Earth Surface Process

University of Malaya
SGES 1202 - Lecture
Rivers / Streams (running water)
Hydrological cycle Review

Drainage basins - divides
River systems & steep gradients (meandering,
braided rivers) - erosion & deposition balance
Shaping stream valleys landform change
Depositional landforms deltas, levees, alluvial
fans
Dr. Masatoshi Sone
Review: Surface Runoffs (Overland Flow)
Splash Erosion : Dispersal of fine particles

due to impact of rain drops
Unconcentrated (Sheet) Wash : Thin layer of
water moving over slopes during rainfall.
Concentrated Wash : Flow of water on slope
during rainfall in small & narrow channels
(Rills) or broad & deep channels (Gullys).
Overland flow can detach & transport fine
grained sediments (silt & clay sizes) on
slopes.
Most overland flow reaches the foots of
slopes in valleys where streams are found.
Note: On the oceans evaporation exceeds precipitation, whereas

on the lands precipitation exceeds evaporation. Thus, Surface
Runoff is an excess (36K km) from land. It is added to the ocean,
then the cycles are blanced.
Saline
groundwater
Groundwater
flow
3
A summary of the principal surface environments

Today, Streams and rivers, etc.
STREAMS & RIVERS

1. Bodies of water that flow from highland to
lowland areas along well defined channels
located in valleys;
2. only difference being that streams carry small
volumes of water.
3. Most flow to the sea or oceans, except for those
in inter-montane basins that often flow into
lakes.
4. Found in all areas of the world, though having
more active roles as agents of erosion &
deposition in areas with humid climates,
particularly in the humid tropics.
Drainage basin: An area influenced by a river & its

tributary streams. Limited by drainage divide.
Drainage basin analysis
1st order streams from

headwaters
Drainage basin: An area influenced by a river & its

tributary streams. Limited by drainage divide.
Two drainage basins separated by the divide
How to define/delimit/outline a drainage basin?
Identify dividing points of opposite 1st order streams and

trace them It is the dividing range of two basins.
Geological map of Peninsular Malaysia
10
Q.
Where are
drainage dividing
ranges for major
river basins in the
peninsula.
Pahang River Drainage

Basin
The longest river in Peninsular

Malaysia?
Two river systems (Sg. Jelai
and Sg. Tembeling sub-basins)
join at Kuala Tembeling to
become Sg. Pahang (Pahang
River).
Kuala river junction in Malay
The Main Range granite
massif forms the divide
between the Pahang R Basin
(East) and the Perak R Basin
(West).
Sg. Tembeling
Kuala Tembeling
Sg. Jelai
Kuala Tembeling Jetty

(entrance to Taman
Negara)
South
Sg. Pahang
(flowing down from Kuala Tembeling
towards Jerantut then Temerloh)
LONGITUDINAL PROFILE
Changes from Upstream to Downstream
A longitudinal profile is a
cross-section along the
length of a stream (red line
in the figure).
Note the concaveupward curve of the profile
A steeper gradient
upstream from the
headwaters and a gentler
gradient downstream.
STREAM CHANNEL
WIDTH (W) : Width of channel between river banks
measured along the surface.
DEPTH (D) : Difference in height between surface of
water and channel floor or bed. Depth usually
variable along cross-section between river banks.
CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA (A) : Area of cross-section
between river banks - measured perpendicular to the
banks.
WETTED PERIMETER (P) : That part of the crosssection that is in direct contact with the water.
Stream Discharge
The discharge of a stream is the

volume of water flowing past a
certain point in a given unit of
time.
Determined by multiplying a
streams cross-sectional area by
its velocity.
Discharge (m / sec) =
channel width (meters) x
channel depth (meters) x
velocity (m/sec)
1.
2.
3.
?
Amazon River 212,400 m/sec

Congo River
39,650
Yangtze
21,800
Sg. Pahang max 4~5,000 m/sec
# The Amazon R is responsible for about
20% of all the water reaching the ocean
via rivers.
River types
Four types of river channel recognised
Braided and meandering are most common in geological record
17
Nichols (1999)
Note: Vegetation cover & flat relief
Meandering river
Braided river
only from Silurian to the recent
Pre-Cambrian to the recent
Because of vegetation
Common in rain-forest tropics
18
The Baram River a Meandering River System
19
The Baram River
Gunung Mulu
Indonesia
A photo taken from

the airplane of Miri
- Kota Kinabalu line.
A typical
meandering
river form
Miri
Brunei
Numerous
oxbow lakes
Mt. Mulu near
top left corner
20
Aerial Photo by Masa
Formation of a meandering river
Oxbow
lake
21
The Bramahputra
A long river system changing from
braided to meandering types, flowing
from the Himalayas through Assam
and Bangladesh to the Bengal Bay.
Wikipedia
22
LONGITUDINAL PROFILE
- Variations in gradient & velocity
- Changing from Straight to braided to meandering
- Graded profile Equilibrium between erosion & deposition
Erosion
predominant
Deposition
predominant
River Evolution Valley Widening to form a floodplain
Time
INCREASED DISCHARGE FLOODS

Coarse sediments deposited close to channel (levees),
while finer sediment deposited further away (Backswamp deposits)
Flood Plain
= Fertile Soil
Now flooded.
Will repeat this later.
Development of
natural levees over
flooding episodes
Development of natural levees
The Baram Delta
28
Stages of development in an ideal delta

system development
A. Radially decreasing current
velocities from jet mouth, deposit
concentric arcs of sand, silt and
clay.
B. Delta protrudes, forcing a
channel through marginal
levees.
C. Channel mouth chokes, levee

ruptures and a new delta builds
out from the crevasse.
May eventually overlap one
after another (see Mississippi R.)
29
Selley, 2000
30
Many lobes over time
The overlap distribution of the postPleistocene lobes forming the modern

Mississippi delta
Since some 7,500 years ago.
31
Marshak
Different types of deltas
The Niger in W Africa Arc-shaped delta
The Nile Triangle shaped delta
The Mississippi A birds foot delta
32
SUMMARY
Streams drain land areas & transport sediment from
highland to lowland areas.
In highland areas, down-cutting of channels (linear
erosion) is dominant, whilst in lowland areas, lateral
movement of river channels is dominant.
Variations in velocity due to environmental factors
(especially rainfall), give rise to different sites of
erosion or deposition (i.e. different sizes of particles,
etc).
At river mouths, deposition predominates, giving
rise to deltas.

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University of Malaya

SGES 1202 - Lecture

Rivers / Streams (running water)

Hydrological cycle Review

Review: Surface Runoffs (Overland Flow)

Splash Erosion : Dispersal of fine particles

Note: On the oceans evaporation exceeds precipitation, whereas

A summary of the principal surface environments

STREAMS & RIVERS

Drainage basin: An area influenced by a river & its

1st order streams from

Drainage basin: An area influenced by a river & its

How to define/delimit/outline a drainage basin?

Identify dividing points of opposite 1st order streams and

Geological map of Peninsular Malaysia

Pahang River Drainage

The longest river in Peninsular

Kuala Tembeling Jetty

The discharge of a stream is the

Amazon River 212,400 m/sec

Note: Vegetation cover & flat relief

only from Silurian to the recent

Pre-Cambrian to the recent

The Baram River a Meandering River System

The Baram River

A photo taken from

Aerial Photo by Masa

Formation of a meandering river

River Evolution Valley Widening to form a floodplain

INCREASED DISCHARGE FLOODS

Development of natural levees

The Baram Delta

Stages of development in an ideal delta

C. Channel mouth chokes, levee

Many lobes over time

The overlap distribution of the postPleistocene lobes forming the modern

Different types of deltas

The Niger in W Africa Arc-shaped delta

The Nile Triangle shaped delta

The Mississippi A birds foot delta

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