Rivers are the great shapers of terrestrial landscapes. Very few points
on Earth above sea level do not lie within a drainage basin. Even points
distant from the nearest channel are likely to be influenced by that
channel. Tectonic uplift raises rock thousands of meters above sea
level. Precipitation falling on the uplifted terrain concentrates into
channels that carry sediment downward to the oceans and influence the
steepness of adjacent hill slopes by governing the rate at which the
landscape incises. Rivers migrate laterally across lowlands, creating a
complex topography of terraces, floodplain wetlands and channels. Subtle
differences in elevation, grain size, and soil moisture across this
topography control the movement of ground water and the distribution of
plants and animals.
Rivers in the Landscape, Second Edition, emphasizes general principles
and conceptual models, as well as concrete examples of each topic drawn
from the extensive literature on river process and form. The book is
suitable for use as a course text or a general reference on rivers.
Aimed at advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and
professionals looking for a concise summary of physical aspects of
rivers, Rivers in the Landscape is designed to:
- emphasize the connectivity between rivers and the greater landscape by
explicitly considering the interactions between rivers and tectonics,
climate, biota, and human activities;
- provide a concise summary of the current state of knowledge for
physical process and form in rivers;
- reflect the diversity of river environments, from mountainous,
headwater channels to large, lowland, floodplain rivers and from the
arctic to the tropics;
- reflect the diverse methods that scientists use to characterize and
understand river process and form, including remote sensing, field
measurements, physical experiments, and numerical simulations;
- reflect the increasing emphasis on quantification in fluvial
geomorphology and the study of Earth surfaces in general;
- provide both an introduction to the classic, foundational papers on
each topic, and a guide to the latest, particularly insightful and
integrative references.
