Author(s): Benoit Camenen; Stefan Haun; Tetsuya Sumi

Linked Author(s): Benoît Camenen, Stefan Haun, Tetsuya Sumi

Keywords: No Keywords

Abstract: Rivers remain nowadays and will be in the future one of the main resources for drinking and irrigation water but also for the production of hydroelectricity. Human interventions, such as the construction of dams and reservoirs, are thus essential to ensure a sustainable water supply. However, each physical modification of the river system has an impact on the river network, including water discharge, sediment quantity and quality and affects as consequence the river morphology and ecology. As a result of an increasing water demand, rivers in their natural states are nowadays very seldom. A deeper understanding of the basics in sediment transport, morphodynamics as well as of the effects of modifications on the river network is therefore required. In particular, it is important to implement appropriate and sustainable management strategies in order to minimize negative impacts of anthropogenic works on the aquatic environment. The International Symposium on River Sedimentation (ISRS), held in Stuttgart, Germany, 19–22 September 2016, served as a platform to give international researchers from engineering and natural science, stakeholders and decision-makers the possibility to exchange knowledge, discuss advances in river sediment research and to present new and transdisciplinary approaches with respect to sediment dynamics, sustainable water resources management as well as ecological functioning of river systems. High-quality submissions were selected for special issues to further distribute new achievements and improved knowledge to the community. The present special issue in the International Journal of River and Basin Management contains four of these peer-reviewed articles, focusing mainly on research related to water management for ensuring a secure water supply. The herein presented state-of-the-art research articles include an analysis of the hydro-sedimentological characteristics of intermittent rivers in Afghanistan, modelling of cohesive sediments in the Upper Rhine, measurements of sediment fluxes in periglacial reservoirs and a study of effects of sediment bypass tunnels on sediment grain size distribution and benthic habitats.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2017.1386420

Year: 2017