Basic concepts of Engineering geology from various books and internet images, which will be helpfull to many civil, petroleum and mining engineering students at basic level.
2. ADITYA
Course Outcomes
At the end of the Course, Student will be able to:
CO 1 : Illustrate weathering process, mass movement and
their importance.
CO 2 : Distinguish between different petrological formations,
rock structures and mineral identification.
CO 3 : Differentiate various secondary geological formations.
CO 4 : Identify surface, subsurface formations and groundwater
potential using geophysical investigation methods.
CO 5 : Apply geological principles in natural hazards
assessment and selection of sites for dams and tunnels.
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Course Contents
UNIT I : Introduction to Engineering Geology,
Physical Geology and Geomorphology.
UNIT II : Introduction to Mineralogy and petrology.
UNIT III: Introduction to Structural geology and
Stratigraphy.
UNIT IV: Introduction to Groundwater Hydrology,
Earthquakes and Landslides.
UNIT V : Introduction to Geophysics and Selection
of sites for Dams, Reservoirs and Tunnels.
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Text Books
1. 1. Engineering Geology, N. ChennaKesavulu, Trinity
Press (Laxmi Publications), 2nd Edition, 2014.
2. Engineering Geology, Subinoy Gangopadhay, Oxford
University Press Edition (17 December 2012).
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Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
⢠Course details: 3 Hours Lecture (approx.)
⢠Communication:
⢠Activities involve lectures, video recordings for references.
⢠Lectures - provide the theoretical background of the topics.
⢠Field Practice.
⢠Geological lab for close identification of rocks and mineral
specimens.
⢠Course details: 3 Hours Lecture (approx.)
⢠Communication:
⢠Activities involve lectures, video recordings for references.
⢠Lectures - provide the theoretical background of the topics.
⢠Field Practice.
⢠Geological lab for close identification of rocks and mineral
specimens.
7. ADITYA
Introduction to Engineering Geology, Physical
Geology and Geomorphology for
Civil Engineers
(UNIT-I)
P Shiva Kumar
Sr. Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
8. ADITYA
Unit-1 Outcomes
At the end of the Course, Student will be able to:
CO 1 : Illustrate the weathering and erosion processes.
CO 2 : Understand the changes occurring on Earth.
CO 3 : Understand the importance of geology for
civil engineers.
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9. ADITYA
Contents
⢠Branches of Geology
⢠Importance of Geology in Civil Engineering with
case studies.
⢠Earth surface features and its internal structure.
⢠Weathering and erosion.
⢠Geological agents and their work with different
rocks and landscapes on earth surface, River
development process.
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Engineering Geology
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Module 1 : Branches of geology and Earths surface
features and internal structure.
Module 1 : Branches of geology and Earths surface
features and internal structure.
11. ADITYA
Introduction to Geology and Earths Internal Structure
P. Shiva Kumar
Sr. Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
12. ADITYA
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, Student will be able to:
LO 1 : Understand the formation of earth, branches
of geology and earths external features and
internal structure.
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Geology as a host Subject ( Earth Science)
1. Branches of Geology
2. Earth surface features
3. Internal structure of the earth
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Engineering Geology
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Geology is referred as the major branch of earth and planetary
sciences.
Geology can be defined in many ways : for example
1. Study of earth, its external features and internal structures
with the materials with which it is made of.
2. It is not a basic science like physics, chemistry, mathematics,
biology etc., but it is an application of basic science to earth.
3. It is study of origin of earth, other celestial bodies, formation
and occurrence of water, minerals , rocks, changes on earth
surface, internal disturbances, volcanism, stratigraphy and
palaeontology.
4. Likewise there are many definition based on the one who
studies concepts of geology.
Definitions of Geology
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Engineering Geology
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Engineering Geology is referred as the allied branch of Geology
Engineering Geology can be defined as:
1. The branch of applied science which deals with the
application of geology for a safe and economic design and
construction of civil engineering projects.
2. The basic objective of engineering geology is to enable the
civil engineer to understand engineering application of
certain conditions related to the area of construction, which
are essentially geological in nature.
3. It enables a geologist to understand the nature of geological
information that is absolutely essential for the save design
and construction of a civil engineering project.
Definitions of Engineering Geology
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Branches of geology are classified has main branches and allied branches
MAIN BRANCHES ALLIED BRANCHES
Physical Geology Hydrogeology
Geomorphology Engineering Geology
Mineralogy Mining Geology
Petrology Petroleum Geology
Structural Geology Geophysics
Economic Geology Geochemistry
Stratigraphy
Palaeontology
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1. Physical geology is the study of the earth's rocks, minerals, and soils and how they
have formed through time. Complex internal processes such as plate tectonics and
mountainâbuilding have formed these rocks and brought them to the earth's surface.
In a simple way it is study of landforms that are created like - how, what, when and
where the variety of landforms are formed.
2. Geomorphology is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic
and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes
operating at or near the Earth's surface.
In a simple way the study of changes in landforms. Here also we study how, what,
when and where the changes are occurring in land forms.
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Earth Surface Features
There are some interesting facts about earth, they are:
1. Earth is the only planet in the Solar System with plate tectonics
2. Many people tend to think that the Earth is a sphere. In fact, between the 6th cenury BCE and
the modern era, this remained the scientific consensus. But thanks to modern astronomy and
space travel, scientists have since come to understand that the Earth is actually shaped like a
flattened sphere (aka. an oblate spheroid).
3. If you could separate the Earth out into piles of material, youâd get 32.1 % iron, 30.1% oxygen,
15.1% silicon, and 13.9% magnesium. Of course, most of this iron is actually located at the core
of the Earth. If you could actually get down and sample the core, it would be 88% iron. And if
you sampled the Earthâs crust, youâd find that 47% of it is oxygen.
4. 70% of the Earthâs Surface is Covered in Water
5. The Earthâs Atmosphere Extends to a Distance of 10,000 km
6. The Earth is like a great big magnet, with poles at the top and bottom near to the actual
geographic poles. The magnetic field it creates extends thousands of kilometers out from the
surface of the Earth â forming a region called the âmagnetosphereâ.
7. Water in the forms of rivers, moisture, lakes and oceans created the soil and various landforms.
21. ADITYA
Summary
After completion of module 1 the student is able to
LO 1: Understand the concept of geology.
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Engineering Geology
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Module 2 : Weathering and Erosion, Geological agents
and their work with different rocks and landscapes
on earth surface, River development process.
Module 2 : Weathering and Erosion, Geological agents
and their work with different rocks and landscapes
on earth surface, River development process.
23. ADITYA
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, Student will be able to:
LO 1 : Understand the process of weathering and
erosion.
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Engineering Geology
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Concept of weathering and erosion
Weathering is Decomposition and disintegration of rocks and minerals.
Erosion is transportation and deposition of weathered materials from one to
another by means of natural agents.
The consequence of weathering and erosion is denudation which triggers to
degradation, aggradation and gradation od various land forms and which is
responsible for formation the topographies.
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Denudation happens when a rock is subjected to weathering and then erosion ,
a layer of the rock is removed and a fresh surface of the rock is exposed once
again to undergo weathering and erosion when exposed to atmosphere.
Likewise a rock surface undergoes many times the process of denudation and
the removed material forms as a regolith.
A regolith is a layer of unconsolidated solid material covering the bedrock of a
planet. Actually it is the product of weathering and erosion of a rock.
Both weathering and erosion are referred as âin situâ of soil formation, when
the regolith is leached by water there are two types of soils formed by
geological classification, they are: Residual soils and transported soils.
Residual soils settle beneath the rock while transported soils settle at the foot of
the hills and mountains and transported by flowing water to various terrains.
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Classification of Weathering and Erosion agents.
The agents of weathering and erosion are classified into Exogenic and
Endogenic by there origin.
⢠Exogenic meaning they are occurring on the surface of the earth.
⢠Endogenic meaning they are occurring in interior part of the earth from
shallow to deep.
1. The endogenic agents are classified as:
⢠Earthquakes
⢠volcanoes
⢠Tectonic activities
⢠Groundwater
⢠Gravity
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2. The exogenic agents are classified as:
⢠Water â Fluvial
⢠Air â Aeolian
⢠Sea waves and tides
⢠Biogenic
The biogenic agents include bacteria, moss, algae, plants, animals and
human beings.
The weathering and erosion processes occurs simultaneously based on the
prevailing conditions such as speed of discharging water, speed of air, types
of rocks, type of terrain and materials, temperature and pressure.
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The weathering and erosion process can be categorised into physical,
chemical and biological( Physical or mechanical weathering, chemical
weathering and biological weathering).
The factors of weathering cause the formation of
Deposition â the process whereby these sediments are released by their
transporting agents (dropped).
Landscapes â are created after deposition like, river streams form Canyons
and Georges , sand dunes form Dessert etc.,
There are two types of weathering:
1. Physical Weathering or Mechanical weathering and
2. Chemical Weathering.
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Secondary types of weathering include action and effect made after: Tectonic,
Gravity, volcanism, Earthquakes, Biogenic, Human involvement, Groundwater.
Physical factors of weathering :
1. Abrasion and attrition
2. Frost wedging and frost
heaving
3. Exfoliation and dome
exfoliation
4. Thermal expansion or
thawing
5. Glaciers
6. Roots of plants and trees
7. Animal burrows
8. Man made excavations
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Eskers are ridges like
landforms created by the
erosion of glaciers as
moraines concentrate as
small elevated depositional
features.
Deposition of
moraine
which later
formed as soil.
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Biogenic weathering as effect of both
physical and chemical weathering process
Leaching by Moss Formed on rocks
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Chemical Weathering â the breakdown of rocks and minerals into smaller
pieces by chemical action. The rocks breaks down at the same time as it
changes chemical composition. The end result is different from the original
rock.
Chemical factors of weathering:
1. Dissolution
2. Oxidation
3. Leaching
4. Hydration
5. Hydrolysis
6. Volatile (Magmatic) reactions.
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Carbonation or Dissolution â carbon dioxide dissolves in water to form carbonic
acid. This makes acid rain which chemically weathers (dissolves) rocks. Other acids
also combine with water to make acid rain.
Stalactites
Stalagmites
DRIPSTONE
LIME STONE PAVEMENT
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Oxidation â oxygen combines with the elements in the rock and it reacts. This
the scientific name for rust.
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Hydration â water can dissolve away many earth materials, including certain
rocks.
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Leaching of a concrete block: A
white fungus kind of moss is
formed due to continues presence
of moisture or wetting
phenomena.
The moss biologically degrades the
material by consuming the
minerals present in the rock or
concrete block, thus make it
vulnerable to any susceptible forces
to undergo disintegration and
decomposition.
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Chemical-volatile reservoirs and
chemical transformations in
submarine hydrothermal systems.
Degassing of basaltic melts and
fluid-rock reactions release
reduced volatiles and chemicals
into the overlying hydrothermal
systems. Complex oxidation-
reduction reactions during mixing
with seawater and by microbial
processes modify fluid-volatile
compositions in the shallower
portion of the system (after
Butterfield et al. 1997).
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2. Particle Size â Larger particles weather slower and smaller particles
weather at a faster rate.
There are 4 factors that effect the rate of weathering:
1. Surface Area (exposure) - Exposing more surface area will increase
the rate of weathering.
3. Chemical Composition (what a rock is made of) â Certain rocks
and minerals are naturally weaker than others, while others are more
resistant (stronger).
4. Climate â Warmer, moister climates have the most weathering. Heat
& Water speed up all chemical reactions. This is the most important
factor in weathering.
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There are 2 types of soil:
1. Transported
2. Residual
Transported Soils â soils that formed in one place and were transported to their
present location by glaciers. You can tell when the soil does not chemically
match the bedrock below it.
Residual Soils â soils that are located above the rocks that they formed from. In
other words, the soil chemically matches the bedrock below it, because it is a
product of that rockâs weathering over time.
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Erosion (transport and deposit)
There are 5 main agents of erosion:
1. *Running Water*
2. Glaciers
3. Wind
4. Gravity
5. Man
Weathering has to happen before erosion. The rocks have to be broken into
smaller sediments before they can be eroded away.
Wind Erosion
Glacier
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Which rock layer appears to be the least resistant (weakest)? _______
Resistant rocks usually form steep cliffs and waterfalls, by sticking out
further than the lower layers.
Which rock layer appears to be the most resistant (strongest)? _______
Stream erosion is the
greatest at waterfalls.
Erosion at waterfalls is
called undermining.
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Running water can transport sediment in three ways:
1. Solution â the smallest particles of weathering are dissolved
in the water and they are transported in a solution.
2. Suspension â clay sized/colloids are carried along with the
water molecules during erosion. They are neither at the
bottom or on the top. They are suspended in the middle
of the running water.
3. Saltation â solid sediments are rolled and bounces along
the bottom of a river. stream because they are more dense.
Saltation is of two types, saltation it self for sand sized
particles and creeping of bed load.
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What type of weathering occurs in an area that has an average of 165 cm of rain
each year and an average temperature of 18°C? ________________________
What type of weathering occurs in an area that has about 140 cm of precipitation
each year and an average temperature of 5°C? _________________________
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Honey Comb Weathering
is caused by continuous
hitting of sea waves
which are armed with
sand particles, that create
cavities which are later
filled with salt deposited
by encroaching sea
waves. The swashing and
back swashing of waves
continuously impact in a
drilling way on the
surface of the rock mass.
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Engineering Geology
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Gravity Erosion
Gravity Erosion is better
known as Mass
Movement and is
defined as the transfer
of rock and soil down
slope by direct action of
gravity without a
flowing medium (such as
water or ice). Some of
the best examples of
Mass Movement are:
1.Creep 2. Rock fall
3.Slump 4.Landslides
5.Avalanches
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Tor
is a unfallen
scree and talus
Scree is smaller
than talus. Scree is used for
loose pebbles or gravel on a
slope. Talus is bigger and can
even include house sized rocks.
All Boulder sized >200 mm
are all scree
While the rocks of diameter in
meters are all Talus
60. ADITYA
Summary
After completion of module 2 the student is now able to
classify the various process done by agents of weathering and
erosion and how important it is for civil engineers.
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Module 3 : Wind Erosion Process, landscapes on earth surface
Module 3 : Wind Erosion Process, landscapes on earth surface
64. ADITYA
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, Student will be able to:
LO 1 : Understand the process of wind.
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Aeolian process or wind erosion
⢠It refers specially to the winds ability to shape the surface of the earth.
⢠Wind may erode, transport and deposit materials.
⢠Aeolian process are important in arid and semi arid environments such as
deserts.
⢠Wind erosion occurs in three forms:
⢠Abrasion or corrosion is wearing down off surfaces by the grinding action
and sand blasting of wind borne particles.
⢠Deflation is lifting and removal of loose, fine grained material from the
earth surface, Forms shallow basins called deflation basins.
⢠Attrition is the grinding action, while on transit wind borne particles often
collide with one another. Such mutual collision brings about a further
grinding of the particles.
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Three methods of wind transportation:
⢠Saltation: Transported through a series of bounces.
⢠Suspension: particles are lifted high into atmosphere and are carried great
distances before they settle.
⢠Rolling or Traction or creep or dragging: the movement of particles on
ground. The coarser fragments are carried in this way.
Wind deposits the transported material when there occurs:
â˘Reduction in velocity of wind
â˘Any obstruction to wind
â˘Increased load in medium of wind ( size and no of the particles)
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Erosional landforms created by wind erosion
a) Ventifacts: Formed by abrasion effect and exhibit one or more polished
and faceted surfaces.
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⢠Ventifacts formed from dolerite dyke in Taylor valley near Antarctica.
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Mushroom rock
b) Mushroom table or pedestal rock:
A rock having broad upper and
narrow base resembling an
mushroom shape is called mushroom
rocks, formed due to abrasive work
of wind.
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c) Desert pavements or lag deposits: ⢠The left behind closely packed,
interlocking, angular or rounded rock fragments of pebble and cobble by wind
deflation are known as lag deposits. ⢠A desert pavement is also called âregâ in
western Sahara,âSerirâ in Eastern Sahara, âGibberâ in Australia and âSaiâ in
Central Asia.
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d) Yardang:
⢠Ridges that are
sculpted And
streamlined by wind
abrasion and deflation.
⢠Elongated in the
direction of prevailing
wind and are nearly
always carved from
relatively weak
materials.
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e) Blowouts:
⢠Sandy depressions in a sand dune ecosystem caused by the removal of sediments by wind.
⢠Blowouts develop in areas where unconsolidated (non- indurated) materials lie beneath the land
surface.
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Depositional landforms created by wind erosion
Aeolian Landforms are formed as:
⢠Features of the earthâs surface produced by either erosive or
constructive action of the wind.
⢠Found in regions of the earth where erosion and deposition by
wind are the dominant geomorphic forces shaping the face of the
landscape.
⢠Aeolian sediments are often composed of well- rounded, sand to
silt sized particles that are weathered by wind abrasion during
transportation which is called as mutual collision of sand particleâs.
⢠Sediments are deposited when the velocity of the wind falls.
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Depositional Landforms
a) Wind or sand ripples:
⢠Miniature dunes within a dune (not more than 2 inches tall).
⢠May form from cross winds and appear to be traveling in a different
direction than the large dune.
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b) Loess:An aeolian sediment
formed by the accumulation
of wind blown silt typically
in the 20 - 50 micrometre
size range. Buff-coloured,
non-indurated, calcareous
and permeable. They occur
at variable altitudes and are
readily recognized as
Aeolian deposits. Loess is the
raw material for many
mollisols, the best
agricultural soils.
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c) Sand dunes: ⢠Piles of sand deposited by wind. ⢠Leeward side (slip face) has
a steeper slope. ⢠Windward side is more gradual.
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Different types of dunes
1) Barchans: Crescent âshaped dune whose long axis is transverse to the dominant wind action.
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2) Transverse dunes: Long asymmetrical dunes that form perpendicular to wind direction
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3) Parabolic dunes: Convex in leeward side and concave in windward side
with Multiple slip-faces.
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4) Star dune: ⢠Large pyramidal or star- shaped dune, has three or more slip- faces and does not migrate
along the ground, but grows vertically.
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Landscapes on earth surface
A geomorphic landscape is an area defined by a distinctive set of landforms
produced by a distinctive set of geomorphic processes, for example, a riverine,
arid or coastal landscape.
The difference between a landform and a landscape is that landforms are small
to medium-sized portions of the Earth's surface whereas, a landscape is formed
by mixing several landforms together.
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1. Mountains and mountain ranges
2. Hills
3. Plains
4. Plateaus
5. Playas:- A dry lake bed.
6. Deserts
7. Wadi :- dry valley, water occurs when there is heavy rain fall)
8. Gullies :- a small, narrow passage or valley, usually formed by a stream or
by rain.
9. Bajada :- also spelled Bahada, consists of a series of coalescing alluvial fans
along a mountain front.
10. hamada's :- is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren,
hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed
by deflation
Various types of landscapes includes:-
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11. Alluvial fans or cones
12. Pediments :- a broad, gently sloping expanse of rock debris extending
outwards from the foot of a mountain slope, especially in a desert.
13. Wet lands
14. Littoral zone :- is apart of sea or lake or river which is close to shore
15. Tundra :- means no trees or tree less land, consists shrubs, moss and low
to ground vegetation.
16. Glacier and snow covered areas
17. Polar regions
18. Various types of forests
19. Shrub lands :-
20.Water bodies such as lakes, ponds, river patterns
21. Taiga :- Snow covered forest with densely grown pine like coniferous
trees.
22. Coastal areas
23.Soil mounds.
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Summary
After completion of module 3 the student is now able to
Illustrate the work done by wind.
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87. ADITYA
Geomorphology of River and River
Development Process.
P. Shiva Kumar
Sr. Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
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Module 4 : Geomorphology of River and River
Development Process.
Module 4 : Geomorphology of River and River
Development Process.
89. ADITYA
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, Student will be able to:
LO 1 : Understand the work done by river and river
development process.
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River Development Process
The primary source of rivers is precipitation, also groundwater flows out
in low lying areas such as valleys, excavated areas in the form of springs
and artesian wells.
There are four stages of river formation
1. Initial stage
2. Young stage
3. Mature stage
4. Old stage
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River Erosional features or Fluvial Erosional Landforms
1. River Valley Formation
2. River course
⢠Initial
⢠Youth
⢠Maturity
⢠Old Age
3. Waterfalls
4. Potholes
5. Terraces
6. Gulley's/Rills
7. Meanders
8. Oxbow Lake
9. Peneplane (Or peneplain)
10.Drainage Basin
92. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
92
Rivers or heavily discharging runoff water erode away the earth
surface to form valleys from ages ago. In this process river valleys
are formed in three ways:-
1. Valley lengthening,
2. Valley widening,
3. Valley deepening.
93. ADITYA
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93
Waterfalls
⢠A waterfall is simply the fall of an enormous volume of water from a great
height.
⢠They are mostly seen in the youth stage of the river.
⢠Relative resistance of rocks, the relative difference in topographic reliefs, fall
in the sea level and related rejuvenation, earth movements etc. are
responsible for the formation of waterfalls.
94. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
94
Potholes
â˘The small cylindrical
depressions in the rocky beds of
the river valleys are called
potholes.
â˘Potholing or pothole-drilling is
the mechanism through which
the fragments of rocks when
caught in the water eddies or
swirling water start dancing
circularly and grind and drill the
rock beds.
â˘They thus form small holes
which are gradually enlarged by
the repetition of the said
mechanism.
96. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
96
Terraces
â˘Stepped benches along
the river course in a
flood plain are called
terraces.
â˘Terraces represent the
level of former valley
floors and remnants of
former (older)
floodplains.
97. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
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97
Gulleys/Rills
â˘Gulley is a water-worn
channel, which is particularly
common in semi-arid areas.
â˘It is formed when water from
overland-flows down a slope,
especially following heavy
rainfall, is concentrated into
rills, which merge and enlarge
into a gulley.
â˘The ravines of Chambal
Valley in Central India and
the Chos of Hoshiarpur in
Punjab are examples of gulleys.
98. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
98
Meandering (Curving) River/Stream
Straight Flowing River/Stream
Sediments are traveling the fastest in the center
directly below the surface.
Erosion
happens
on the
outside of
turns.
Deposition
happens on
the inside
of turns.
100. ADITYA
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100
Erosion
Deposition or
less erosion
Decrease in
Kinetic energy
of water did
less erosion
Butte
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Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
101
Peneplane (Or peneplain)
â˘This refers to an undulating featureless plain punctuated with low-lying
residual hills of resistant rocks. It is considered to be an end product of an
erosional cycle.
â˘Fluvial erosion, in the course of geologic time, reduces the land almost to
base level (sea level), leaving so little gradient that essentially no more
erosion could occur.
102. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
102
Drainage Basin
â˘Other terms that are
used to describe
drainage basins
are catchment,
catchment area,
catchment basin,
drainage area, river
basin, and water basin.
â˘The drainage basin
includes both the
streams and rivers and
the land surface.
103. ADITYA
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103
Factors that influence erosional rates (speed) in running water and
glacial ice:
1. Slope (gradient) of the land â as slope increases, the water velocity
increases, the particle size that the water can carry also increases,
therefore the amount of erosion increases.
2. Volume (size of the water or glacier) â as the volume of the water
or glacier increases, their velocities increase, the particle size that
they can carry also increases, therefore the amount of erosion
increases.
3. Position within the running water â Water is traveling faster around
the outside of turns, therefore that is where more erosion occurs.
Water is traveling slower on the inside of turns, therefore
deposition occurs on the inside.
104. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
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104
Deposition â the process where sediments are released/dropped by their agent
of erosion.
Most deposition happens in standing/still bodies of water (oceans/lakes).
Deposition is caused by the slowing down (loss of kinetic energy) of the agent
of erosion.
There are 3 factors that influence the
rate of sediment deposition:
1. Sediment size â
2. Sediment shape â
3. Sediment density -
105. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
105
River Depositional Landforms or Depositional
features
Alluvial Fans
â˘They are found in the middle course of a river at the foot of slope/
mountains.
â˘When the stream moves from the higher level break into foot slope plain
of low gradient, it loses its energy needed to transport much of its load.
â˘Thus, they get dumped and spread as a broad low to the high cone-
shaped deposits called an alluvial fan.
â˘The deposits are not roughly very well sorted.
107. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
107
2. Deltas
â˘Deltas are like an alluvial fan but
develop at a different location.
â˘They are found in the mouth of
the river, which is the final
location of depositional activity of
a river.
â˘Unlike alluvial fans, the deposits
making up deltas are very well
sorted with clear stratification.
â˘The coarser material settle out
first and the finer materials like silt
and clay are carried out into the
sea.
109. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
109
3. Flood Plains, Natural Levees
â˘Deposition develops a flood plain just as erosion makes valleys.
â˘A riverbed made of river deposits is the active flood plain and the flood
plain above the bank of the river is the inactive flood plain.
â˘Natural levees are found along the banks of large rivers. They are low, linear
and parallel ridges of coarse deposits along the banks of a river.
â˘The levee deposits are coarser than the deposits spread by flood water away
from the river.
111. ADITYA
Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
111
Braided Channels
â˘When selective deposition
of coarser materials causes
the formation of a central
bar, it diverts the flow of
river towards the banks,
which increases lateral
erosion.
â˘Similarly, when more and
more such central bars are
formed, braided channels
are formed.
â˘Riverine Islands are the
result of braided channels.
Braided river
channel
114. ADITYA
Summary
After completion of module 4 the student is now able to
understand and illustrate the work done by river, river
development process, both depositional and erosional
features.
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Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE
115. ADITYA
Summary
From this unit â 1 students are now able illustrate and
understand the geomorphological process for
identification of safe rocks for construction which are
free from weathering and erosion.
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Engineering Geology
P Shiva Kumar, Sr. Assistant Professor, CE