Different forms of Water Erosion

Lecture 8

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 Different Forms of Water Erosion

 Splash/ Raindrop Erosion

 Sheet Erosion

 Rill Erosion

 Gully Erosion
Different Forms of Water Erosion

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 Splash/ Raindrop Erosion

 It results from soil splash caused by the

impact of falling torrential rain

 If raindrops strikes on the land covered with

thick blanket of vegetation the drop breaks
into a spray of clear water which slowly
finds its way into soil pores

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 Splash/ Raindrop Erosion

 If the raindrop strikes bare soil considerable

splashing occurs
 These splashes gradually remove fine materials
from the soil and leave the land infertile by
leaving behind sand and gravel particles
 Splashes as much as 60 cm. high and 150 cm.
away

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Splash/ Raindrop Erosion
 Sheet Erosion

 It is the removal of fairly uniform layer of soil

from land surface by the action of rainfall and
runoff water
 Sloping land having a shallow loose topsoil
overlying a compact subsoil are the most
susceptible to sheet erosion
 detected by the muddy colour of the run-off
from the fields
Sheet Erosion
 Rill Erosion

 small finger like rills are formed under landscape

 rills are smoothened by working of small
implements
 rills will increase not only in number but also in
shape and size
 These get wider and deeper

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 Rill Erosion

 Rill erosion is more serious in soils having

shallow top soil
 transition stage between sheet and gully
erosion

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 Gully Erosion

 advance stage of rill erosion

 Rills are small in size and can be destroyed by tillage operations.
 If rills are not destroyed, the rills become larger in size and shape
due to prolonged occurrence of flow through them and cannot be
removed by tillage operations and these are called gullies.
 Gullies unless stopped or controlled in the rill stage will get
deepened and widened.
 High intensity of flow of the run off increase the gully dimensions.
 Large gullies and their network are called as ravines.

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Gully Erosion

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 Gully Erosion

 The rate of gully erosion mainly depends on the runoff

characteristics of the watershed, namely watershed area,
soil characteristics
 Stages of Gully Development

Formation Stage

It is beginning of formation of rills (small channels)

and development by downward scouring of the
soils
 Stages of Gully Development

Development Stage

It is a stage where the upstream movement in the

gully head and enlargement of gully in depth and
width takes place
 Stages of Gully Development

Healing Stage

It is the stage where the vegetation begins to

grow in the gullies
 Stages of Gully Development

Stabilization Stage

Here the gully bed, reaches a stable condition

The gully walls reach a stable slope and vegetative
cover spreads over the gully surface
 Gully Classification

• Based on shape (U shape, V shape)

• Based on nature of gully flow (Active,
Inactive)
• Based on size (depth, width and side
slopes)

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 Types of Gullies – Based on shape

U or V shaped gullies

 Gullies can be classified as U or V shaped gullies

based on the shape of their cross-section
U shaped
It is formed in areas where surface and subsurface soils are
weak and susceptible to erosion.
The flow velocity is less and this causes a continuous process of
caving in of the gully sides, forming U shape.
It is common in plains
V shaped
It is formed in areas where the subsoil is more resistant to
erosion.
These gullies are formed in hilly areas with steep faces.
The flow through this gullies is low, but velocity is very high due
to steep slope.

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U or V shaped gullies
 Types of gullies

Active and inactive gullies

Active gullies are those which continued to enlarge

and they will be recognized by the presence of loose
soils

Inactive gullies are that which doesn’t enlarge

further and is covered with vegetation on the side
slopes
 Classification of Gullies based on Depth

S. Symbol Description Specification

No.
1. G1 Very small Upto 3 m deep, bed width not more than
gullies 18 m, side slopes vary
2. G2 Small gullies Upto 3 m deep, bed width more than 18 m
and side slopes 8-15%
3. G3 Medium gullies Depth 3-9 m, bed width more than 18 m,
sides uniformly sloping between 8-15%
4. G4 Deep and (a) 3-9 m deep, bed width less than 18 m,
narrow gullies side slopes vary
(b) Depth more than 9 m, bed width varies
and the side slopes vary.
 Ravines

• A ravine is generally a  slope landform (larger

than a gully) of relatively steep (cross-sectional)
sides, on the order of 20 – 70 % in gradient.

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Ravines

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 Landslides

• Landslides are simply defined as the

mass movement of rock, debris or earth
down a slope
• They often take place in conjunction
with earthquakes, floods and volcanoes.

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 Causes of Landslides

• Landslides are caused when the

stability of a slope changes from a
stable to an unstable condition.
• A change in the stability of a slope can
be caused by a number of factors,
acting together or alone

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 Natural Causes of Landslides

• Ground water pressure acting to destabilize the

slope
• Loss or absence of vertical vegetative structure,
soil nutrients, and soil structure.
• Erosion of the toe of a slope by rivers or ocean
waves
• Weakening of a slope through saturation by
snowmelt, glaciers melting, or heavy rains
• Earthquakes adding loads to barely-stable slopes
• Volcanic eruptions

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 Human Causes of Landslides

• Vibrations from machinery or traffic.

• Earthwork which alters the shape of a slope,
or which imposes new loads on an existing
slope in shallow soils.
• Removal of deep-rooted vegetation that binds
colluvium to bedrock.
• Construction, agricultural, or forestry activities
which change the amount of water which
infiltrates into the soil.

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 Specialized Forms of Water Erosion

Pedestal Erosion
 It results when a stone or tree
roots protrudes the soil by splash
erosion which removes the
surrounding soil
 It develops slowly over years and
is often found on patches in
grazing lands
 Specialized Forms of Water Erosion

Pinnacle Erosion
 This occurs often in gullies as
a result of deep vertical rills
until pinnacles are left in land
 Specialized Forms of Water Erosion

Piping Erosion
 It is caused by the occurrence of interflows in soil
medium.
 It removes and transports soft soil particles.
 Such interflows are initiated by cracks, burrows in the soil
medium and are developed by the seepage of water
called piping.
 Specialized Forms of Water Erosion

Slumping Erosion
 Sliding or mass movement of soil in the gullies
 It is usually a process of geological erosion
 It is prominent in high rainfall areas with deep soil
coastal erosion also causes slumping
 Specialized Forms of Water Erosion

Fertility Erosion
It is the loss of plant nutrients by erosion

P is mainly lost along with the colloidal particles on the

surface is observed

N in the form of NO2 or NO3 is soluble and so can be

lost as solution with the runoff without any soil movement

occurring