The fluvial hydrosystem

Rivers are a popular source of fascination because of their changing moods from headwater stream to large lowland rivers and from quiet summer brooks to raging flood torrents. The character of a river changes continually, from day to night, from day to day, from season to season and from year to year. It is this dynamism that attracted the attention of naturalists and geologists in the 19th century, and that today provides a focus for research by biologists, fisheries scientists, geomorphologists and hydrologists. However, the interest in rivers is more than curiosity; most nations are dependent on sustainable river management.