Geography with Sandeep Sir

Channel Morphology

Rain water flowing down slopes comes together to form a stream flow. The
space where a stream flow runs is a channel. A river is the general term for a channel and the
water in it. The area supplying water into a channel is a drainage basin. The boundary
between drainage basins is a water divide. A river system is composed of the main stream
and many tributaries. River morphology is explained by channel patterns and channel forms,
and is decided by such factors as discharge, water surface slope, water velocity, depth and
width of the channel, and river bed materials, etc. These factors are not independent but inter-
related to each other.

The study of channel related aspects like channel pattern, channel

geometry and the factors controlling these forms is called as Channel Morphology. The
factors that govern and affect the channel are the processes by which a channel is modified.
The channel morphology also includes studying the network of tributaries that join to the
main river channel within the drainage basin Channel morphology has become an
increasingly important subject for analyzing the health of rivers and associated fish
populations, particularly since the popularization of channel classification and assessment
methods. Morphological data can help to evaluate the flows of sediment and water that
influence aquatic and riparian habitat.

Channel development is controlled by two factors:

 water flow or discharge (in terms of Volume and velocity) and

 Sediment movement

These two factors are governed by the channel slope or gradient. The channel
gradient varies from steep to gentle slope depending on the altitudinal variation that a channel
is crossing by. The mutual inter-relation of these parameters may be qualitatively described
by the Lane's Principle (also known as the Lane's relationship) that states the product of
the sediment load and bed grain size is proportional to the product of discharge and channel
slope.

Channel Structure:

Channel Structure consists of channel banks, channel bed and Thalweg.

Channel Bed: the main path taken by the river, through which it flows, is called the channel
bed.
Channel Banks: the two sides of the river bed are called channel banks.

Thalweg: It is continuous line joining the lowest points in a stream channel.

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Factors Controlling Channel Morphology:

There are two set of factors that control channel morphological aspects such as channel
pattern and channel movement.

1. Independent Factors:

These are the factors that are imposed on the watershed. These are related to
landscape aspects and control channel morphology such as geology, climate, and human
(Figure). The geology of a watershed is determined by processes acting at the landscape and
can include endogenic processes such as volcanism, tectonics, and, to a lesser extent, surface
processes such as erosion and deposition. Within a watershed, these processes control the
distribution, structure and type of bedrock, surficial materials, and topography (Montgomery
1999). Climate is also regarded an independent factor at the landscape scale as it is decisive
in controlling the amount of rainfall and water flow in stream channel. Human actions on the
landscape can also significantly alter the watershed conditions. The geologic, climatic, and
human conditions to which a watershed is subjected determine the dependent landscape

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variables of sediment supply, stream discharge, and vegetation (Montgomery and Buffington
1993; Buffington et al. 2003). An additional important independent variable is time.

2. Dependent Factors:

These are those variables that respond and adjust to the independent
conditions. Channel morphology is the result of the combined influence of these dependent
landscape variables, and the channel responses to changes in these variables by adjustments
in one or many of the dependent channel variables (Figure) Sediment supply is determined by
the frequency, volume, and calibre of material delivered to the channel. Stream discharge
includes the frequency, magnitude, and duration of stream flows. The variability in stream
discharge both temporally and spatially exerts a large influence on channel morphology. The
third variable that influences channel is riparian vegetation as that controls bank erodibility as
well as near-bank hydraulic conditions, and is also a source of in-channel large woody debris
(LWD).

Classic models depicted channel morphology as primarily a function of

streamflow and sediment transport rate, where transport rate equals sediment supply for
equilibrium conditions (e.g., Schumm 1971). But these models did not explain the role of
vegetation or other boundary conditions, which plays a crucial role in determining channel
morphology. Besides, riparian vegetation, important boundary conditions include elements
found within the stream channel, as well as those that may influence the channel‟s ability to
migrate laterally and (or) build vertically. The most important boundary conditions include:

 Channel gradient that is controlled by valley slope, as the maximum possible

gradient that a stream channel can have is dependent on valley slope; and
 bank composition and structure, which influence bank erodibility as determined
by the sedimentology and geotechnical properties of the material bounding the
channel;
 bedrock and other non-erodible units (such as colluvial material, compact tills,
and lag glacio-fluvial deposits), which may limit lateral and vertical channel
migration and determine stream channel alignment;
 erodible sediment stored in valley bottoms in floodplains, fans, or terraces
(including alluvial sediments; lacustrine, marine, and glacial outwash deposits;
and fine-textured colluvium);
 Human channel alterations, such as bridge crossings, and flood protection
works.

These boundary conditions are primarily influenced by the geomorphic history

of a landscape, as well as the history of human intervention. The current morphology of a
stream is, therefore, a product of both present-day and historic watershed processes.

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Channel Processes:
Erosion:

Running water carries out two processes. One is erosion and the other is
corrosion. Erosion is a hydraulic action and is derived from the energy of running water.
Gravel being brought by running water scours the channel and removes sediment from the
river bed. Erosion makes a channel broader and deeper. These processes are also called
lateral erosion and deepening erosion respectively. If deepening erosion predominates, a
canyon is formed. Lateral erosion forms a channel with a broader river bed. Stream water
reacts chemically with rocks and dissolves them. This process is called corrosion. Karst
landforms composed of calcareous limestone provide a well-known example created mainly
by corrosion.

Valleys in mountains can be very deep. Deep valleys are formed not only by
stream water but also by the effects of weathering. The rocks composing slopes have been
weathered for a long period of time, and become rock fragments or rock wastes including
other fine materials. Gravity, in combination with heavy rain falling on the slopes, causes the
weathered materials to fall down into the valley bottom. This process results in downstream
extension of the valley and retreat of the upper slopes. The weathered materials deposited in a
valley bottom are scoured by running water and carried to the lower reaches.

Transportation:

The higher the water velocity, the more capacity a river has for transporting
sediment load. There are three different processes in transporting sediment load. They are
corrosion, suspension and traction. Corrosion is the process in which stream water corrodes
rocks and brings them invisibly into solution. Such fine materials as clay, silt, fine sand and
materials lighter than water are transported in the water or on the water surface without
contact with the river bed. This process is called suspension, and materials carried in
suspension are the suspended loads. Suspended load creates the turbidity of stream water.
Gravel of larger diameter slides or rolls, and sand hops or bounds on a river bed. These
processes are called traction. Sediment load carried by traction is known as bed load.

Sedimentation:

A flood caused by heavy rain carries a huge volume of bed load from
mountains to the plain. When a flood flows from the mountains to a plain, the capacity to
transport bed load is suddenly reduced. Particles of bed load are deposited in order of their
size, and an alluvial plain is formed. An alluvial fan composed of gravel is formed in the
uppermost reaches of an alluvial plain. The surface of an alluvial fan is like a segment of a
cone. The radial profile toward the lower reach is concave and the cross-sectional profile is
convex. A delta being developed near a river mouth consists of fine materials and sand. The
morphology of a delta is derived from the interaction of fluvial and marine processes. If
neither of these two processes is superior to the other, an arcuate delta is likely to be formed.
This form indicates a state of maturity in a delta. In the case of sediment load entering a calm

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bay, a „bird foot delta‟ is developed. In some cases, strong coastal currents and sea waves
move the sediment supplied by river, and a cuspate delta with several lines of sand bar can
form. A flood plain consisting of natural levees and back swamps occupies the transitional
area between an alluvial fan and a delta. A natural levee is composed of sand and silt. Clayey
deposits distribute in back swamps are lower and wetter than natural levees.

The channels on an alluvial fan are interconnected and show a braided pattern.
When a large flood flows down from mountains, the channels on an alluvial fan often change
their course, and the new born channel is maintained until the next flood. The former channel
is abandoned and is supplied water only by groundwater. The lower reaches of the abandoned
river remain as a feature on floodplains and deltas.

A Graded River:

As erosion proceeds, the gradient of a river bed becomes progressively

gentler, and the energy of running water decreases. Eventually the capacity of running water
for transporting sediment load will come to match the supply. In this condition, neither
erosion nor sedimentation occurs on the river bed and its gradient does not vary. Such rivers
are named graded rivers. Although the gradient of a river bed does not change, the materials
composing the bed are removed and replaced. The gradient of a river bed of a graded river
decreases gradually towards the lower reaches, and the longitudinal cross-section of the
channel conforms almost to an exponential line. When a sudden change occurs in the gradient
of part of a channel, almost all the river system might be affected. Such changes can be
natural or human–made, such as construction of dikes and bridges; these changes break the
state of equilibrium.

Rejuvenation and River Terrace:

Rejuvenation occurs when a channel being in a state of equilibrium or

progressive sedimentation changes its predominant process to erosion. The main causes of
rejuvenation are uplift of the ground, lowering of sea level due to glacial eustasy (lowering of
base level), decrease of sediment load and increase of discharge due to climate change, etc.
Various landforms are formed by reactivated channel process.

River Terrace

When channel rejuvenation occurs, a channel begins to deepen and a new

gorge is formed in an alluvial plain. As a result, the surface of the former alluvial plain
becomes higher than the river bed, and river water ceases to overflow onto it. The former
alluvial plain then becomes a river terrace. A river terrace has two components: terrace
surface and terrace slope. If sedimentation and erosion are repeated again and again, several
steps of a river terrace can be formed.

Physical weathering predominated in high mountains during the last glacial

age, supplying an abundance of rock fragments. Valley bottoms were buried by very thick
deposits. The supply of rock fragments decreased in the post-glacial age, however, and
rejuvenation occurred to form river terraces. River terraces formed by climate change are

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called a climatic terrace. Since a climatic terrace has a steeper gradient than an alluvial plain
formed under the recent climate, these two surfaces intersect each other in the lower reaches
and the former is buried under the latter.

Incised River

Usually, channels in a flood plain are meandering. A meander is a sinuous

bend in a river, and a river may meander continuously for hundreds of kilometres through a
flood plain. The term is derived from the River Meanderes in Turkey. If a meandering
channel has been rejuvenated, a channel begins to under-cut a river bed while keeping a
meandering course. As a result, a meandering valley is formed, and the river running in the
valley is called an incised river. If under-cutting proceeds rapidly, the valley walls can have
bilateral symmetry. This type of meandering is named an entrenched meander. If the position
of a channel is gradually moved, this type of meandering is called an ingrown meander. In the
case of an ingrown meander, the valley wall of the undercut slope becomes steeper, and
asymmetrical valley slopes are created.

Antecedent River

When a part of a drainage basin is uplifted by crustal movement, rejuvenation

of channels is initiated. If uplift movement is slower than under-cutting, the channel course is
kept and a gorge is formed. A river that forms a gorge along a meandering course is called an
antecedent river. If uplift movement is faster than under-cutting, the river bed becomes
discontinuous on either side of the uplifted area. The upper reaches of the river are dammed
up, and a nick point appears on the downstream side. The nick point, the source of the
truncated river, moves back toward the upper course, often creating a waterfall. Another
cause of development of a nick point is that the rate of erosion of rocks is larger in the lower
reaches than it is in the upper reaches. Niagara Falls is a typical example of this.

River Capture:

When rapid head erosion proceeds into an adjacent drainage basin, the valley
head eventually works its way towards another channel, and it becomes connected with the
upper reaches of the formerly separate basin. This phenomenon is called river capture. The
point where river capture takes place is called an elbow of capture. The lower reaches of the
captured river are deprived of the headwaters and a dry valley named a beheaded river or a
wind gap remains. On the other hand, there is an increase in the discharge of the river with
the enlarged drainage basin and under-cutting is accelerated to form a gorge. River capture
can happen several times in the evolution of a drainage basin.

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Channel Classification:

The channels can be classified into different categories based on different

criteria. These criteria include the constituent material of river channel and shape or pattern
of the river channel. The pattern of the channel is described as channel form. Channels exist
in a variety of forms. There are a wide variety of stream channel types based on its forms,
such as Single Thread Sinuous Rivers, Wandering Rivers or meandering river, Braided
Rivers, etc. enclosed by the materials of its bed and banks.

Channel Types

Based on material of river channel Based on pattern of river channel

Bedrock Braided
Alluvial Plan or
Channel Sinous Meandered Channel or
Channel Straight
River Channel Anastomisi
Channels
ng Channel

Bedrock Channel:

When the river bed has the cover of rocks rather than the sediment cover
and the river erodes into the rock. These are the channels that flow through non-erodible
materials (e.g., bedrock, coarse colluvium, and non-erodible glacial deposits) and their
boundary conditions tend to dominate the channel morphology. This type of channel usually
has a limited sediment supply and a morphology that is largely determined by the structure
and composition of the material through which it flows. Bedrock channels, for example,
frequently run along faults or other geologic planes of weakness within the rock. Overall,
these channels are relatively insensitive to disturbances, including disturbances from changes
occurring upstream (i.e., the channel is relatively stable), but bedrock channels are very
effective at transferring disturbances from upstream to downstream reaches.

Alluvial Channel:

When the river cuts the river-transported rock debris, or alluvium, these are
referred to as the alluvium channel. These channels are more regular.

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Schumm (1985) has proposed a more detailed channel classification that

included three categories: (1) bedrock channel, (2) semi-controlled channel, and (3) alluvial
channel; but this classification was found to be not addressing the variable geotechnical
properties associated with the landforms.

So Kellerhals et al. 1976, has suggested that the categories should be based on
the materials that determine channel bed and bank strength and the channel‟s threshold of
erodibility. Based on this, three categories of materials constituting channel could be
identified (1) non-erodible, (2) semi-erodible, and (3) erodible. Although, these terms (as
opposed to the conventional “nonalluvial” and “alluvial”) are more useful, but by definition
these are contradictory, as all alluvial material is erodible and many non-alluvial materials are
also highly erodible (e.g., marine and glaciofluvial deposits). Similarly, some alluvial
materials are far less erodible than others; for instance, armoured channel beds developed by
fluvial processes are much more resistant to movement than other alluvium such as gravel-
bar deposits, which are rearranged on an annual basis.

The other classification is based on the shape assumed by the river channel,
called as planform pattern. In the words of Leopold (1957) “Channel pattern is used to
describe the plan view of a reach of river as seen from an airplane, and includes meandering,
braiding, or relatively straight channels. Natural channels characteristically exhibit alternating
pools or deep reaches and riffles or shallow reaches, regardless of the type of pattern.” The
shape of the channel is largely decided by the sinuosity of the river. Sinuosity refers to the
ratio of the measured channel distance divided by the straight-line distance of the valley from
the beginning of the channel reach to the end of the channel reach.

Mollard (1973) identified 17 planform channel types that were related to both
the physiographic environment in which channels flowed, and the materials that made up the
channel bed and banks. He based this channel pattern classification on the factors controlling
morphology, specifically streamflow, sediment supply, the relative dominance of fluvial
transport processes, and the materials within which the channel is formed.

Church (1992) classified channel patterns on the basis of the calibre and
volume of sediment supply that in turn decides the sinuosity of the river channel. He has
separated the patterns into phases of river channel flow during its upper course to lower
course, related to how the supplied sediment gets transported.

On a more simplistic scale, channels can be categorized into four types, based
on the pattern taken by the river channel;
1. Straight River Channel: For channels with moderate-sized bed material (such as
gravel-bed streams), channels with moderate sediment supply usually have a “straight
river channel”.
2. Sinuous River Channel: As the channel bends slightly with the increase in the
sediment load, the channel is called “sinuous river channel”.

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3. Meandering River Channel: As the supply of sediments exceeds the channel‟s

capacity to transport the additional sediment, the channel may take a zig-zag shape
called as “meandering channel”. The channel may break into two or more individual
channels. When the channel is not too active it can divide and recombine around
stable, vegetated islands; these are called wandering channels.
4. Braided River Channel: In other situations, the channel becomes too active for
stable vegetated islands to develop, and the system divides into numerous individual
channels that divide and recombine around unstable gravel bars; these are called
“braided channels.” Anastomosing rivers or streams are similar to braided rivers in
that they consist of multiple interweaving channels but they typically consist of a
network of low-gradient, narrow, deep channels with stable bank.

River Morphology in India:

River morphology is a scientific field that concerns with changes in river

forms in plan and cross section that result because of erosion and sedimentation process. The
principal elements are the dynamics of sediment transport and river flow. Studies on the river
morphology provide important information required for the management of water resources,
construction along the river banks and in mitigating hazards such as floods, etc.

Approaches to study River Morphology in India:

India is a land with long history of geological and tectonic activity that has
shaped the physical appearance of its surface features. The land is thus one of both long
timescales and diversity in terms of topographical or spatial scales modified by different
climatic processes. This makes studying river morphology in India interesting as there is a
wide variation of fluvial characteristics in our river systems. For example, there is a great
variety of channel and basin characteristics, sediment flow and deposit characteristics, river
discharge patterns, and so on.

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The unpredictable character of seasonal rain in the Monsoons in India can

encourage diverse behaviour in river flow that can alter channel or basin characteristics and
result in floods, changes in drainage patterns and sediment deposition. With river basins
being the major source of irrigation in a flood prone country such as ours, where land is
mostly used for agriculture, the studies on river behaviour attain considerable significance.
Early studies on river morphology in India were mostly carried out by hydraulic engineers
who attempted to understand river characteristics in terms of their flow pattern.

Although contemporary studies still look to understand river morphology in

terms of the unpredictability of river systems, in recent years the shift in emphasis has been
moving towards process-based research in river morphology. This reflects a change from
studies on basin morphometry and on drainage networks to studies that undertook to
understand the processes at work in terms of the special characteristics of the monsoon-
influenced river systems in India (Kale, 2002). Studies of river morphology in contemporary
times utilize a great number of technological tools as well such as instruments utilized in
field-studies and the use of satellite technology through remote sensing.

Studies on river morphology first look to identify the order of streams and the
river reaches, or the stretches, through the length of the rivers. In this the demarcation of
cross-section lines in the river basins is important to identify areas of flows. The second step
involves data collection, which can occur through field surveys or through data collected with
the help of remote sensing. Both methods can involve the use of considerably sophisticated
technology. Remote sensing in particular can provide large amounts of information in terms
of temporal and spatial scales. The data from both the methods can be used in the validation
and calibration of mathematical and/or hydraulic models.

On the basis of this data, qualitative or quantitative studies can be undertaken

to understand the behaviour of rivers. The qualitative aspects in studies on river morphology
include analysis of structure, the stage of landform development in terms of drainage pattern,
and process-based studies in terms of stage of landform development and its relations to river
discharges. The quantitative aspects in the characteristics of river morphology studies include
width in terms of river banks, flow characteristics, the characteristics of the river bed, and
transport of sediments, river platforms, river bars and shoals, energy slopes of flowing rivers,
river channel migration, and so on.

Uses of Studies on River Morphology

An understanding of river morphology and the behaviour of rivers provides a

scientific approach in considerations of the design and planning of water management
projects and also provide solutions to various problems that might arise in terms of hazards
such as floods. Many times the problems in river morphology can be intertwined such that
one can influence the other.

Sarkar (2016) of the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee identifies

problems in river morphology which can be natural or man-made. The natural problems in

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river morphology can for example include the effects of rainfall on river flows, changes in
river course that can sometimes be frequent, one river avulsing (forming a new channel) into
another, river capturing, diversion of river current towards the banks because of heavy shoal
formation, changes in the meandering pattern of rivers, instability due to sudden increases in
silt load such as through landslides joining upstream flows, river bed aggradation (increase in
land elevation) due to deposits of sediments resulting in overflowing of banks and even
floods in some instances, erosion of banks by hill streams, the effects of seismic activity on
river bed slopes, rivers behaving in an erratic manner in deltaic areas, shoal formation
creating navigational issues, and so on.

Man-made problems in river morphology can include for example

downstream degradation of morphological features of a river due to the construction of a
barrage or dam, effects on upstream river width due to the construction of a barrage or dam,
effects on river flow regimes due to flood embankments, the effects of activities over
extracting sand and boulders from river beds and from areas close to rivers, the effects of
inter-basin transfers on river morphology, effects due to activities undertaken by farmers
throughout the river reach, effects due to channelling or dredging of river beds, the effects of
constructing bathing ghats, the effects of heavy urbanization by the river banks, and so on
(Sarkar, 2016). There can thus arise many natural and man-made problems in rivers and
many a time these problems form part of the needs in managing water resources from the
rivers.

Using Technology to Study River Morphology

The contemporary age of employment of sophisticated technology to validate

and calibrate mathematical and/or hydraulic models to aid studies of river morphology help
in better achieving the need to systematically identify the actual and possible environmental
effects of changes in river landscapes and flow regimes. The analysis also needs to evaluate
these effects in terms of probability and/or magnitude. The use of technology helps in
assessing river dynamics as can be seen in the study of the Brahmaputra River. Sarkar, Garg
& Sharma (2011) analyze the Remote Sensing-Geographical Information System (RS-GIS)
based assessment of river dynamics of the river Brahmaputra in the state of Assam in India.
The integrated RS-GIS-based assessment covered the course of the river from Dibrugarh until
Dhubri near the border with Bangladesh covering a stretch of about 620 km.

The information gained from analyzing satellite data using IRS 1A LISS-I and
IRS-P6 LISS-III satellite images pertained not only to data on channel configuration for the
river but also brought about significant other findings in terms of river morphology in the
Brahmaputra. The RS-GIS-based assessment for example, was able to bring out changes in
river morphology in the Brahmaputra including changes in the main channel, and also
reaches in the river banks that were stable or not stable. The assessment was able to provide
updated information in terms of both precise temporal and large spatial scales that substitute
for cumbersome processes in the field in taking measurements. The use of technology thus in
contemporary times is becoming more and more widespread, although field studies are
required for particular site-specific inquiries. The idea is to bring out more precise

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information on large spatial scales that can streamline developmental processes and provide
better responses in tracking rivers and in mitigating disasters such as floods.

Source: ePG Patashala MHRD, Wikipedia, geomorphology by Savindra Singh, geographyandyou.com, UNESCO- ELOSS, etc.

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