Sediment that is carried by a stream along the bottom of its channel.
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A stream's bed load refers to the sediment and particles that are carried along the bottom of the stream by the flowing water. This bed load can include materials of various sizes, from sands and gravels to larger rocks and boulders. The movement of bed load within a stream can influence erosion, sediment transport, and the overall morphology of the stream channel.
A streams bed load is the sediment that is transported in a stream. The sediment can be transported by rolling, sliding, or even tumbling along the bed of the stream.
Bed Load
The largest part of a stream's load is usually the bed load, which consists of larger particles like sand, gravel, and boulders that are transported along the stream bed through processes like rolling and sliding. These particles are too heavy to be suspended in the water column for long periods of time.
Materials carried in a stream's water can include sediment such as sand, silt, and gravel, as well as organic matter like leaves and branches. Pollution from human activities such as trash and chemicals can also be present in a stream's water.
Stream transport sediment in three ways, dissolved load, (ions in solution being carried downstream), suspended load, (suspended sediment that floats freely downstream) and bed load, (sediment that rolls or scoots along the bottom of the river).
Bed load refers to sediment that is transported along the streambed by rolling, sliding, or saltating, while dissolved load consists of dissolved materials carried by the water. Bed load is visible and moves along the streambed, while dissolved load is not visible and is carried within the water itself.