Fluvial Geomorphology: the Geomorphology of Streams and Rivers
GEOL/WATS 5150/6150
fall 2013
Jack Schmidt and David Dean
Department of Watershed Sciences
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-3:30 or by appointment
BNR 349 jack.schmidt@usu.edu, 435-797-1791
BNR 361 david.dean@usu.edu, 435-797-6784
Parts of these texts will be used in the course:
[A/A] Anderson, R. S., and Anderson, S. P. 2010. Geomorphology, The Mechanics and
Chemistry of Landscapes: Cambridge University Press, 637 p.
[B] Bridge, John S. 2003. Rivers and Floodplains: Blackwell Science, 491 p.
[B/F] Brierley, Gary J., and Kirstie A. Fryirs. 2005. Geomorphology and River
Management: Applications of the River Styles Framework. Blackwell
Publishing, 398 p.
[K] Knighton, David. 1998. Fluvial Forms and Processes, A New Perspective: John
Wiley & Sons Inc., 383 p.
[L] Leopold, L. B. 1994. A View of the River: Harvard University Press, 298 p.
[W] Wilcock, P. R. et al, 2006, Sediment transport primer and BAGS user’s manual,
draft report, USDA Forest Service.
In the schedule below, each scheduled class period has a proposed lecture topic.
Readings listed below in bold. Supplemental readings will be assigned in class.
----------------------Topics Covered
Water and Sediment in the Landscape
[A] 8/26 – Lab: Measurement of discharge: Logan River at DeWitt Picnic Area
[1] 8/27 – Course overview; fluvial geomorphology in practice – implementation of the High Flow
Experiment Protocol at Glen Canyon Dam [L: 1-29; Melis, 2011, 17-51]
[2] 8/29 – Hydrology relevant to channel form: flood frequency, flow duration, and other concepts [L: 3055, 83-97, 110-125; K: 65-80]
[3] 9/3 (Belmont) –sediment supply and sediment yield: concepts and processes [K: 80-95; A/A: 349-378]
[4] 9/5 (Belmont) - sediment supply and sediment yield: emerging techniques and strategies for
measurement
Open Channel Flow and Sediment Transport Mechanics
[B] 9/9 – Lab: Measurement of channel cross-sections, longitudinal slope, and calculation of channel
roughness: Summit Creek at Smithfield Mack Park
[5] 9/10 – Fundamental concepts in hydraulics [Wilcock lecture notes; W: 20-24; A/A: 381-395]
[6] 9/12 (Wheaton) – Fundamental concepts in hydraulics
[C] 9/16 – Lab: Field measurement of velocity profiles: East Fork Little Bear River near Avon
[7] 9/17 – Drag partitioning; hydraulic geometry [L: 148-182; K: 171-186]
[8] 9/19 – Sediment transport concepts [W: 1-20, 24-29; B: 44-49]
[D, E] 9/21-- Field determination of the bankfull channel and bankfull discharge: Big Creek near Randolph
(USGS gage 10023000)
[9] 9/24 (Wheaton) – Incipient motion [W: 30-37]
[10] 9/26 (Dean) – Bed material transport modeling [W: 38-51]
[F] 9/30 – Lab: Field data useful in estimating bed entrainment and bed material transport: Cub River near
Franklin
[11] 10/1 – (Dean) Suspended sediment transport [B: 63-67]
[12] 10/3 – Test 1: covers classes 1-10
River Character and Behavior
[G, H, I, J] 10/4-6 – Lab: Rivers of the Colorado Plateau: Green River and San Rafael River near Green
River
[13] 10/8 – Bedrock channels [A/A: 422-449]
[14] 10/10— Channel bed morphology: sand and gravel bedforms [B/F: 79-82; B: 78-139; K: 187-193]
[15] 10/14 -- Channel bed morphology: sculpted geomorphic units [B/F: 82-86; K: 201-205]
[16] 10/15-- Channel bed morphology: bars [B/F: 86-93; B: 141-147; K: 193-201]
10/17 – NO CLASS (Friday class schedule)
[17] 10/24 (Dean) – Bank morphology and bank erosion; channel morphology; channel size and hydraulic
geometry [B/F: 104-108; B: 162-165; K: 165-187; L: 126-182]
[K] 10/28 – Lab: Calculating geomorphic change using digital elevation models: office
[18] 10/31 (Dean) – Floodplain forms and floodplain processes [B/F: 108-118; B: 260-327]
[L, M] 11/2 – Lab: Application of geomorphology to the restoration of rivers: Provo River near Heber City
[19] 11/4 – Bankfull and effective discharge [B/F: 93-104]
[20] 11/4 (Brierley) – Systematic description of rivers within the River Styles Framework
[21] 11/5 – Effective discharge; strategies for designing channels for river rehabilitation
[22] 11/14 -- Test 2: covers classes 11-20
[N] 11/18– Lab: Analysis of aerial photographs of channels and their changes: office
[23] 11/19 -- (Belmont) – Longitudinal profiles at large and small scales
[24] 11/25 -- Channel planform: controls and sinuous, single thread channels [B/F: 118-120; K: 205-230;
B: 153-162, 181-199, 202-211]
[25] 11/26 -- Channel planform: multi-thread channels [K: 230-241; B: 199-202]
THANKSGIVING BREAK
[26] 12/2 -- Geomorphic responses to human disturbance I [B/F: 208-239; K: 295-335]
[27] 12/3 – Geomorphic responses to human disturbance II [B/F: 208-239; K: 295-335]
[28] 12/5 -- Characterizing river behavior [B/F 143-185]
-----------------------------------------------TESTS (60%)– There will be three tests. There will be two in-class tests. The final
test will be given at the time assigned by the university for final exams. All students
will take the final at this time unless specifically arranged with the instructor. Each
test is worth 20%.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS (25%) – There will be homework assignments
reviewing concepts discussed in class. These assignments will include computations,
problems, and presentation, review, and discussion of journal papers. Homework
assignments are sometimes assigned in conjunction with weekly assignments of the
laboratory portion of the class.
Grading – Typically, I assign grades on a curve. I award grades of “excellent” to
students whose performance is in the highest category of students who take the
class, averaged over the last several years. Typically, a few students earn this grade
each year. Many students earn grades of “good”. Relatively few students typically
earn grades of “average” or “poor.”
FINAL PAPER (6150: 15%)-- Those students taking the class as 6150 are taking the
class for graduate credit. Each of those students will write and prepare a 5-page
literature review paper for a topic in fluvial geomorphology of relevance to their
graduate research. The topic of this paper is to be approved by me by October 15.
No less than 10 individual papers, or references, are to be assessed in the writing of
this paper.
For those undergraduate students who enroll in 5150, the unassigned part of your
grade (15%) will be assigned based on your class participation.