Factors Influencing River Discharge

River Systems and Processes

In this course, Professor Janet Hooke (University of Liverpool) explores river systems and processes. In modules one and two, we think about river discharge – the amount of water flowing through a river channel – examining the factors which influence discharge and how it is measured. In the third module, we look at river velocity, considering how flow is promoted and resisted within a river channel. In the fourth module, we turn to erosional and depositional processes within river systems, focusing particularly on the roles of velocity and sediment size and the Hjulström curve. In the final module, we concentrate on the factors which influence channel morphology, and how these change over the course of a river.

Factors Influencing River Discharge

In this module, we think about the factors that influence a river’s discharge, focusing on: (i) the amount and intensity of precipitation falling onto the river’s drainage basin; (ii) how much infiltration the drainage basin’s surface allows, and how this is affected by the characteristics of the ground surface, the climate, and changes in land use; (iii) the steepness of the drainage basin’s slopes; (iv) the shape of the drainage basin and the river’s tributaries.