Rivers are systems in a constant state of change, balancing flow speeds, path length, sediment deposition, and erosion, as seen in this previous Practical Engineering video. The next video in Keep reading
Tag: sediment transport
Why Rivers Shift
In their natural state, rivers are variable in their course, shifting and meandering. Sometimes they deposit sediment, and sometimes they erode it. In this video, Grady from Practical Engineering digs Keep reading
“Ruin of the Tides”
As tides and waves flow back and forth over a beach, they erode the sandy shore. Here photographer Michael Shainblum captures the streaks and rivulets left by a falling tide. Keep reading
How Sewers Work
One of the most important and underappreciated pieces of urban infrastructure is the sewage system. We rely on them to make our waste vanish, as if by magic. In reality, Keep reading
Ingenuity’s Dust Cloud
Mars is quite dusty. It periodically gets swallowed by planet-spanning dust storms, but it’s also home to regular dust devils whose size can put Earth’s to shame. Exactly how so Keep reading
Suspended Sediments in Lake Erie
Lake Erie’s Long Point is outlined in turquoise in this natural-color satellite image. The pale color is likely due to limestone sediments in the shallow waters getting resuspended by a Keep reading
Hudson Bay Watercolors
Rivers sweep fresh water and sediment into the Hudson Bay in this satellite image. Dark brown plumes mark the mouths of several coastal rivers as they add to the cyclonic Keep reading
Making a Miniature River
Despite wide differences in ecology and geology, rivers around the world share certain fundamental features. Physicists study these characteristics by creating small-scale rivers in the laboratory, like the experiment featured Keep reading
Sediment and Coral
As rivers wash sediment toward the sea, they carve elaborate deltas like that of the Rio Cauto in Cuba. Over time these sediments build up marshes, swamps, lagoons, and other Keep reading
Shedding Light on Martian Dust Storms
In 2018, Mars was enveloped by a global dust storm that lasted for months. Although such storms had been seen before, the 2018 storm offered an unprecedented opportunity for observation Keep reading