Topic > Pools and Riffles within a River: The River Teme

Using findings from a recent field study at Leigh Brook, we suggest morphological, hydrological and sediment differences between the Pool and Riffle. Within a river there are areas known as pools and riffles. The pool is an area of ​​deeper, slow-flowing water, while the river is an area of ​​shallow, fast-flowing white water. The rocks are also clearly visible at the riffle, but submerged in the pool. A pool is usually found on a meander while the riffle is normally seen in straighter areas of the channel, they tend to be located very close to each other, forming in runs. The purpose of this investigation is to carry out a field investigation at a pool and a riffle and compare the characteristics of these two sites with the aim of establishing the differences. Site Description The river used for the survey is a tributary of the River Teme, and known as Leigh Brook. The River Teme is a tributary of the River Severn. The site investigated is located in the Knapp and Papermill Reserve, managed by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. MethodUsing a tape measure, measure the distance from the top of the right bank to the top of the left bank. Using a peg, secure the tape measure in this position. Using another tape measure place it along the river bed from the right edge of the water to the left. This gives the measurement of the wetted perimeter. Using a quick set level, note the water's edge and the tops of both banks. Divide the channel by 3 and using a quickset measure the water surface at these points. At these sites measure the channel bed and water surface 1 meter downstream and 1 meter upstream. Next divide the channel by 10 and at each point measure the total water bed, distance across the channel and velocity. The speed is measured... in the center of the paper..., Concept Publishing Company, India, page 131Leopold. L. (1953), Downstream change in velocity in rivers, American Journal of Science, vol. 251, page 606-624Nagle.G, 2000, Advanced Geography, Oxford University Press, Spain, pages 80-82Sear. D. (1996), Sediment transport processes in Pool-Riffle sequences. Land surfing. Process. Landforms, 21: 241–262. Spellman. F, 2000, The Science of Water: Concepts and Applications, second edition, CRC Press, page 76Richards, KS, 1978. Simulation of flow geometry in a riffle-pool flow. Land Surface Processes and Landforms 3, 345–354.Thompson et al., 1998, D. M. Thompson, J. M. Nelson, E. E. Wohl, Interactions between pool geometry and hydraulics, Water Resources. Res., Vol 34, pp. 3673–3681Wentworth, C.K. (1922) A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. Journal of Geology, 30, 377–392.