Search

This monograph presents the mechanistic foundations of the theory of Morphodynamics, a discipline that investigates the shape of the erodible boundary of natural water bodies. We focus on the fluvial Morphodynamics of straight erodible channels, providing the basis for subsequent extensions to meandering rivers (treated in the companion monograph 2 of this series) and braided rivers. We present basic notions on the Mechanics of Turbulent Flows and Sediment Transport in straight open channels with mobile beds. We then investigate their morphodynamic equilibrium and its instability, that leads to the formation of a variety of bedforms observed in natural rivers. In particular, fluvial bars will deserve special attention as the fundamental building block of large scale fluvial patterns.

This monograph discusses the mechanics of Meandering Rivers with the help of the mathematical and modeling tools built up in the previous monograph of the same Authors (monograph 1 of the present series). After introducing the reader to the ubiquitous character of meandering streams, we discuss the hydrodynamics of curved channels with fixed beds and banks. Next, we extend the analysis to account for the mobile character of the bed and show that it gives rise to the alternate sequence of riffles and pools that characterize river meanders. Allowing for the erodible character of the river banks then allows to build up a rational theory of meander formation able to explain most of the features observed in nature: meander growth, migration, skewing, multiple loops, cutoffs and meander belts.

The Committee Firenze 2016, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the tragic 1966 flood, invited six engineers and scientists to form an International Technical Scientific Committee (ITSC) to assess the current status of flood protection for the city of Florence and identify steps to reduce the risk of flooding facing the city. In this final Report, ITSC concludes that Florence remains at risk to significant flooding and this risk grows each day. It is not a question of whether a flood of the magnitude of 1966 or greater will occur, but when. In fact, the level of protection that exists in Florence now is not on a level appropriate to the citizens and treasures that rest within the city. If, under current conditions, a 1966-like flood occurred, the consequences to human lives, treasures, properties and community infrastructure could be much more catastrophic than they were in 1966.