Downstream change in the processes of riverbank erosion along the River Swale, UK

Grove, James Robin (2001). Downstream change in the processes of riverbank erosion along the River Swale, UK. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that riverbank erosion processes altered with increasing distance from a river source. The River Swale, northern England, was monitored at nine sites throughout its 109-km length, from December 1995 – March 1998. Erosion pins, bank-edge surveying, and Photo-Electronic Erosion Pins (PEEPs) were used to determine rates and timings of erosion. The rates were compared against a range of environmental variables based on temperature, river stage, and precipitation at 14-day intervals for erosion pins and 15-minute intervals for PEEPs. This allowed processes of erosion to be inferred.

Catchment erosion rates were modelled using quadratic equations, simulating a mid-basin peak of 3.58 m a\(^{-1}\). Rates of erosion were low upstream, 0.07 m a\(^{-1}\), and also downstream, 0.12 m a\(^{-1}\). Subaerial processes, especially frost action, dominated upstream. Fluvial entrainment was most influential mid-catchment. Mass failures were most efficient downstream, but were more frequent mid-catchment. Piping, sapping and cantilever failures did not follow the same trends and were modelled separately. The length of the erosion season increased downstream as the number of active processes increased.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

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