Deploy diverse renewables to save tropical rivers.

A strategic mix of solar, wind and storage technologies around river basins would be safer and cheaper than building large dams, argue Rafael J. P. Schmitt, Noah Kittner and colleagues

Re-envisioning the delta: Alternative futures for the heart of California

Re-Envisioning the Delta is an initiative of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning of the University of California, Berkeley. Our aim is to conduct research on land-use change in the Delta, its environmental, infrastructural, social, and economic consequences, and to work with agencies and stakeholders to develop alternative futures for this critically important region. Towards this end, we have conducted research documenting for the first time the actual extent of urbanization potential in the Delta (drawing upon general plans from all jurisdictions in the region, development documents and analysis of sequential aerial photographs), held a workshop with key Delta leaders in February 2006 to better define the issues, hosted a public symposium in March 2006 on the Berkeley campus, held a student design competition for a Delta park, facilitated a design charrette in the Delta in October 2006 for stakeholders to develop alternative future visions for the region, and are currently undertaking a cumulative effects analysis for urbanization in the Delta and a further charrette

Hydrogeomorphology-Ecology Interactions in River Systems

The work included in this special issue was funded by the European Union's FP7 programme under grant agreement no. 282656 (REFORM

Connecting Cairo to the Nile: Renewing life and heritage on the river

As urban waterfronts around the world de-industrialize, cities are increasingly capitalizing on these opportunities to provide open space and alternative commuting routes along riverbanks, bringing residents and visitors back to the waterfronts. Cairo has remarkable opportunities to reconnect its people with the river that was historically its heart. In an intensive workshop involving 23 students and seven faculty from Cairo University (CU), The American University in Cairo (AUC), and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), interdisciplinary teams systematically inventoried existing conditions along a 12-km reach of the Nile from Maadi to Tahrir Square, recording river-bank relations, building heights and conditions, circulation, and land-use

An Assessment of Variants in the Professional Judgement of Geomorphologically-based Channel Types.

River classification is a useful tool for researchers and managers wishing to organise, simplify and understand the forms and processes within freshwater systems. Many classifications require surveyors to classify reaches into specific channel types in a field environment. Channel types should be identifiable based on a field surveyor’s judgement of channel characteristics and landscape settings; these include channel planform, valley confinement, dominant bed material, and/or instream geomorphic features (e.g. gravel bars). Accurate classification of reaches into the correct channel type is important to ensure consistency in management strategies, and to assess the impact of engineering activities on the physical and ecological status of rivers. In this paper, we examine the variation in professional judgement of geomorphologically based channel types by scientists with different disciplinary backgrounds, and varying levels of involvement in classification systems using a photo-questionnaire. Results indicate that there can be a large level of discrepancy in typing rivers; the choice of the modal channel type for each reach varied between 25.9% and 75.1% of the respondent selections. There were also differences in the level of agreement between earth scientists (with hydrogeomorphological or geological training), ecological scientists (with freshwater biology training) and practitioners involved in river conservation and management. A high level of experience in classification systems translates to a lower number of channel types being chosen per reach. In response to these results, the use of a photographic approach to typing needs to be fully tested and users fully trained before operational use. Furthermore, we advocate that designers of geomorphic typologies should aim to have a representative and workable number of classes within a typology with an emphasis for rationalisation of classes rather than expansion of numbers

Assessment of dam trapping efficiency from water residence time: Application to fluvial sediment transport in the Adour, Dordogne, and Garonne River basins (France)

Dam-trapping efficiency can be estimated by using the hydraulic residence time. On the regional scale, the global impact of several dams can be assessed by taking into account the spatial organization of dams along the river network. Therefore, in this study, a method is proposed to estimate the global-trapping efficiency, TEw, for any watershed containing more than one dam. This method is applied to the Adour, Dordogne, and Garonne River watersheds (southwestern France). The spatial organization of dams and its impact on TEw and on sediment yields measured at 37 TSM sampling stations over 2 years are discussed. Positive correlation between drainage areas and river sediment loads corrected from dam regulation using TEw, as well as comparisons between TEw-corrected sediment yields and sediment yields measured upstream from dams, point out the interest of the method in order to reconstitute the natural sediment yields

Prioritization of fish communities with a view to conservation and restoration on a large scale European basin, the Loire (France)

The hierarchical organization of important sites for the conservation or the restoration of fish communities is a great challenge for managers, especially because of financial or time constraints. In this perspective, we developed a methodology, which is easy to implement in different locations. Based on the fish assemblage characteristics of the Loire basin (France), we created a synthetic conservation value index including the rarity, the conservation status and the species origin. The relationship between this new synthetic index and the Fish-Based Index allowed us to establish a classification protocol of the sites along the Loire including fish assemblages to be restored or conserved. Sites presenting disturbed fish assemblages, a low rarity index, few threatened species, and a high proportion of non-native species were considered as important for the restoration of fish biodiversity. These sites were found mainly in areas where the assemblages are typical of the bream zone, e.g. with a higher number of eurytopic and limnophilic species. On the contrary, important sites for conservation were defined as having an important conservation potential (high RI, a lot of threatened species, and few nonnatives fish species) and an undisturbed fish assemblage similar to the expected community if habitats are undisturbed. Important sites for conservation were found in the Loire basin’s medium reaches which host assemblages typical for the grayling and the barbell zones, e.g. with a higher number of rheophilic species. The synthetic conservation value index could be adapted and completed with other criteria according to management priorities and capacities

A review of assessment methods for river hydromorphology

The work leading to this paper has received funding for the EU’s FP7 under Grant Agreement No. 282656 (REFORM

A Curriculum Project on the Utilization of the Rule of Four to Enable Students to Work in Their Zone of Proximal Development

Discussed, developed, and written over the course of roughly two-and-a-half-years, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) seek to prepare students to be college- and career-ready (K-12 Blueprint, 2014). Released for implementation in classrooms nation-wide in June 2010, the CCSS are claimed to be “a balance of concepts and skills, with content standards that require both conceptual understanding and procedural fluency” (K-12 Blueprint, 2014, p. 3), as well as address the issue of mathematical curricula being described as “a mile wide and an inch deep” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014). In order to abide by the newly adopted curricula, teachers must find ways to help students think more conceptually. This curriculum project on trigonometric functions at the Algebra II level attempts to do just that through the utilization of the Rule of Four in order to support students working within their zone of proximal development.SUNY BrockportEducation and Human DevelopmentMaster of Science in Education (MSEd)Education and Human Development Master's These