Gravel‐Bed Rivers V

Abstract

Gravel‐bed rivers attract an interesting cross‐section of physical and biological scientists. The study of gravel‐bed rivers creates a common currency for interdisciplinary exchange among fluvial geomorphologists, civil engineers, hydrologists, lotic biologists, and riparian ecologists. Gravel‐bed rivers are also hotbeds for many current social and environmental issues: critical habitat for endangered salmonids; potential depositional zones for toxic byproducts of mining, industry, and agriculture; potential locations for exceeding Environmental Protection Agency standards for stream temperature and sediment load; and sources of destructive flooding for communities that encroach upon natural floodways.