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Research is also being done to find the relationship between denudation and isostasy; the more denudation occurs, the lighter the crust becomes in an area, which allows for uplift. [39] The work is primarily trying to determine a ratio between denudation and uplift so better estimates can be made on changes in the landscape.
Denudation is the process of wearing away the top layers of Earth's landscape. Because the denudation rate is normally too low to measure directly, it can be indirectly determined by measuring the sediment load of the streams that drain the area in question.
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation . This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water , ice (glaciers), snow , air (wind), plants , and animals (including humans ).
When some base level is reached, the erosive activity switches to lateral erosion, which widens the valley floor and creates a narrow floodplain. The stream gradient becomes nearly flat, and lateral deposition of sediments becomes important as the stream meanders across the valley floor. In all stages of stream erosion, by far the most erosion ...
River incision is the narrow erosion caused by a river or stream that is far from its base level. River incision is common after tectonic uplift of the landscape. Incision by multiple rivers result in a dissected landscape, for example a dissected plateau. River incision is the natural process by which a river cuts downward into its bed ...
Drainage basin – Land area where water converges to a common outlet (watershed) Esker – Long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel associated with former glaciers; Floodplain – Land adjacent to a water body which is flooded during periods of high water; Fluvial landforms of streams
The amount of matter carried by a large river is enormous. It has been estimated that the Mississippi River annually carries 406 million tons of sediment to the sea, [5] the Yellow River 796 million tons, and the Po River in Italy 67 million tons. [6] The names of many rivers derive from the color that the transported matter gives the water.
Remnants of former floodplains stand as terraces above the river's modern level. Downcutting , also called erosional downcutting , downward erosion or vertical erosion , is a geological process by hydraulic action that deepens the channel of a stream or valley by removing material from the stream's bed or the valley's floor.