Flooding and Management of Large Fluvial Lowlands : A Global Environmental Perspective

Pressure on large fluvial lowlands has increased tremendously during the past twenty years because of flood control, urbanization, and increased dependence upon floodplains and deltas for food production. This book examines human impacts on lowland rivers, and discusses how these changes affect different types of riverine environments and flood processes. Surveying a global range of large rivers, it provides a primary focus on the lower Rhine River in the Netherlands and the Lower Mississippi River in Louisiana. A particular focus of the book is on geo-engineering, which is described in a straight-forward writing style that is accessible to a broad audience of advanced students, researchers, and practitioners in global environmental change, fluvial geomorphology and sedimentology, and flood and water management. "Large fluvial lowlands are Earth's most distinctive and productive environments but are being rapidly degraded by human activities. Pressure on large rivers and deltas has increased tremendously over past decades because of flood control, urbanization, and increased dependence for food production This book examines human impacts on lowland rivers and discusses how these changes affect different types of riverine environments and flood processes, and how these "lessons" can be used to more sustainably manage large rivers and deltas. Surveying a global range of large rivers, including the Mekong, Nile, Sacramento, Danube, Huanghe, among others, the book especially examines management of the Rhine River in the Netherlands and the lower Mississippi in Louisiana. A particular focus of the book is on sedimentology and hydraulic engineering, which is described in a straightforward writing style accessible to a broad audience of advanced students, researchers, and practitioners in global environmental change, fluvial geomorphology and sedimentology, and flood and river management"-- Provided by publisher Dedication Contents List of Figures List of Tables Preface and Acknowledgments 1 Fluvial Lowlands and the Environment: Cause for Concern 2 Rivers and Landscapes: A Drainage Basin Framework 3 Hydrologic and Geomorphic Processes in Fluvial Lowlands and Deltas 4 Dams, Rivers, and the Environment 5 Hydraulic Engineering for Channel Stability and Flood Control: The Sequence of Geomorphic Adjustment 6 Dikes and Floodplains: Impacts of Flood Control on Lowland Rivers 7 Flood Basins and Deltas: Subsidence, Sediment, and Storm Surge 8 Toward Integrated Management of Lowland Rivers 9 Lessons Learned: Future Management of Fluvial Lowlands Bibliography Index This book examines the interrelations between flood management, flooding, and environmental change. It is accessible to a broad audience of advanced students, researchers, and practitioners in global environmental change, fluvial geomorphology and sedimentology, and flood and water management. Examines Interrelations Between Flood Management, Flooding, And Environmental Change, For Advanced Students, Researchers, And Practitioners.