in
channels, lake basins, deltas, alluvial fans
and on floodplains.

 This material may be released from storage at a later

stage.
 When a channel migrates across its floodplain,
eroding into formerly deposited sediments
which are then carried downstream.
Three types of system can be identified in fluvial
geomorphology :
 Morphological systems
 Cascading systems
 Process–response systems
Morphological systems
The form of each component of a morphological system is
related to the form of the other components in the system.

DINAMIKA ALIRAN SUNGAI VS LERENG

DINAMIKA ALIRAN SUNGAI VS LERENG
FLUVIAL DEPOSITIONAL LANDFORMS

 Alluvial bedforms.
 Floodplains. formed from debris deposited when the
river is in flood.
 Alluvial fans.
 Lacustrine deltas.
 River terraces.
Sections through floodplains. (a) A convex floodplain. (b) A flat floodplain.
Source: After Butzer (1976, 155, 159)
(a) Paired terraces. (b) Unpaired terraces. (Paired terraces, form where the vertical
downcutting by the river is faster than the lateral migration of the river channel.
Unpaired terraces, form where the channel shifts laterally faster than it cuts down)
(a) medium-energy non-cohesive meandering floodplains, (b) lowenergy cohesive
floodplains. Adapted from Nanson and Croke (1992).
Cascading systems
 Cascading system, refers to the flow of water and
sediment through the morphological system.
 Cascading systems are also called process systems or
flow systems.
 These flows follow interconnected pathways from
hillslopes to channels and through the channel network.
Process–response systems
 Morphological system and Cascading system interact as
a process–response system.
 There is a two-way feedback between process and form.
 Processes shape forms and forms influence the
way in which processes operate (rates and
intensity).

 A process–response system with its own inputs and

outputs :
 Production zone.
 Transfer zone.
 Deposition zone.
 Production Zone
where most of the sediment originates, being supplied to
the channel network by processes of erosion and the mass
movement of weathered rock material.

Transfer Zone
where the links between the channel and sediment
production, are not so strong. As the river approaches the
ocean, its gradient declines and the energy available for
sediment transport is greatly reduced.
Deposition Zones
The finest sediment reaches the ocean, as coarser
sediment tends to be deposited further upstream. Only a
certain proportion of all the sediment that is produced
within a drainage basin actually reaches the basin
outlet.
The fluvial system can be subdivided into three zones on the basis of the dominant
processes operating within each zone. These are the sediment production zone,
sediment transfer zone and sediment deposition zone. Adapted from Schumm (1977).
 Fluvial processes
 Erosion, transport and deposition of sediment in river
channels depend on the force exerted by the flowing
water and the size of sediment involved.
 Hjulstrom demonstrated the relationship between the
flow velocities required for the entrainment and the
deposition of sediment in relation to sediment size.
The ‘Hjulstrom’ curve, relating velocity to entrainment
and deposition of sediment of a range of sizes.
DRAINAGE NETWORK PATTERNS

 Water and sediment are transported from the hillslopes

to the basin outlet via the drainage network.
 The shape and density of drainage networks varies
considerably.
 Major control on drainage network morphology :
 The underlying geology.
 Topography, soils, tectonic history.
 Climate.
DRAINAGE NETWORK PATTERNS
 Dendritic. which have a random pattern, are found where
there are no strong geological controls.
 Parallel. Where there is a strong regional dip (slope).
 Trellis. are associated with regional dip, although in this
case structural controls are also important.
 Rectangular. Where two sets of structural controls run at
right angles to each other.
 Radial. develops as result of symmetrical erosion around
uplifted domes and volcanoes.
 Distributary drainage.
 Annular drainage has main streams arranged in a circular
pattern with subsidiary streams lying at right angles to
them.
Basic drainage patterns. Adapted from Morisawa (1985).
Drainage patterns controlled by structure or slope. Source: Mainly after Twidale
and Campbell (2005, 191) and adapted from Twidale (2004, 173)
Channel change in Swinhope Burn, Yorkshire. Source: After Warburton and Danks
(1998)
THE FLOW REGIME
 An important balance exists between the erosive force of
the flow (driving force) and the resistance of the
boundary to erosion (resisting force).
 Determines the ability of a river to adjust and
modify the morphology of its channel.

 Factors influencing the erosive power of a given flow is

its discharge (the volume of flow).
 Characteristics of the flow regime :
 Seasonal variations in discharge.
 The size and frequency of floods
 Frequency and duration of droughts.
Surface and subsurface hydrological pathways.
 Water reaching the soil surface may either enter the soil
by a process called infiltration or remain at the surface,
moving down-slope as overland flow.
 Infiltrated water either travels through the soil, parallel to
the surface, as through flow, or slowly percolates
downwards to the saturated zone, travelling as
groundwater flow.
 if the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity,
the soil cannot absorb all the water and there is excess
water, which ponds at the surface. This moves down
slope as Hortonian overland flow.
 Saturation overland flow, is generated when the soil is
totally saturated and therefore cannot take any more
water .
 The form of a channel is a function of the water and
sediment supplied to it.
 Flow and sediment supply both fluctuate through time,
 Continuous adjustment takes place through the
erosion, reworking and deposition of sediment.
 The river balance :
 Sediment Supply
 Streamflow.
 Driving Variable :
 Flow Regime
 Sediment Regime.
The driving variables and
boundary conditions that
control the form of a channel
reach.
Driving variables : Flow regime
 The flow in natural river channels is unsteady.
 Fluctuating through time in response to inputs of
precipitation to the drainage basin.
 Channels are shaped by a range of flows.
 Depends on its size, and also on the
frequency with which it occurs.
 Large floods can carry out a considerable amount
of geomorphological work.
 The cumulative effect of smaller, more frequent
flows may be more significant in shaping the
channel.
Driving variables : Sediment regime
 The supply of sediment varies through time. It is not only
the volume of sediment that is important but also its size
distribution.
 Fluctuations in the volume and size of sediment :
 Variations in sediment supply from the drainage
basin.
 Processes of sediment transfer through the
channel network.
 The balance between stream power and
sediment supply
 The Lane balance : The balance between the supply of
bedload and the stream power available to transport it.

 If the stream power is exactly sufficient to transport the

sediment load :
 Both sides of the scales are in balance.
 No erosion or deposition along the reach.

 An imbalance will occur if there is an increase in the

volume of the sediment load in relation to the available
stream power, with the result that the excess is deposited
along the reach.
The river balance. Generalised from the original diagram proposed by W. M.
Borlaug and E. W. Lane. From Gupta, 2011.
THE END.
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK..