LECTURE 4 ; EROSION

HJ SHAARI HJ OMAR
IPG KAMPUS KOTA BHARU

RIVER EROSION

Types of River Erosion

River Erosion is the river erodes away the bed and banks of its channel vertically and
laterally. Vertical erosion is the downward erosion which deepens the river channel.
Lateral erosion is sideward erosion which widens the river channel

River Erosion Processes

Erosion: the process of wearing something away. The river erodes in four main
ways; attrition, corrosion, corrasion and hydraulic action.
Corrasion (abrasion):
The process of a rivers' load crashing and rubbing into a rivers' banks and bed
causing pieces to break off. The sediment carried by a river scours the bed and banks.
Where depressions exist in the channel floor the river can cause pebbles to spin
around and turn hollows into potholes.

Corrosion (solution):
The process of water dissolving a rivers' load as well as its bed and banks.Carbon
dioxide dissolves in the river to form a weak acid. This dissolves rock by chemical
processes. This process is common where carbonate rocks such as limestone and
chalk are evident in a channel.

Hydraulic action:
Water and air getting into cracks in a rivers banks and bed causing erosion through
increased pressure.The pressure of water breaks away rock particles from the river
bed and banks. The force of the water hits river banks, and then pushes water into
cracks. Air becomes compressed, pressure increases and the riverbank may, in time
collapse. Where velocity is high e.g. the outer bend of meaner, hydraulic action can
remove material from the banks which may lead to undercutting and and river bank
collapse. Near waterfalls and and rapids, the force may be strong enough to work on
lines of weakness in joints and bedding planes until they are eroded

Attrition:
Load crashing into each other in a river. This normally happens with suspended
load.Eroded rocks collide and break into smaller fragments. The edges of these rocks
become smoother and more rounded. Attrition makes the particles of rock smaller. It
does not erode the bed and bank. Pieces of river sediment become smaller and more
rounded as they move downstream.
 WAVE EROSION

Wave energy does the work of erosion at the shore. Waves erode sediments from
cliffs and shorelines. The sediment in ocean water acts like sandpaper. Over time,
they erode the shore. The bigger the waves are and the more sediment they carry, the
more erosion they cause (Figure below).

Wave refraction either concentrates wave energy or disperses it. In

quiet water areas, such as bays, wave energy is dispersed. This allows sand to be
deposited. Land that sticks out into the water is eroded by the strong wave energy.
The wave energy concentrates its power on the wave-cut cliff.
 Landforms From Wave Erosion

Erosion by waves can create unique landforms (Figure below).

Wave-cut cliffs form when waves erode a rocky shoreline. They create a
vertical wall of exposed rock layers.
Wave-cut platforms are level areas formed by wave erosion. Since these
platforms are above sea level, it means that either sea level was higher relative or the
rock was lower

Sea arches form when waves erode both sides of a cliff. They create a hole in
the cliff, like the one pictured below (Figure below).
 Sea stacks form when waves erode the top of a sea arch. This leaves behind
pillars of rock.

Sediment Transport

Rivers carry sediments from the land to the sea. Sometimes the sediments are
deposited in a delta. But if the waves are powerful, the water will transport the
sediments along the coastline. Sediments eroded from cliffs near the shoreline may
also be transported.

Wave Refraction

Most waves approach the shore at an angle. The part of the wave that is nearer the
shore reaches shallow water sooner than the part that is farther out. The shallow part
of the wave "feels" the bottom first. This slows down the inshore part of the wave and
makes the wave "bend." This bending is called refraction.

Most waves strike the shore at an angle. This creates longshore currents, which are
described in the concept "Surface Ocean Currents."

Wave action
Hydraulic action
Hydraulic action occurs when waves striking a cliff face compress air in cracks on the
cliff face. This exerts pressure on the surrounding rock, and can progressively splinter
and remove pieces. Over time, the cracks can grow, sometimes forming a cave. The
splinters fall to the sea bed where they are subjected to further wave action.
Attrition
Attrition occurs when waves causes loose pieces of rock debris (scree) to collide with
each other, grinding and chipping each other, progressively becoming smaller,
smoother and rounder. Scree also collides with the base of the cliff face, chipping
small pieces of rock from the cliff or have a corrasion (abrasion) effect, similar to
sandpapering.
Solution
Solution is the process in which acids contained in sea water will dissolve some types
of rock such as chalk or limestone.
Corrasion
Corrasion or otherwise known as abrasion occurs when waves break on cliff faces
and slowly erode it. As the sea pounds cliff faces it also uses the scree from other
wave actions to batter and break off pieces of rock from higher up the cliff face which
can be used for this same wave action and attrition.

Corrosion
Corrosion or solution/chemical weathering occurs when the sea's pH (anything below
pH 7.0) corrodes rocks on a cliff face. Limestone cliff faces, which have a moderately
high pH, are particularly affected in this way. Wave action also increases the rate of
reaction by removing the reacted material.

Factors that influence erosion rates

Primary factors
The ability of waves to cause erosion of the cliff face depends on many factors.
The hardness (or inversely, the erodibility) of sea-facing rocks is controlled by
the rock strength and the presence of fissures, fractures, and beds of non-cohesive
materials such as silt and fine sand.The rate at which cliff fall debris is removed from
the foreshore depends on the power of the waves crossing the beach. This energy
must reach a critical level to remove material from the debris lobe. Debris lobes can
be very persistent and can take many years to completely disappear. Beaches
dissipate wave energy on the foreshore and provide a measure of protection to the
adjoining land.
The stability of the foreshore, or its resistance to lowering. Once stable, the foreshore
should widen and become more effective at dissipating the wave energy, so that
fewer and less powerful waves reach beyond it. The provision of updrift material
coming onto the foreshore beneath the cliff helps to ensure a stable beach.
The adjacent bathymetry, or configuration of the seafloor, controls the wave energy
arriving at the coast, and can have an important influence on the rate of cliff erosion.
Shoals and bars offer protection from wave erosion by causing storm waves to break
and dissipate their energy before reaching the shore. Given the dynamic nature of the
seafloor, changes in the location of shoals and bars may cause the locus of beach or
cliff erosion to change position along the shore.
Coastal erosion has been greatly affected by the rising sea levels globally. There has
been great measures of increased coastal erosion on the Eastern seaboard of the
United States. Locations such as Florida have noticed increased coastal erosion. In
reaction to these increases Florida and its individual counties have increased budgets
to replenish the eroded sands that attract visitors to Florida and help support its
multibillion-dollar tourism industries.

Secondary factors

Weathering and transport slope processes

Slope hydrology
Vegetation
Cliff foot erosion
Cliff foot sediment accumulation
Resistance of cliff foot sediment to attrition and transport
Human Activity
Tertiary factors

Resource extraction
Coastal management

WIND EROSION

The wind erosion process detaches soil particles from the land surface and transports
them by wind. It occurs when forces exerted by wind overcome the gravitational and
cohesive forces of soil particles on the surface of the ground.
Wind erosion is a serious environmental problem attracting the attention of many
across the globe. It is a common phenomenon occurring mostly in flat, bare areas; dry,
sandy soils; or anywhere the soil is loose, dry, and finely granulated. Wind erosion
damages land and natural vegetation by removing soil from one place and depositing
it in another. It causes soil loss, dryness and deterioration of soil structure, nutrient
and productivity losses and air pollution. Suspended dust and dirt is inevitably
deposited over everything. It blows on and inside homes, covers roads and highways,
and smothers crops. Sediment transport and deposition are significant factors in the
geological changes which occur on the land around us and over long periods of time
are important in the soil formation process.

Soil movement is initiated as a result of wind forces exerted against the surface of the
ground. For each specific soil type and surface condition there is a minimum velocity
required to move soil particles. This is called the threshold velocity. Once this velocity
is reached, the quantity of soil moved is dependent upon the particle size, the
cloddiness of particles, and wind velocity itself.
Suspension, saltation, abrasion and attrition and surface creep are the four types
of soil movement which occur during wind erosion. While soil can be blown away at
virtually any height, the majority (over 93%) of soil movement takes place at or below
one meter.
Suspension

Small particles less than 0.1mm in diameter that have been ejected into the air by
saltation remain suspended as dust and are carried away from the erosion site by the
wind. This mode of wind transport is called suspension. The majority of particles
greater than 0.02mm will settle back to the ground within 100 kilometres of the erosion
site, but finer particles can be carried long distances, as far as New Zealand.

Suspension occurs when very fine dirt and dust particles are lifted into the wind. They
can be thrown into the air through impact with other particles or by the wind itself.
Once in the atmosphere, these particles can be carried very high and be transported
over extremely long distances. Soil moved by suspension is the most spectacular and
easiest to recognize of the three forms of movement.

Saltation
Saltation is the main process that suspends soil particles in the air - particles between
0.1 and 0.5mm in diameter are lifted by wind then fall back to the ground, so they hop
or bounce across the surface.

The major fraction of soil moved by the wind is through the process of saltation. In
saltation, fine soil particles are lifted into the air by the wind and drift horizontally
across the surface increasing in velocity as they go. Soil particles moved in this
process of saltation can cause severe damage to the soil surface and vegetation.
They travel approximately four times longer in distance than in height. When they
strike the surface again they either rebound back into the air or knock other particles
into the air.
Creep

Particles greater than 0.5mm in diameter are usually too heavy to be lifted by wind.
Creep is when wind rolls these particles or they are moved along the surface by
bombardment by other moving particles.

The large particles which are too heavy to be lifted into the air are moved through a
process called surface creep. In this process, the particles are rolled across the
surface after coming into contact with the soil particles in saltation.

Surface texture is the best key to wind erosion protection. Properly managed crop
residues, carefully timed soil tillage, and accurately placed crop strips and crop
barriers can all effectively reduce wind erosion.

Abrasion and attrition

Suspended particles cause abrasion of the soil surface when they fall back to the
ground. They can also hit other particles and break into smaller particles, a process
called attrition.

Effects of drought on wind erosion

Wind erosion is a natural process that commonly occurs in deserts and on coastal
sand dunes and beaches. During drought, it can also occur in agricultural regions
where vegetation cover is reduced.

If the climate becomes drier or windier, then wind erosion is likely to increase. Climate
change forecasts suggest that wind erosion will increase over the next 30 years due
to more droughts and more variable climate. This will cause:

- less rain, which will support less vegetation

- lower soil moisture, which will decrease the ability of soil particles to bind together
into larger heavier aggregates
- increased wind speeds, which will result in more force exerted on the ground surface
and more wind erosion (if the wind speed doubles, the erosion rate will increase eight
times)
- large losses of soil and nutrients
- more large dust storms, which will impact soils and the community
- poorer air quality, increased respiratory health risks, and temperature and rainfall
changes due to atmospheric pollution (all off-site effects).