"The Hydrological Study Of the River Conwy"

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GCSE Coursework

 

                              “The Hydrological Study

                               Of the River Conwy”

         

This project will study the transition of the River Conwy as it flows downstream. It will concentrate on the following variables:

  • Water Width
  • Depth
  • Wetted Perimeter
  • Gradient
  • Flow Velocity
  • Float Velocity
  • Stone Roundness
  • Stone Size

Another variable we could have measured is the pH value of the water in the river. This would have detected pollution levels as it goes downstream.

These 8 variables will provide us with the sufficient information.

Aims

The aims of the project are:

  1. To investigate changes in the channel form and river processes at different sites downstream on the River Conwy.

  1. To identify landforms associated with river processes

  Hypothesis

The following hypotheses were tested:

  1. Downstream, the width will increase.
  2. Downstream, the depth will increase
  3. Downstream, the velocity will decrease
  4. Downstream, the cross sectional area will increase
  5. Downstream, the discharge will increase
  6. Downstream, the gradient will decrease
  7. Downstream, the wetted perimeter will increase
  8. Downstream, the bed load size will decrease
  9. Downstream, the bed load roundness will increase.

Background Information

Site 1- (Nant-y-Brwyn) Ref- 792 450

 

    Nant-y-Brwyn was the site highest above sea level and therefore the nearest to the source, which we studied. This site shows examples of interlocking spurs, a V-shaped valley and impermeable slates and quartz. The site is a tributary to the river Conwy. The rocks were impermeable and had a covering of peat, so there is no infiltration and the ground is flashy. The peat is saturated as high rainfall levels and cold conditions mean there is neither very little evaporation nor decaying here. The V-shaped valley is a result of vertical erosion. Here there is rough grazing for sheep, with natural vegetation of grass and moss. Trees would be too exposed to exist in this area.

Site 2 – Meanders  (792 446)

The meander site is the second nearest to the source. It consists of consecutive meanders. The meander we studied and observed had a slip off slope that consisted mostly of slate rocks and quartz. This meander had a wide, flat valley that shows us that there is no vertical erosion and only lateral erosion evident. This is unusual for this type of location, and is due to solifluction. Solifluction begins in the ice age where the soil freezes, then later melts and slumps into a valley and it becomes shallow and so meanders form. There is turbulence in the water as the pools and riffles show. Still based in Upper Conwy, the vegetation is still mosses and grass with the addition of cotton grass because of the saturated peat.

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Site 3- Ysbyty Ifan    (842 488)

Ysbyty Ifan is a small village and was the lowest site downstream safe to measure but was the uppermost village on the Conwy. There is a large bridge on this site that creates an obstruction for the water and slows the river flow down. It slows it down enough for deposition to take place upstream from the bridge. This results in the river here being less efficient, and so flooding has a larger chance of ...

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