Review of River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics: RCEM 2005, by Gary Parker and Marcelo H. Garcia: Taylor and Francis/Balkema, The Netherlands; 2006; Two Volumes ISBN Set (Book+CD-ROM) 0 415 39270 5. ISBN Book: Vol. 1: 0 415 39375 2. ISBN Book: Vol. 2: 0 415 39376 0; 1246 pp. Price: £169.00, US$299 (hardback).

This two-volume set contains the Proceedings of the 4th IAHR Symposium on River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics (RCEM). The Symposium was held on October 4–7, 2005 in Urbana-Champaign, Ill.

Morphodynamics is the study of the evolution of landscape and seascape features at various scales, in response to the erosion and deposition of sediment. The proceedings cover some of the latest research results on quantitative modeling of the various morphological features formed by the interaction of water and sediment. Morphodynamics offers an avenue for the explanation of the evolution of consistent self-adjusting morphologies such as drainage basins, the long profiles of rivers or the shape of shorelines, and the persistence of rhythmic features such as beach cusps, sediment waves and planform meandering. The 2005 conference differed from the previous conferences in that it included large-scale and submarine morphodynamics. The topics are highly interdisciplinary and cover diverse areas such as geomorphology, open–channel hydraulics, sediment transport dynamics, fluid mechanics, ecohydraulics, sedimentology and stratigraphy.

The Proceedings include about 150 papers from an international authorship. The articles were sorted into twenty subject areas ranging from hillslopes to turbidity currents. There are 4–12 papers on each of the following twenty topics. Volume 1 includes 11 topics, namely: (1) sediment transport processes; (2) mountain rivers; (3) deltas, estuaries and bays; (4) fluvial and coastal turbulent flow; (5) numerical modeling of river morphodynamics; (6) river response to floods; (7) coastal morphodynamics; (8) river confluences and distributaries; (9) bars and braiding; (10) reservoirs and dams; and (11) turbidity currents and submarine morphodynamics. Volume 2 includes the following nine topics: (12) tidal flats; (13) large-scale morphodynamics; (14) river bends and meandering; (15) river bedforms; (16) scour and bank erosion; (17) coastal and shelf bedforms; (18) sediment transport of mixed sizes; (19) watersheds and hillslopes; and (20) river engineering and stream restoration. A brief preface relates to the Huygens probe landing of the Cassini spacecraft on the surface of Titan in January 05. Acknowledgments and a brief author index are also included in the Proceedings.

Perhaps this Symposium will be remembered as the “twin” Symposium. The venue of the twin cities of Urbana-Champaign certainly typified the unsung collaboration between the University of Illinois and the University of Minnesota. The presence of the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics (NCED) was felt throughout the event. There was a strong attendance of (National Science Foundation) NSF-funded scientists and researchers. There was also a very strong contingent of well-known scientists and researchers from Europe and Asia at this meeting. The caliber of the presentations was in general very high. It was a well-presented Symposium in which key scientists from various disciplines were brought together for an interesting exchange of ideas. All topics seemed to center around sedimentation issues and perhaps, the Exner equation was the uniting thread between all disciplines. The organizers deserve the credit for linking so many research fields without apparent fragmentation of the audience.

The proceedings were available on site, both in a hardback two-volume set and also on CD-ROM version. There was also a third CD with presentations from invited speakers. Papers up to 12 pages long are presented in a standard two-column format. Most papers contain numerous figures and both volumes are well illustrated with black and white figures and photographs. The font size has been reduced, but there is a wealth of information available for adequate reading. The quality of the hardback version of the proceedings is very high and typical of the Balkema vintage.

The ASCE Journal of Hydraulic Engineering readers who will likely benefit the most from these proceedings include post-docs, researchers and scientists keeping up with the latest developments in geophysics, sedimentation, and river morphology. At $299, the cost of the entire proceedings is prohibitive to students, specifically for young scientists interested in a single research field. At this price, the topics could have been reorganized to include all papers on freshwater in the first volume and those dealing with saltwater in the second volume. For instance, someone interested in “mountain rivers” may not appreciate the purchase of both volumes to read a few papers in each volume. However, for those who attended the meeting, the hardback proceedings will bring back the fond memories of a very pleasant and interesting RCEM symposium.