HomeFLOOD GEOMORPHOLOGY: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND MANAGEMENT
FLOOD GEOMORPHOLOGY: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND MANAGEMENT
Editor: Edward Cordell
Releasing in 2021
Binding: Hardcover
For thousands of years floods have been among the most common and severe natural disasters on Earth, in terms of economic damage and loss of life. Floods in most river basins are caused by excessive rainfall generated by a variety of atmospheric mechanisms. In cold-winter regions, large floods can be generated from snow/ice melt, particularly in combination with rainfall, while along coastal-draining rivers extensive flooding may be associated with storm surge events. Floods are also generated from catastrophic failure of artificial (reservoirs) and natural lakes, a category that includes dams created by ice, glacial moraines, volcanic lava flows, and landslides. Flood hazard refers to the potential of a given flood to threaten human life and property. Floods are essentially a natural phenomenon that affects the geomorphology of surrounding landform and may result in events like erosion, sedimentation or deposition. Certain areas are more prone to floods than the others. It is important to study the concepts behind their occurrence, frequency, vulnerability of an area to floods and the geomorphological changes post floods owing to their damaging effects on the environment. Flood damages continue to rise as there is increased global warming and glaciers melting leading to rise in sea levels combined with increased industrialization and urbanization. A very high percentage of population is living and working in flood prone areas and continues to do so. There are economic and social implications when in post flood scenario.
In this book, studies have been included to provide an insight into the flood risk assessment, developing models to study the impact on affected areas, socio-economic aspects of flood damage, and use of Geographic information systems for risk evaluation. Flood geomorphology is here considered to be the study of the role of floods in shaping the landscape, including the analysis of flood causes, flood processes, resistance factors to flood-induced landscape change, and changes in flood-related processes and forms through time. Fluvial geomorphology has approached flood hazard analysis from several angles. The first approach estimates the hydro-logical response of small basins (≤50 km2) utilizing parametric models relating flood hydrograph characteristics (e.g. peak runoff, lag time) to quantitative drainage network and shape indices (catchment area, shape, drainage density, stream net-work geometry). This book elucidates the concepts and innovations and respective developments with respect to this field. The topics included in this book are of utmost significance and are bound to provide incredible insights to readers about floods. It strives to provide a fair idea about this discipline and to help develop a better understanding of the latest advances within this field. This book is an essential guide for both academicians and those who wish to pursue this discipline further.
Edward Cordell finished his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Institute of Technology, Carlow. He’s a keen enthusiast of environment protection and management. He is a Visiting Professor at Community College, Salzburg. An alumnus of Centre for Sustainability which is essentially a collaborative interface to gather scientists in the field of environment sciences to come together and work for the common cause which is environment protection. He has written many articles and journals related to GIS database and remote sensing in irrigation, natural water resources, air pollution, natural disaster assessment, and flood risk management. Cordell has presented 13 research papers in the field of emergency management.
