Field-based research in fluvial hydraulics: potential, paradigms and challenges

ABSTRACT

Field-based research has always been a source of inspiration and a driving force in experimental and theoretical fluvial hydraulics, essentially underpinning all major developments in this area over the past few decades. The recent emergence of advanced measurement capabilities for field applications opens new avenues and opportunities for the refinement of the existing predictive approaches and for addressing forthcoming hydro-environmental problems. This paper considers historic hydraulic field research and outlines recent developments and current trends. Useful definitions are introduced to aid the standardization of various field activities. A method of field experimentation is discussed employing recent examples, and challenging tasks that appeal for application of field methods are highlighted. Innovative techniques are briefly discussed as the preconditions for the development of novel approaches for field research.

Keywords:

• Field studies
• field experiments
• hydrodynamics
• hydraulics
• history

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Vladimir Nikora for an invitation to write this paper and for his support. Chis Magirl is thanked for the fruitful discussions and for sharing material on the hydrodynamics of rapids and the introduction to research activities on the Colorado River. Klement Tockner is acknowledged for the support of the FiRST field station. The writer would also like to thank many colleagues who contributed to the field measurements, studies, experiments and numerical simulations presented in this paper, particularly M. Thiele, H. Bungartz, T. Sukhodolova, B. Rhoads, G. Constantinescu, W. Brevis, W.S.J. Uijttewaal, J. Krick, M. Blettler, I. Schnauder, C. Engelhardt, K. Blanckaert, C. Anlanger, C. Erdbrink, B. Vowinckel, E. Kaschtschejewa, A. Nardin, F. Kleine, A. Bonnano, J. Friedrich, V. Moiseenko and C. Cruciat.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemainschaft [DFG grants SU 405/2, SU 405/3, SU 405/4, SU 629/1 and SU 405/7].