A view of the river / Luna B. Leopold.

By:

Leopold, Luna B

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: Cambridge, Mass. ; LOndon : Harvard University Press, 1994.ISBN:

0674937325

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

551.483 20

Contents:

1. The River Channel -- 2. River Measurement -- 3. Down the Channel System -- 4. Meanders and Bars -- 5. Distribution of Discharge in Space and Time -- 6. Rivers of the World -- 7. Flow Variability and Floods -- 8. Relationships between Channel and Discharge -- 9. A Field Example: Watts Branch -- 10. The Hydraulic Geometry -- 11. Sediment Load -- 12. The Drainage Network -- 13. Energy Utilization -- 14. River Morphology: The Most Probable State.

Summary: With the Midwest under water, America had a chance to see how effectively it had "improved" its rivers. We've straightened and dredged them, revetted and rerouted them, made massive efforts to control them, yet our actions have been less than successful. Too often, physical changes made to a river conflict with natural processes, resulting in - rather than alleviating - damage. Applying available knowledge on how rivers form and act could prevent such problems. In this timely book, Luna Leopold seeks to organize such knowledge. Widely regarded as the most creative scholar in the field of river morphology, Leopold presents a coherent description of the river, its shape, size, organization, and action, along with a consistent theory that explains much of the observed character of channels. The laws of physics that govern rivers allow for variations, many of them dictated by random chance. Thus, a river's adaptation, as Leopold describes it, tends toward the most probable form, the one with the least variance among hydraulic parameters. We see how this probabilistic tendency plays out as Leopold views the river as a whole from headwater to mouth, in the drainage net, in the behavior of meanders, and in aspects of sediment transport. Grounded in hydraulics, geomorphology, and surveying, as well as in extensive fieldwork on rivers in the eastern and Rocky Mountain states, Leopold's view of a river is at once technical and personal, providing both a firm foundation for understanding the behavior of rivers - including instructions for getting started in backyard hydrology - and a wealth of firsthand observations by a thoughtful and experienced scientist. It will be of immediate interest and great use as we seek to develop, preserve, and appreciate our most fluid natural resource.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 4 )

Holdings
Item type	Home library	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Two Week Loan	College Lane Learning Resources Centre Main Shelves	551.483 LEO (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		4403421577

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

With the Midwest under water, America had a chance to see how effectively it had "improved" its rivers. We've straightened and dredged them, revetted and rerouted them, made massive efforts to control them, yet our actions have been less than successful. Too often, physical changes made to a river conflict with natural processes, resulting in - rather than alleviating - damage. Applying available knowledge on how rivers form and act could prevent such problems. In this timely book, Luna Leopold seeks to organize such knowledge. Widely regarded as the most creative scholar in the field of river morphology, Leopold presents a coherent description of the river, its shape, size, organization, and action, along with a consistent theory that explains much of the observed character of channels. The laws of physics that govern rivers allow for variations, many of them dictated by random chance. Thus, a river's adaptation, as Leopold describes it, tends toward the most probable form, the one with the least variance among hydraulic parameters. We see how this probabilistic tendency plays out as Leopold views the river as a whole from headwater to mouth, in the drainage net, in the behavior of meanders, and in aspects of sediment transport. Grounded in hydraulics, geomorphology, and surveying, as well as in extensive fieldwork on rivers in the eastern and Rocky Mountain states, Leopold's view of a river is at once technical and personal, providing both a firm foundation for understanding the behavior of rivers - including instructions for getting started in backyard hydrology - and a wealth of firsthand observations by a thoughtful and experienced scientist. It will be of immediate interest and great use as we seek to develop, preserve, and appreciate our most fluid natural resource.