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Introducing Large Rivers
Avijit Gupta
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences
University of Wollongong
Australia
With contributions from
Olav Slaymaker
Department of Geography
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver
Canada
Wolfgang J. Junk
National Institute of Science and Technology ofWetlands (INCT-INAU)
Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT)
Cuiabá
Brazil
This edition first published 2020
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Gupta, Avijit, author.
Title: Introducing large rivers / by Avijit Gupta.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2020. | Includes bibliographic references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019032032 (print) | LCCN 2019032033 (ebook) | ISBN 9781118451403 (paperback) | ISBN 9781118451427 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781118451434 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Rivers--Environmental aspects--Research. | Fluvial geomorphology--Environmental aspects--Research.
Classification: LCC GB1205 .G86 2020 (print) | LCC GB1205 (ebook) | DDC 551.48/3--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032032
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032033
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © guenterguni/Getty Images
To Mira and Mae
Preface
An edited anthology on geomorphology and management of large rivers was published in 2007.1 The book filled a gap in our knowledge about large rivers as fluvial geomorphology used to be based more on smaller streams of manageable dimensions. We needed to extend our study to big rivers which shape a significant part of the global physiography, carry a high volume of water and sediment to the coastal waters, and support a very large number of people who live on their floodplains and deltas. That was an advanced treatise. This volume is written primarily as a textbook on large rivers, introducing such aspects. A number of line drawings and photographs illustrate the text, and a set of questions at the end of the chapters encourage the reader to explore various issues regarding large rivers.
The book introduces the environmental characteristics of river basins and forms and functions of channels commonly seen among the large rivers of the world. Specific discussions cover their complex geology, water, and sediment. The great lengths of these rivers stretch across a range of different environments. The Mekong, for example, flows on both rock and alluvium with varying form and behaviour. The geological framework of a large river is based primarily on large-scale tectonics commonly derived by plate movements. An uplifted zone, the primary source of sediment in the river, and a nearly subcontinental-scale water catchment area are necessary. A range of morphology exists in large rivers, and the associated floodplains and flood pulses are ecologically important. Large rivers could be geologically long-lived. In future, their forms may change and their functions may alter, following construction of engineering structures and climate change.
The quality of the book has been enhanced by detailed and well-illustrated discussions on two important topics: (i) large rivers and their floodplains: structures, functions, evolutionary traits and management with special reference