Preface

This book aims to offer a collective and systematic overview of the recent practices in fluvial geomorphology, involving contributions from diverse disciplinary expertise and geographic regions, thereby providing guidance to scientists in allied fields to address questions, and to decision makers for application in managing natural rivers.

This book has been organized into seven chapters—an introductory chapter by the editors and six main chapters by other contributors. *Chapter 1* provides a review of the current practice in fluvial geomorphology: research frontiers, issues, and challenges. *Chapter 2* concerns simulation-based experimental study to investigate local scour around circular bridge piers with non-uniform bed materials under different open channel ice cover conditions. The work can supplement rigorous field-based assessment of local scour development around bridge pillars particularly in cold regions. *Chapter 3* primarily deals with a depth-averaged computational model (CCHE2) to simulate sediment transport and channel migration processes with particular reference to Choshui—a mountain river in Taiwan. The work complements field validation-based assessment of bank erosion and channel migration processes. *Chapter 4* reviews the approach of the preferable use of geospatial technology, particularly DEM (Digital Elevation Models) for measuring drainage basin morphometry. Scholarly works, particularly a review of the methodological outspring especially regarding drainage basin morphometric analysis, have wider recognition. *Chapter 5* concerns fluvial sensitivity to oil spills with particular reference to the Amazon region rivers where the authors have generated fluvial oil spill sensitivity index maps contemplating the regional hydrological regime, using computational modeling to represent fluctuations in the seasonal inundation. The approach concerning risk analysis using linguistic rules for the construction of a risk matrix is also methodical and useful for the global scientific community. The *Chapter 6* is a fundamental work and largely concerns the meandering fractals in water resources management. The approach concerning the use of fractal geometry, chaos theory, etc. for explaining river meanders could refine their enduring assessment. The final *Chapter 7* deals with the effect of evapotranspiration in the estimation of monthly stream flows for data sparse environment with particular reference to Portugal based on two widely used approaches namely, the Penman-Monteith method the Thornthwaite method. The work can supplement to water balance study particularly, to estimate monthly flows for un-gauged catchments.

In addition to the aforementioned topics, the application of remote sensing and geographic information systems, field data on natural rivers, use of analytical tools, case studies, scientific models, etc. in appraising fluvial landscape will definitely provide insight and enhance understanding of the subject matter. Rather than voluminous information, this book incorporates a selected number of relevant works to meet the theoretical as well as applied objectives.

Obviously, the book could have been organized in different ways. Many more articles could have been included, and maybe a few contributions may look a little mismatched, but in view of the multidisciplinary roots of fluvial geomorphology the present edited volume will hopefully contribute to the current practice of fluvial geomorphology.
