Research paper
An analysis of the processes of river bank erosion

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Abstract

Measurements of erosion have been made on sections of river banks in Devon, England over a period of 2.5 yr. Erosion pins were used and found to be satisfactory. Data of the hydrological and meteorological conditions during each erosion period were collected; these were incorporated into a stepwise multiple regression analysis of the conditions controlling the amount and distribution of river bank erosion. Field observations are shown to aid considerably in understanding the processes of removal of material. Two main methods of bank erosion are identified, corrasion and slumping, and these appear to be associated with the influence of river flow levels and antecedent precipitation conditions, respectively. Antecedent precipitation index emerges as the variable providing highest explanation of the erosion characteristics but the diversity of results from different sites illustrates the complex combinations of conditions related to erosion events. A tentative grouping of the sites according to the types and amounts of erosion and the variables explaining their distribution is suggested.

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