GEOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE ESTUARY OF RIVER NETRAVATI NEAR MANGALORE.

Abstract

A NUMBER OF FACTORS SUCH AS WAVE CONDITIONS, TIDES, RIVER FLOWS, SEDIMENT CHARGE, AND OCEAN CURRENTS AFFECT THE FEATURES OF AN ESTUARY.THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MORPHOLOGY OF AN ESTUARY IS ESSENTIAL ON PURELY SCIENTIFIC CONSIDERATIONS AS WELL AS APPLIED TO HARBOURS.AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO STUDY THESE INTER-RELATED AND UNSTEADY FEATURES AND THEIR COMBINED EFFECT ON AN ESTUARY QUALITATIVELY.THE ESTUARY SELECTED FOR THE STUDY IS THE ONE NEAR MANGALORE ON THE WEST COAST OF INDIA AT LATITUDE 12 DEGREES 51' NORTH AND LONGITUDE 74 DEGREES 50' EAST WHERE TWO RIVERS, VIZ., RIVER NETRAVATI AND RIVER GURPUR MEET TOGETHER AND JOIN THE SEA.AN EFFORT IS MADE TO ANALYSE THE CHANGES IN THE ESTUARY IN TERMS OF PREVAILING WAVE CONDITIONS, RIVER FLOWS AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT.(A)