Water Erosion
Background
Erosion is the wearing away of sand soil or rock by water, or wind. Water erosion is the separation and removal of soil. Water erosion occurs by rain carrying away bits of soil and slowly washing away rock fragments (Society). Rushing streams and rivers wear away their banks, creating larger and larger valleys. Water erosion can occur on streams, river banks, sea shores and seaside cliffs. There are also different types of water erosion like sheet erosion. Sheet erosion is when water washes away soil from the surface. Another type of water erosion is splash erosion. Splash erosion is the movement of soil by a water droplet. Water erosion occurs more frequently in the spring because it rains more, the rain then washes away rock fragments. An example of water erosion is the colorado river. It cut deep into the land and formed the grand canyon.
Purpose
The purpose of this experiment is to examine the impact of water erosion on soil due to splash erosion.
Hypothesis
If the height of the water increases then the amount of soil erosion will increase because the speed of the water will create more pressure on the soil causing the soil to move further.
Procedure
Get a 600mL beaker and measure out 500mL of soil
Grab a tray and place the soil on the tray. Flip the beaker upside down on the tray and remove the beaker so that there is a pile of dirt on the tray.
Measure the height of the dirt. It should be 2 inches tall.
Grab a 250 mL graduated cylinder
The results shows us that the hypothesis between the river Loughton brook and the erosion shows that it gets wider and deeper due to many reasons such as vertical erosion, lateral erosion, hydraulic action and abrasion of rocks.
There are six different types of water erosion: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion, gully erosion, valley or stream erosion, and bank erosion. Splash erosion is when raindrops hit soil and small soil particles are displaced. Sheet erosion is when raindrops remove soil in thin layers. During rill erosion, small concentrated flow paths are created. “These paths create a sediment source and delivery system for hillslope erosion. Areas where precipitation rates exceed soil infiltration rates are more prone to this type of erosion. During gully erosion, water flows in narrow channels during or after heavy rains or melting snow. The gullies can erode to considerable depths. Valley or stream erosion is created by water flowing alongside land. It extends downward, deepening a valley, and extending the valley into the hillside. This occurs more frequently
At Nudgee Beach, erosion was found to have occurred on the edges of the mangrove forest and along the mudflat shorelines. Erosion is typically influenced by natural factors and occurs when pieces of weathered rock or soil are moved – typically by wind and water – from one place to another. Shorelines with lots of sediment and sand are more inclined to be effected by erosional progression. Erosion may also be provoked and accelerated by human interference. For example, if the decision to clear trees and plants from an area is made, erosion is likely to occur as the root systems of plants work to hold the soil in place. If these root systems are removed and erosion does occur, environmental conditions – such as; landslides and flooding – are more likely to take place. Erosion may also cause other plants to tip over, have their underground roots exposed and damaged and contribute to the pollution of local waters; as a result of mud and soil runoff [26]. Erosion at Nudgee Beach was likely to have been influenced by natural factors; however, the development and extension of the Kedron Brook golfing course may contribute to the acceleration of erosional processes and further damage the mangrove
There are 2 types of beaches. One is erosion dominant and the other is deposition
Any rainfall increases fluvial erosion. When rain does fall, this creates ephemeral streams causing water erosion due to fast forces of water. Flash floods are possible as well creating even more erosion.
If you have ever lived in proximity to coastal areas you may have seen coastline erosion first hand. The beaches you frequent during the summer may seem to be getting smaller and smaller every year. Why does your favorite beach seem to be disappearing? Coastal erosion is to blame. The waves, wind, tides and currents all play a part in the mechanism that is coastal erosion. When water and wind batter the shoreline sediments are carried out to sea and deposited on the sea floor or at other points along the coastline. This is called an erosional coastline. This erosion may be very apparent or seem to have happened overnight when it happens due to a large storm or extremely high tide.
Environments where sediments are elated and deposited quickly are high energy environments like ocean shores, or rushing rivers. Eco systems where small particles of sediments are often deposited in low energy areas. This is found in regions where there are deep lakes or swamps. Landforms shaped by erosion are tall, jagged structures with grazes in layers of rock and landforms produced by deposition are flat and low lying. Landforms created by deposition are alluvial fans, sandbars, moraines, eskers, and deserts. While landforms created by erosion are mountains, valleys, hoodoos, sea arches, sea caves, plains, sea cliff and
Erosion is mainly caused by two main natural forces: water and wind. In Southwest Louisiana, erosion by water is one of the main issues we have as a coastal state. There are different factors that must be considered when looking at water erosion
The processes of water erosion that were listed above are also main contributors to the elevation levels of Michigan.
Soil Erosion - When the top layer of soil is worn down due to too much water, ice, or wind.
Soil erosion threatens soil fertility due to nutrient and organic matter loss, while also decreasing water quality through increased turbidity (umich.edu). During the last dust bowl in the 1930's more than 30 million hectares were severely damaged in parts of Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado (umich.edu). The Dust Bowl was primarily caused by the two factors of: 1) loss of long rooted grasses due to the plowing of the prairies and 2) a period of relative drought (umich.edu).
This is incredibly important in our area. With the amount of water and wind we have, these have played a major role in our formation. The waves crash into rocks and the shore and cause it to make a new formation. Wind also carries particles, sand, and dirt and carries it to new places. This cause the land that it is picked up from to change, along with the land that it is dropped at. This causes new formation in two different places. Water erosion and wind erosion have had major impacts in Michigan to help form us to what we have come to be and will continue to help form the land.
Running water moves sediment in the processes of erosion and deposition, causing different types of landforms. As you can tell in the picture above, Michigan’s topography plays a huge role on where the faster and slower flowing rivers are located and the transportation of the materials in the water depends on the speed of the rivers. Erosion is the breaking down of those materials by the agent, water. The water can erode the channel laterally and vertically, in the end, making the channel wider and deeper. There are different types of erosion: hydraulic action, corrasion, corrosion, cavitation, and attrition. Hydraulic action (above on the right) takes place at rapids and waterfalls because the force of the water removes rock particles from the bed and banks of the river. A great example of this in Michigan is Canyon Falls on the Sturgeon River. At the waterfall, the water is rushing at a high velocity, especially in the spring, causing rock particles to move downstream, creating a wider and deeper river. Eventually the rivers velocity begins to decrease and particles start to deposit. This could also occur because lack of precipitation or an increase in evaporation. The deposition of materials at different locations of the river that they began changes the shape of the river, and effects Michigan as a whole in the end. The particles can travel all the way to the mouth of the river, in this case, Lake Superior, causing
The seepage of ground water and the overland flow of surface water runoff also contribute to the erosion of shorelines (http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/MMGI/Chapter6/ch6-4.html). The role of ground water is most important wherever permeable subsurface layers of sand are exposed in high bluffs along coastal bays. In these areas, the seepage of ground water into the waterway can cause erosion at the point of exit. The surface flow of upland runoff can also dislodge sediments through the creation of rills and gullies on the shoreline banks and bluffs (http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/MMGI/Chapter6/ch6-4.html).
bundles of fine threads, rusty brown, they have a fishy smell, and are common in