| Abstract: | This paper describes a low-cost device for measuring the three-dimensional morphology of a gully headwall. The device was designed to operate in a gully system with the following characteristics: overhanging banks caused by a thick, dense root mat; retreat of the underlying unconsolidated sediments through small slab failures, leading to a considerable variation in retreat rate at each point on the headwall; and changes in the orientation of the headwall owing to changes in sediment properties and the topographical and hydrological controls of gully growth. The device is used to measure a series of closely spaced vertical profiles of the headwall, and the collected data are combined to draw a contour map showing the distance from the plane of the instrument to the headwall. Comparing maps for sequential times enables retreat rates for the diffferent proportions of the headwall to be quantified. |
