Geography Physical Fieldwork Report

How and why

does the River
Tillingbourne
change along its
course?
Fatimah Zaheer

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Fatimah Zaheer
Introduction:
Spec says: I must be able to design a suitable enquiry question.

✓ Spec says: I must be able to relate a geographical concept or theory to your fieldwork.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to locate my fieldwork enquiry.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to identify risks and explain how they can be mitigated.

My enquiry question is: How and why does the River Tillingbourne change along its course?

I have chosen this enquiry question because:

• It is not ambiguous
• It addresses my main are of research
• The location is about an hour away travel from school
• It has many safe and accessible sites for investigation
• It has a number of changing characteristics along its course

The aims of carrying out this fieldwork investigation are:

• To collect primary data to answer my enquiry question and test my 3 hypotheses.

• To apply my fieldwork investigation skills in a real-life setting.

I will be testing three hypotheses:

1. The channel of the River Tillingbourne becomes wider and deeper as it flows downstream

2. sediment in the River Tillingbourne becomes smaller and more rounded with increasing
distance downstream

3. Velocity in the river Tillingbourne increases downstream

I will use the theory/ concept of the Bradshaw model to underpin my fieldwork investigation:

The Bradshaw model shows how rivers typically change

as they flow from source to mouth. The triangles, going
from left to right, represent the different characteristics
and flows of the river. If the triangle gets wider, it
means that the variable increases downstream. But, if a
triangle gets smaller from the right, t shows that the
variable decreases with distance downstream.

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My fieldwork investigation took place in the River Tillingbourne, which runs along the south side
of the North Downs and joins the River Wey at Guildford.

Global scale map:

National scale map:

Local scale map:

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There were many risks of my fieldwork and these are indicated below however we mitigated them
so we were safe at all times :

Risk How was it managed?

Extreme weather Wear suitable clothing (e.g. long sleeve clothing and wellies),
wear sun cream, check weather forecast
Moving vehicles and crossing the Wait for cars to pass before crossing, look both ways, wait for
road a crossing signal from the traffic lights
Weil’s disease in the river Making sure to use hand sanitiser and washing hands after
being in contact with the river water
Travelling between sites, and Be familiar with route, create a checkpoint to return back to,
getting lost stay with a group of at least two other people, alert others of
whereabouts, be mindful of the path we travel in
Injuries Alert staff and use a first aid kit
Wild animals Try to keep calm and do not approach them
Uneven pathway Look where we are going, and if anything may appear on the
path ahead
Stranger danger don’t provoke them, avoid unnecessary contact, stay with
others and teachers

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Methodology:
Spec says: I must be able to select, measure and record data.

✓ Spec says: I must know the difference between primary and secondary data.
✓ Spec says: I must collect a range of human and physical data.
✓ Spec says: I must select and justify a chosen sampling method.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to describe what I did and why I collected data in this way.

Primary Data is information collected by researchers for the first time from original sources

The primary data we collected was:

• Width and depth and velocity statistics

• Roundness/ length of sediment
• Field sketches

Secondary Data is data that has already been collected by someone else for a different purpose

The secondary data we collected was:

• Maps/GIS/ Google earth

• Old photography
• Previous data from previous years

I collected this data using systematic sampling. I chose this sampling method because it is time
efficient and represents the whole of the river.

Random Sampling Systematic Sampling Stratified Sampling

Random number tables are They are evenly/regularly This method is used when the
used to obtain distributed in a spatial context, parent population or sampling
coordinates/grid references for example every two metres frame is made up of sub-sets
for the points. along a transect line. of known size.

On the day I collected the following primary data. I will describe how I collected the data and why
I did it in this way.

What? How? Why?

Width and depth Systematic Easy and fair method. Evenly show how depth
statistics sampling changes along width of river
Tape measures,
metre rulers
Velocity statistics Stratified Better than the dog biscuit method, dog biscuit also
sampling got stuck in foliage so was unreliable
Flow meters and
corks
Roundness/length of Systematic To see how the roundness and length varies along the
sediment sampling width of the river at even distributions allowing a
Power's scale of good coverage of area to be used.
roundness
Field sketches Systematic Relevant to research and have enough detail to be
sampling analysed thoroughly.

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Data Collection:
Spec says: I must be able to select, process and presenting data appropriately

✓ Spec says: I must be able to present and justify a range of presentation methods.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to describe and explain what they show.

Data Set 1: field sketches

I have used filed sketches to present the

features of the river at its different courses.
The illustrations help to visualise the site (the
site shown in the image is of site 2:
Crossways Farm, at the middle course of the
river). The annotations around the drawing
provide more detail about the relevant
features of the river, and describes the
features found in and around the river.
Comparing the field sketches of each site, it
can show the key differences between the
different courses of the river, to help
understand the answer of my hypotheses
question; ‘how and why does the River
Tillingborne change along its course?’

Data Set 2: Table displaying the width and depth of the river

Width across the channel at current water level: 140 cm

Sampling strategy: systematic sampling
Left bank Right bank
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
3 3 4 7 9 3 2 5 4 8 9 6 6 4

I have used a table to present the width and depth data for each course of the river. I have done this
because it makes it easier to visualise the data that was collected, which also helps comparisons be
made. It also clearly shows the measurements that were collected at each course of the river. The
table is neat and organised and has relevant labels to help an audience understand it.

Data Set 3

I have used a pie chart to present the power’s scale of roundness as it represents data visually, as its
fractional parts of a whole which allows the audience to analyse the information quickly. The pie
chart shows how much of each type of roundness is present in the lower course of the river. You can

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see from the pie chart that majority of beadloads in the lower course of River Tillingbourne is sub
rounded.

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Results:
Spec says: I must be able to describe, explain and analyse my fieldwork

✓ Spec says: I must be able to explain my results.

✓ Spec says: I must be able to make links between my data sets.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to use statistical tests to prove or disprove my hypotheses.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to identify and explain anomalies.

From data set 1, you can see that my main observations were that the river has a large bend which
forms a meander, due to the lateral erosion that takes place there. The middle course was quite
wide and deep, and the water was fast flowing, especially the water on the outside of the bend
travels fastest and erodes away to form a river cliff. This directly links to my enquiry question of how
the River Tillingbourne changes through each course. From my other pieces of data which I had
collected, I know that the upper course of the river has slow velocity, a shallow channel and the
landscape is quite steep surrounding it. As well as this, the river is wider and deeper, in its lower
course. The velocity is also fast and there is a very slight and gentle slope around the river.

From data 2, you can see that my main observations were that the upper course has the narrowest
channel of 140 cm, while the middle course had a channel of 350cm and the lower course had a
width of 690cm; the lower course had the widest channel. This proves my enquiry question of how
the rivers width changes over its course.

From data set 3, you can see that my main observations were that the majority of bedload in the
lower course of River Tilingbourne were sub rounded. This links to my enquiry question as it shows
the changes of the river along its course, including the size of the bedload. From my other parts of
data collected, I can see that the bedload in the middle course was mainly angular, whilst in the
upper course it was mainly sub-angular.

I can see the following links between my field sketch for site 2 and the map on the landscape around
the river. My field sketch displays the land to be accessible but have a slight hilly height around it.
This is shown on the map as the contour lines are a little close together, to demonstrate the height
to be increasing, compared to the lower course where the land is flat, illustrated by the contour lines
being far apart. In the upper course, the contour lines are much closer together, which indicates that
gthe land is quite steep.

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For hypothesis 2: sediment in the River Tillingbourne becomes smaller and more rounded with
increasing distance downstream

I used a statistical test to prove the relationship between two variable; the scale of bedload and the
course of the river. I had done this by calculating the mode scale of the bedload at each of the
different courses. I calculated the bedload in the upper course to have a mode of scale 4, the middle
course had a mode scale of 3 and the lower course had a mode scale of 2. However, my data from
the lower course is an anomaly, as ideally it should have had a mode scale of 5/6, to prove that my
hypothesis is correct, by showing that the bedload gets rounder with an increasing scale, as you go
downstream.

Although I tried to make my data as robust as possible I have noticed there are some anomalies in
my data sets. For example, in my measurement taken in the lower course of the depth, I measured
the depth at the 10th interval to be 8cm compared to the mean of 16.74cm. This could be due to me
and my group measuring the depth incorrectly (using the ruler stick the wrong way round).

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Conclusion
Spec says: I must be able to make conclusions.

The enquiry question was: How and why does the River Tillingbourne change along its course?

The answer to this question is:

In summary, the River Tillingbourne undergoes a series of different changes as it moves from its
source to its mouth. These transformations are a result of both human and natural processes. The
river at its upper course, has a steep gradient which quickens its flow and allows it to erode the
surrounding land through hydraulic action and abrasion. This leads to formation of interlocking spurs
and V-shaped valleys. As the river journeys to the middle course, its velocity decreases which causes
sediment deposition within the meanders. This forms the key features of the middle curse such as,
slip-off slopes and river cliffs. The reduced velocity also increases the rate of deposition, which is
why the bedload gets smaller and rounder (increased rate of attrition) in the middle course. This is
represented by my primary data of a pie chart displaying power’s scale of roundness. Reaching the
lower course, the river has a reduced gradient which increases sediment deposition, which results in
the the development of floodplains. Additionally, human activities such as deforestation,
industrialisation and urbanisation, increase the difficulty in managing a river. This is because they
increase the rate of surface run off which contributes to erosion. In conclusion, the River
Tillingbourne’s change along its course is a result of the human and physical influence acting upon it.

Also I tested the following hypotheses:

• Sediment in the River Tillingbourne becomes smaller and more rounded with increasing
distance downstream

I can accept my hypothesis as there is a relationship between the course of the river and the
roundness and size of the sediment. I calculated the mode average of the bedload shape in each
course to prove this hypothesis. In the upper course it was 4, in the middle course it was 3 and in the
lower course it was expected to be 5/6 (my results for this seemed o be an anomaly). I had used the
Power’s scale of roundness. This supports my hypothesis as the majority shape of the bedload was
angular in the upper and middle course and was sub rounded in the lower course. This shows that
the bedload did become more rounded as you go downstream.

2. Velocity in the river tillingbourne increases downstream

I can accept my hypothesis as there is a positive relationship between the velocity statistics recorded
and the course of the river you are in. At each of the 3 sites, using a flow meter I recorded the
average number of spins per minute to be 268 in the upper course, 320 in the middle course and 334
in the lower course. The increase in the spins on the flow meter show that the flow of the river was
faster as it had more energy to spin the flow meter. This shows the velocity to be increasing as you
go downstream which proves my hypothesis to be correct.

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Evaluation
Spec says: I must be able to evaluate my fieldwork.

✓ Spec says: I must be able to identify the problems with my data.

✓ Spec says: I must be able to explain the limitations of my fieldwork.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to suggest other data that may have been useful or how my
fieldwork could be improved.
✓ Spec says: I must be able to explain if my conclusions are reliable or not.

The problems with my data are the anomalies in my results. This could disprove my hypothesis.
For example, when investigating how sediment and bedload shape changes as you go
downstream, there were some anomalies with the shapes which didn’t fit the trend. Although I
was able to exclude them, my data was not as accurate as it could have been.

I carried out my fieldwork investigation however there are at least 3 limitations that may have
altered the results. These are:

• Error with equipment (flow meter)

• Measurement error (width or depth statistics)
• Weather – affects current strength which can give results that may be different if
recorded in another season

I could have improved my fieldwork by doing my fieldwork investigation in another season where
there is different weather conditions. This includes collecting other data such as velocity, width and
depth statistics in a month with less sunny, more windy conditions to see how the results would
differ. This will allow for better comparisons as we would be able to examine why the river changes
along its course and how the weather affects this. The velocity of the river may be faster in
December compared to when I recorded the velocity statistics in June as the wind speed would be
higher causing faster flow of water in the river channel. Doing this allows for more data to be
collected which can help answer the enquiry question more accurately as there is more data
available and anomalies can also be less impactful on the results. I can also do the field sketches
again in December as the landscapes may have changed due to increased rainfall and the landforms
may appear different. This can be compared and help answer the enquiry question of how the river
changes along its course and why.

Overall I think my conclusions are reliable because a large range of data was collected at each course
of the river such as the width, depth, velocity and bedload size and shape. There was also a field
sketch done at each course to see the surroundings and the shape of the river (eg- meanders). I was
able to use my results and link it to secondary data to help prove my hypotheses to be correct. The
map of the river shops contour lines to get further apart as you move downstream which proves the
gradient decreases and the river gets wider as you move downstream which proves my hypothesis
to be correct. There was sufficient data collected to be analysed and although there were some
anomalies, overall it did not have a huge impact on the data as the data fit the trend and proved the
hypotheses.

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