Description

This collection of papers which focuses on the role of water, sediment and catchment controls on channel processes, covers a range ofstudies ofconsiderable topical and geographical diversity. Field study areas span the deserts of Arizona and the Negev, upland areas from Dartmoor to the Alps, mid-temperate regions in the Swiss lowlands and in Ohio, tropical mountains and jungle in New Guinea and estuarine environments in Devon. The majority of the contributions rely on measurements specifically undertaken for the purpose of the particular study reported. This is undoubtedly the result of the recent trend of utilizing Held experiments in geomorphology. At the same time, it is hoped that the publication of this volume will contribute to the awareness of a need to develop wider and better theoretical bases in lluvial geomorphology. Such work may well be the focus of the coming twenty years. It has the potential to instill much more substance into process measurements at a particular site and to enhance their regional and systematic applicability.