To investigate changes in bed load and discharge along the course of the river Shimna.

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A fieldwork investigation into changes in bed load and discharge from source to mouth in the river Shimna.

Aim: To investigate changes in bed load and discharge along the course of the river Shimna.

I expect that as you move from the source to the mouth the discharge of the river will increase. This is possibly due to tributaries coming together and the river channel becoming wider. Also as I move downstream I will expect the rivers bed load to decrease in size and to become more rounded due to erosion processes such as attrition .

Through my investigation I will either be able to prove or disprove the following hypothesis;

Hypothesis 1- the size and shape of river bed load will change from source to mouth, becoming smaller and more rounded due to the process of erosion.

Hypothesis 2- discharge will increase from source to mouth.

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Planning: For this piece of coursework to be carried out successfully some time had to be allocated to planning the trip. Due to the nature of the fieldwork, i.e. the fact it was a river study, safety was an important issue. Firstly a relatively safe and manageable river had to be chosen. The river Shimna fulfilled this requirement and also was suitable as the centre could provide us with transport, weatherproof clothing and also someone with first aid skills in case of an emergency. This would be vital in case of unfavourable weather conditions on the day, and ...

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