Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology : Problem Statement and Recent Practice

International audienceThis introduction presents an overview of concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book reviews the range of tools employed by geomorphologists and links clearly the choice of tools to the question posed, thereby providing guidance to scientists in allied fields and to practitioners about the sorts of methods available to address questions in the field and the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. It focuses on tools currently used by fluvial geomorphologists. The book defines fluvial geomorphology in its broadest sense, considering channel forms and processes and interactions among channel, floodplain, network and catchment. Analysis of fluvial geomorphology can involve the application of various approaches from reductionism to a holistic perspective, two extremes of a continuum of underlying scientific approach along which the scientist can choose tools according to the question posed