Gilvear, David J

Greenwood, Malcolm T

Thoms, Martin

Wood, Paul J

2016

The chapters contained in this volume and the nature of present-day river science, are the outcome of the research by many of the authors and their colleagues over the last 30 to 40 years. The chapters form a fitting tribute to their scientific endeavour, charting the historical development of river science and also highlighting where significant advances may be achieved in the future. During the 1970s and 1980s, the integrated and holistic understanding of what today we call 'river science', was not in the vocabulary of river managers or scientists. Since the start of the twenty-first century, river science has become a primary focus for many early career scientists and practitioners. A new generation of academics has emerged, describing themselves as 'Professors of River Science' or 'River Ecosystems', including a number who have contributed to this book. In marked contrast, during the 1970s and 1980s, academics with a primary focus on riverine systems were described as stream biologists, ecologists, hydrologists, chemists, fluvial geomorphologists or hydraulic engineers. Each of these separate disciplines evolved on parallel paths with limited, if any, cross-fertilisation or collaboration with others. Each of the disciplines developed their own concepts, theories and terminology independently, even when working to achieve common research goals on the same river system. Thus, in the UK, there has never been a single society for those working on rivers; stream ecologists typically being members of the Freshwater Biological Association, hydrologists, the British Hydrological Society, fluvial geomorphologists, the British Geomorphological Research Group (now British Society for Geomorphology) and hydraulic engineers, the Institute of Civil Engineers (e.g., Scottish Hydraulics Group). In the United States the Society for Freshwater Science, formerly North American Benthological Society (NABS), encompasses those working on both lotic and lentic systems, while engineers and a few geomorphologists work with the United States Corps of Engineers on river erosion and sediment issues. Similarly, in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other regions of the globe, most river scientists are members of either the limnological, geographical or engineering societies within their respective countries or region.

River Science: Research and Management for the 21st Century, p. 372-378

9781119994343

9781118643518

9781118643525

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/20404

en

John Wiley & Sons Ltd

1

Conclusion: The discipline of river science

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