Groove erosion

Under rill ( Engl. Rill erosion, even erosion gully, in South America also Voçorocas) means in the Geosciences rectilinear water erosion forms of smaller dimensions. The term is mainly used for the damage mapping of embankments, leveled areas and unpaved roads and paths.

The German Association for Water Management, Sewage and Waste recommends the following definitions in its damage mapping instructions:

• Grooves, linear shapes <10 cm deep
• Gutters, linear shapes> 10 cm to <40 cm
• Trenches, linear shapes> 40 cm
• Flood channels, linear shapes> 40 cm deep with greater width than depth

Groove erosion can usually be divided into two groups:

• extensive erosion with grooves and subordinate grooves and
• individually occurring gullies, ditches and flood channels

Unpaved, slightly inclined surfaces create acceleration sections for surface runoff and thus direct large amounts of water into lower-lying areas. This can create flood channels of considerable depth. This process can intensify itself if the channel cuts through a layer carrying groundwater . This can lead to undermining of the building fabric and erosion damage to roads in settlement areas.

literature

• Christiane Martin (Red.): Lexicon of Geosciences. Volume 4: North to Sib. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg et al. 2001, ISBN 3-8274-0423-1 .