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RSVP: The Four Transportation Methods (in order, largest to finest)
Rolling (traction — boulders rolling along the bed)
Skipping (saltation — pebbles bouncing along the bed)
Very fine suspension (silt and clay floating within the flow)
Pure solution (dissolved minerals, invisible)
Think of it as a party invitation: the river is RSVP-ing its load from source to sea — from the largest boulders it rolls along the floor to the dissolved minerals it carries invisibly to the ocean.
MOAT: The Four Erosion Processes
Material smashing together (attrition — load particles colliding and breaking apart)
Opening cracks by force (hydraulic action — water pressure shattering rock)
Abrasion — load scraping the bed and banks like sandpaper
Taking dissolved rock (corrosion/solution — chemical dissolution of soluble rock)
A river cuts its valley through the landscape like digging a MOAT — using all four erosion processes working simultaneously.
The Meander Memory Rule: ODES
Outside = fast flow = Erosion (river cliff)
Inside = slow flow = Deposition (point bar)
Spiral (helical) flow transfers material from outside to inside
ODES — Outside Deposits? Erase that! Deposition and Erosion are the other way round! The outside is where the fast water goes → erosion. The inside is where slow water goes → deposition.
Bradshaw Model: The "DVWS" Rule
As you go Downstream from source to mouth:
Discharge and velocity increase
Width and depth increase
Sediment size decreases (smaller, rounder particles)
Slope (gradient) decreases
Make this stick
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