Measurements in stream studies

Objectives
By the end of the lesson learners should be able to measure the following,

 The depth of the stream

 The width of the stream
 The velocity of the river or speed of flow
 The size of the bed load of the river
 The shape of the bed load
 The gradient or steepness of the stream.
 The wetted perimeter

Equipment needed for taking measurements in streams

 A notebook or a well-designed recording sheet
 Map of the study area
 A ruler, pencil or pen
 A tape measure
 A long rope
 Ranging poles
 Stop watch
 Metric ruler
 A clinometer
 A float or a flow meter
 Callipers or a cotton thread
 Rubber boots and waterproof clothing

How to take measurements

a) The depth of the stream
To measure the depth of the stream you will need the following equipment,

 Three ranging poles

 A long rope
 A tape measure or a ruler
 Metric ruler
Procedure

 Tie a knot every 50cm to mark equal intervals along the rope.
 Drive in the ranging at the banks of the river marking the waterline.
 Stretch the rope across the channel and tire it on the ranging poles.
 Measure the depth of the stream at each interval using the third ranging pole or
metric ruler.
b) The width of the stream

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To measure the width of the stream you will need the following equipment;

 A tape measure
 A long rope
 Two ranging poles
Procedure

 Drive in the ranging poles at the banks of the river marking the waterline.
 Stretch the rope across the stream from one ranging pole to the other.
 Tie the rope at the poles to mark the distance of the width.
 Measure the marked length of the rope using a tape measure.

c) Speed of flow or velocity of the stream

To measure the speed of flow of the stream you will need the following equipment,

 A long rope
 A float and a stop watch
 Flow meter

Procedure
Using a flow meter
 Insert the flow meter in the river and hold it so that it records speed just below the
surface.
 Take the readings in several different places across the stream.
 Calculate the average of the different readings, note: readings are given in m/s.
 Take the reading at different depths or positions around a meander bend.

Using a float, such as a piece of wood, an orange or tennis ball

 Measure a distance of 10m downstream (along the river) and mark it using ranging
poles.
 Let the float go, time how long it takes to cover 10m.
 Do this several times at each location across the stream, you can do five sites
across(A,B,C,D,E)
 Calculate the average to get the average speed in metres per second (m/s).

Study table1 below and answer the question that follows:

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Table 1

Site along the A B C D E

river Left Right
bank bank
1 1.1 3.7 4.5 5.5 1.5
2 1.2 3.9 5.1 4.3 1.0
Speed of surface flow in metres per second

a) Calculate the average speed of flow at site 1. [1]

b) Explain why the float must be timed more than once at each location.[1]
c) Describe the changes in velocity as one moves from the left bank to the right bank.
[2]
Answer: a) 1.1 + 3.7 + 4.5 + 5.5 + 1.5 = 16.3 /5 =3.26m/s b) To get reliable readings.
c) - velocity is low at the banks but high in the middle in the river.
- velocity is low at the left bank, it increases in the middle and decreases at the right bank.

d) The steepness of the stream or gradient

To measure the gradient of the stream you will need the following equipment,

 Clinometer
 Two ranging poles
Procedure

 Using a tape measure, measure a distance of 10m downstream and mark the
distance using ranging poles.
 One student should stands at one ranging pole and the other stands 10m
downstream with the clinometer. Take three readings towards the person upstream
and three readings towards the student downstream. One student should calculate
the average of all six readings in degrees.
Example: in this example students divided themselves into two groups, one group was in
site A and another group in site B downstream. They measured the gradient, recorded
and calculated the average for site A, calculate the average for site
Reading Site A Site B Table 2
1 2.5 1.8
2 2.5 2.8 Answer: if you calculated well the answer is 2.90
3 1.9 4.0 1.8 +2.8 + 4.0 + 4.0 + 2.0 + 2.0 + 3.0 = 17.6 17.6/6 =
4 1.8 4.0 2.90
5 3.0 2.0
6 3.0 3.0
Average 2.50

e) The size of bedload

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To measure the size of bedload you need the following,

 Callipers or pebbleometer
 A thin cotton thread and a ruler
Procedure

 Make a random sample of pebbles on the stream bed.

 You can use the rope marked equal intervals that you used to measure depth, at
each interval pick a pebble or stone. Do this across the stream.
 Find the longest side or axis from all the selected pebbles, measure it with a ruler or
callipers. A pebbleometer works similar to the callipers, it measures the diameter of
pebbles. Place pebbles on the ruler against the fixed block of the instrument adjust
the second block to touch the pebble, then take the reading.
 If you do not have the callipers, tie the thin cotton thread around the longest side of
the pebble and mark the length on the thread. Measure the length using a ruler,
readings are in cm.

f) The shape of the bedload

To measure the shape of the bedload you will need the following;

 An official scale of roundness.

Procedure

 Randomly select pebbles across the stream and classify them according to their
angular shape or roundness using the published scale of roundness.

g) The wetted perimeter

This is the part touched by water in a river it includes the banks and the bed. This
measurement will help us know how much of the river’s energy is lost to friction by hitting
rocks and pebbles as it flows over two sites. To measure the wetted perimeter you will need
the following:

 A chain
 A tape measure
Procedure

 Start at the point where the surface water touched the left bank, place the chain and
move along the bottom of the stream over rocks and pebbles to where the surface
water touched the right bank.
 Take the chain out, place it on the ground and measure the wet part of the chain
using a tape measure, record in metres. The higher the value the more efficient the
stream will be in transporting its load.

Activity

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After taking all these measurements you are now able to calculate other characteristics of
the stream such as the cross-sectional area and the discharge of the river.
a) Cross-sectional area
 The average depth multiplied by width (d x w)
 If the cross-sectional area has been plotted on a scaled graph paper, it can be
calculated by adding up the squares.
b) Discharge
 The cross-sectional area multiplied by the average speed of flow.
 The equation is written as follows,
Q= A x V
Where Q is discharge (cubic metres per second)
A is cross-sectional area &
V is velocity

Study the table below and calculate the cross-sectional area and the discharge.
Table 3

Sites Width Average Velocity Cross- Discharge

downstrea (m) depth (m/s) sectional
m (m) area (m2)
A 7.00 0.08 4.3 0.56 2.40
B 8.50 0.65 4.5
C 10.50 1.75 5.5

a) Calculate the cross-sectional area for site A and B. [2]

b) Describe the changes in the cross-sectional area as one moves downstream use data
from table 3.[2]
c) Calculate the discharge for site B and C.[2]
Answer
a) To calculating the cross-sectional area, we say depth multiplied by width(d x w)
 Site B 0.65 X 8.5 = 5.52m2
 Site C 1.75 X 10.5 = 18.37m2 [2]
b) As one moves further downstream the cross-sectional area increases, in site A it is
small 0.56m2, in site B it increases to 5.52m2 and in site C it is larger 18.37m2.[2]
c) To calculate discharge , we say cross-sectional area X Velocity;
 Site B 5.5 X 4.5 = 24.75 cubic metres per second
 Site C 18.37 X 5.5 = 101.03 cubic metres per second