How to Enter a MoRPh Survey Online

This is a step-by-step guide to help you to upload MoRPh data to Cartographer:

Starting a new MoRPh survey

When you’re logged into the Modular River Survey workspace:

On the left hand menu, click on ‘MoRPh’ under the Surveys header
Click on the ‘Add a Survey’ button to continue

Navigating Within the MoRPh Survey Form

Every MoRPh survey form comprises five tabs:

Four data entry tabs (General information, Bank top, Bank face and Channel bed) replicate the field survey (paper) form
Guidance for each data entry tab which can be shown or hidden by clicking the ‘Show / Hide guidance’ button at the top right of each form
The first tab (on the left): ‘ Classifications and Indices’ provides access to a list of all individual MoRPh index results

Adding data to a new MoRPh survey form

General Information tab > Project Details (Optional)

If your survey is part of a new or ongoing project, you can enter details here. This will be helpful when searching for data later. All searchable information in this section are optional, and include:

Project name and code
WFD Waterbody ID
Survey type

NB. the MoRPh Mantra: ‘Record what you see, not what you know!’ is repeated at the top of every data entry form as a reminder that the purpose of the MoRPh survey is to gather evidence based on observations at the time of the survey.

General Information tab > Who, when, what & where?

Section 1.1 Surveyor and Survey Conditions

Your surveyor name or alias is important information, especially if any questions arise when your data are being approved (by your workspace data QA lead).
Survey date and time are also essential for assessing changes in survey data, for example, if surveys are part of ‘Before / After / Control / Impact’ (BACI) investigations.
Noting which bank the survey is taken from will ensure your survey is repeated from the same location next time.
Bed visibility is key to interpreting channel bed data e.g. substrate types
NB – MoRPh surveys should never be undertaken if conditions are unsafe! However, if circumstances are safe but not ideal, adverse conditions should be noted to help with data QA, interpretation and comparability. Please add information relevant to the survey data in the free text box e.g. water deep and/or turbid, reducing channel bed visibility to approximately 10%.

Section 1.2 Module name and location

NB – River, location/reach and subreach names must be consistent to assist data searches and to generate indices for MoRPh10 surveys.
The river name should be the standard name shown on OS 1:25,000 map.
The location/reach name will refer to the broad area or place name.
Most importantly, the sub-reach name must be EXACTLY the same for ten side-by-side (or contiguous) MoRPh modules whenever a MoRPh10 survey is being undertaken.
Module numbers along a sub-reach must be ordered 1 and 10, from upstream to downstream, so that Cartographer can identify and calculate additional indices for each MoRPh10 survey.
If you are recording MoRPh data at a Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (RMI) location you have an option to add the Riverfly site ID here. (If not, you can simply ignore and leave the default option).
Select the appropriate MoRPh module length, taking the predominant or average river width, extending across the full river bed i.e. between the base of each bank, as your guide. NB – the MoRPh river width includes any areas of bare sediment and/or emergent plants that are growing out of the water or upon marginal bars or berms.
MoRPh is best suited for rivers up to 30 m wide. Unless you are able to survey from both banks, it will be increasingly difficult to have an accurate view of opposite bank features for channels of 30 – 40 m wide. [If binoculars are used to help survey wide rivers, be sure to add a note in the comments box so that this approach can be replicated next time.]

Cartographer User tip

Orange highlights indicate incomplete data – notes below boxes / buttons give prompts for the information needed.

Module geo-location – can be recorded in two ways

Typing in the NGR or GPS coordinates;
Selecting a location by clicking directly onto the map layer or aerial image.

When the NGR, GPS or general area has been selected, zooming into the view and toggling between the map and aerial views can help to fine tune module locations.

Section 1.3 Channel dimensions

An additional NGR or GPS location is not needed if the channel dimensions are recorded for the module mid-point.
The MoRPh river width should include the full extent of the channel bed, including marginal bars, berms or aquatic vegetation (see notes above).
Left and right bank heights, can differ on each bank face. Bank height values should measure the vertical distance from the water level (or bank margin if stream bed is dry) to the point where the bank top begins.
The bankfull width will be measured at the top of the lowest bank in unmodified streams or rivers. Where channel dimensions have been modified, the ‘bankfull’ level may be indicated by a trash line other signs of the highest annual flow level.

Section 1.4 Photographs and Notes

Four photographs can be uploaded, with up to 10MB available for each image.
We strongly recommend that photographs (1-3) comprise:
- Cross channel view at the mid point
- View upstream from the mid point
- View downstream from the mid point
The remaining photograph (4) can be used to capture a notable feature or a wider bank top view.
Adding notes about your photographs and other aspects of your survey is also highly recommended. This will help future surveyors to repeat precisely how a survey has been undertaken, or to know where any deviations in approach may affect the survey data (in contrast to differences in the data indicating changes caused by natural events or interventions).