Erosion
Erosion by streams
Streams erode because they have the ability to pick up rock fragments and transport them to a new location. The size of the fragments that can be transported depends on the velocity of the stream and whether the flow is laminar or turbulent. Turbulent flow can keep fragments in suspension longer than laminar flow. Streams can also eroded by undercutting their banks resulting in mass-wasting processes like slumps or slides. When the undercut material falls into the stream, the fragments can be transported away by the stream. Streams can cut deeper into their channels if the region is uplifted or if there is a local change in base level. As they cut deeper into their channels the stream removes the material that once made up the channel bottom and sides.
Stream deposits
Sudden
changes in velocity can result in deposition by streams.
Within a stream we have seen that the velocity varies
with position, and, if sediment gets moved to the lower
velocity part of the stream the sediment will come out
of suspension and be deposited. Other sudden changes
in velocity that affect the whole stream can also occur.
For example if the discharge is suddenly increased, as
it might be during a flood, the stream will overtop its
banks and flow onto the floodplain where the velocity
will then suddenly decrease. This results in deposition
of such features as levees and floodplains. If the gradient
of the stream suddenly changes by emptying into a flat-floored
basin, an ocean basin, or a lake, the velocity of the
stream will suddenly decrease resulting in deposition
of sediment that can no longer be transported. This can
result in deposition of such features as alluvial fans
and deltas. Floodplains and Levees - As a stream overtops
its banks during a flood, the velocity of the flood will
first be high, but will suddenly decrease as the water
flows out over the gentle gradient of the floodplain.
Because of the sudden decrease in velocity, the coarser
grained suspended sediment will be deposited along the
riverbank, eventually building up a natural levee. Natural
levees provide some protection from flooding because
with each flood the levee is built higher and therefore
discharge must be higher for the next flood to occur.
Terraces
Terraces are exposed former floodplain deposits that result when the stream begins down cutting into its flood plain (this is usually caused by regional uplift or by lowering the regional base level, such as a drop in sea level).
Alluvial fans
When
a steep mountain stream enters a flat valley, there is
a sudden decrease in gradient and velocity. Sediment
transported in the stream will suddenly become deposited
along the valley walls in an alluvial fan. As the velocity
of the mountain stream slows it becomes choked with sediment
and breaks up into numerous distributary channels.
