Fluvial Systems

The goal of the course is to develop process-understanding of fluvial systems and to introduce the students to appropriate analysis tools.

In the first section the estimation of basin sediment supply from upland sheet, rill and gully erosion, and basin sediment yield are discussed. The second section focuses on sediment transport in rivers in general, e.g. basic mechanics of sediment laden flows, bedforms, flow resistance, sediment type and load measurement and estimation, the morphology of rivers. It is illustrated how the river network can be analysed in terms of its connectivity and topological characteristics. Channel stability and channel erosion modelling are discussed. The third section looks at fluvial system management in terms of engineering and nonstructural sediment (e.g. upland and channel erosion protection) and water (e.g. the importance of the natural streamflow regime on riverine ecosystem integrity, river rehabilitation) resource management.