Avijit Gupta is Honorary Principal Fellow in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences at the University of Wollongong in Australia.

• About the Editor xxiiiList of Contributors xxvPreface xxxiii1 Introduction 1Avijit Gupta1.1 Large Rivers and People 11.2 What Is a Large River? 11.3 The Book and its Content 4References 6Part I Background2 Geology of Large River Systems 7Sampat K. Tandon and Rajiv Sinha2.1 Introduction 72.2 Tectonic Settings of Large River Systems 92.3 Complexity of Drainage Types and Channel Morphology 122.4 Large Rivers – Climatic Settings and Climatic Variability 172.5 Modern Large Rivers – Hydrology and Sediment Dispersal 192.6 Landforms and Alluvial Architecture of Large River Systems 232.7 Growth and Development of Large River Systems 282.8 Duration of Large River Systems and the Rock Record 302.9 Sea Level, Tectonic, and Climatic Controls on the Large River Systems 312.10 Concluding Remarks 33Acknowledgments 34References 343 Hydrology and Discharge 42Ellen Wohl and Katherine B. Lininger3.1 Introduction 423.2 Large Rivers of the Equatorial Regions 513.3 Large Rivers of the Drylands 543.4 Rivers of the Mid-Latitudes 573.5 Rivers Draining South from the Himalaya 593.6 Rivers of East and Southeast Asia 613.7 High-Latitude Rivers 633.8 Conclusion 64Acknowledgment 66References 674 Transcontinental Moving and Storage: The Orinoco and Amazon Rivers Transfer the Andes to the Atlantic 76Robert H. Meade4.1 Introduction 764.2 Andean Sources and Alluvial Storage 764.3 Orinoco 784.4 Amazon 824.5 The Amazon Goes to Sea 924.6 Coda 94Acknowledgements 94References 955 Megafloods and Large Rivers 100Victor R. Baker5.1 Introduction 1005.2 Historical Background 1005.3 Terrestrial Glacial Megafloods 1015.4 Extraterrestrial Megafloods and Megarivers 1085.5 Conclusion 109References 1106 Classification, Architecture, and Evolution of Large River Deltas 114Kazuaki Hori and Yoshiki Saito6.1 Introduction 1146.2 Definition of a Delta and Delta Components 1166.3 Classification of Deltas 1226.4 Morphology and Sediment 1246.5 Delta Evolution 1306.6 Problems of Sediment Supply 1346.7 Concluding Remarks 135Acknowledgements 136References 1367 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of Large River Deposits: Recognition and Preservation Potential in the Rock Record 146Christopher R. Fielding7.1 Introduction 1467.2 Geomorphology of Modern Big Rivers 1507.3 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of Modern Big Rivers 1507.4 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of Ancient Big Rivers 1567.5 Discussion: Preservation Potential of Big River Deposits 1597.6 Conclusion 160Acknowledgments 161References 161Part II Case Studies8 Effects of Tectonism and Sea-Level Change on the Form and Behaviour of the Modern Amazon River and Its Floodplain 171Leal A.K. Mertes and Thomas Dunne8.1 Background 1718.2 Amazon Basin Characteristics 1728.3 Tectonic Influences on the Modern Amazon 1778.4 Structural Influences on Amazon River Geomorphology 1838.5 Influences of Sea-Level Changes on the Amazon River and Floodplain 1938.6 Conclusion 197Acknowledgements 198References 1999 The Mississippi River System 205James C. Knox9.1 Introduction 2059.2 Cenozoic Drainage Evolution 2069.3 Influence of Quaternary Glaciations 2099.4 Proglacial Lakes and Extreme Floods 2119.5 Response of the Lower Mississippi Valley to Upper Valley Glaciation and Flooding 2139.6 The Mississippi River System During the Holocene 2159.7 Morphology of the Mississippi River 2279.8 Modern Hydrology 2339.9 The Mississippi River System: Summary and Outlook 242Acknowledgements 244References 24510 The Colorado River 253John C. Schmidt, Lindsey Bruckerhoff, Homa Salehabadi, and Jian Wang10.1 Introduction 25310.2 Physiography 25510.3 Gradient, Valley Width, and Channel Form in the Colorado Plateau 25710.4 Hydrology 26010.5 The Colorado River in the Millennium Drought 26510.6 Hydrology: Past and Future 28110.7 Pre-dam and Post-dam Sediment Yield and Sediment Transport 28510.8 Channel Adjustment and Ecological Change During the Twentieth Century 28910.9 Modern Fish Community 29910.10 Environmental Management of the Modern River 30210.11 The Future 30610.12 Conclusion 307References 30811 The Lena: A Large River in a Deep Permafrost Zone 320Emmanuèle Gautier, François Costard, and Alexander Fedorov11.1 Introduction 32011.2 Description of the Lena Drainage Basin 32111.3 A Periglacial Environment 32311.4 Floodplain, Delta, and Periglacial Land Forms 32311.5 Impact of Climatic Change on the Hydrosystem 33011.6 Conclusion 331References 33212 The Danube: Morphology, Evolution, and Environmental Issues 335Dénes Lóczy12.1 Introduction 33512.2 Water and Sediment 33712.3 Headwaters of the Danube 33912.4 Hydromorphology of the Danube Sections 34112.5 The Danube Delta 34512.6 The Evolution of the Valley of the Danube 34712.7 Human Impacts 354References 36013 The Yukon and the Mackenzie: Large Arctic Rivers of North America 368Ellen Wohl, Natalie Kramer, and Katherine B. Lininger13.1 Introduction 36813.2 Large Arctic Rivers of North America 36913.3 The Yukon and the Mackenzie: A Study in Contrasts 37413.4 The Future of Large Arctic Rivers in North America 37813.5 Conclusion 381References 38114 The River Nile: Evolution and Environment 388Jamie C. Woodward, Mark G. Macklin, Michael D. Krom, and Martin A.J. Williams14.1 Introduction 38814.2 Nile Basin River Environments 39014.3 Early Origins and the Neogene Nile 39114.4 The Late Pleistocene and Holocene Nile 39414.5 Records of Nile River Behaviour in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea 40214.6 The Modern Nile: Hydrology and Geomorphology 40614.7 The Suspended Sediment Budget 41514.8 The Nile Delta and The Eastern Mediterranean 41714.9 River Basin Management and Global Change 421Acknowledgements 425References 42515 The Congo River, Central Africa 433Jürgen Runge15.1 Introduction 43315.2 The Course of the Congo River 43415.3 Geology and Geomorphology of the Congo Basin 44015.4 Evolution of the Congo River 44415.5 The Flow Regime of the Congo 44515.6 Solid, Suspended, and Dissolved Load 44815.7 The Congo Mouth and the Submarine Canyon 44915.8 The Congo River and Its Economic Importance 45015.9 Conclusion 451Acknowledgements 452References 45216 The Zambezi: Origins and Legacies of Earth’s Oldest River System 457Andy E. Moore, Fenton P.D. Cotterill, Mike P.L. Main, and Hugh B. Williams16.1 Introduction 45716.2 The Zambezi River System 45916.3 Hydrology 46416.4 Ecological Impact of Major Dams 46716.5 Evolution of the Zambezi River System 46916.6 Drainage Evolution and Speciation 47816.7 Cultural and Economic Aspects 48116.8 Conclusion 482Acknowledgements 483References 48317 The Geographic, Geological, and Oceanographic Setting of the Indus River – An Update 488Asif Inam, Peter D. Clift, Liviu Giosan, Anwar Alizai, Samina Kidwai, Muhammad I. Shahzad, Ibrahim Zia, Majid Nazeer, Muhammad J. Khan, Syed S. Ali, Aneela Shaheen, Rashida Qari, and Sanober Kehkashan17.1 Introduction 48817.2 The Drainage Basin 49117.3 Evolution of the Indus River 49217.4 Indus Water and Sediment Discharge 49317.5 The Indus Delta 49517.6 Submarine Indus System 49917.7 Water Management 50317.8 The Indus Dolphins 50517.9 Environmental Changes 50617.10 Conclusion 510References 51318 The Ganga River 521Indra B. Singh18.1 Introduction 52118.2 Hydrology 52218.3 Water Quality 52618.4 Material Transfer in the Ganga 52718.5 Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Sediments 53018.6 Heavy Metals and Pollutants in the Sediment 53118.7 The Plain and the River 53118.8 The Delta 53318.9 A Summary of Current Geomorphic Processes 53818.10 Quaternary Evolution of the Ganga 53818.11 Utilization of the River and Associated Problems 542Acknowledgements 546References 54619 Erosion and Weathering in the Brahmaputra River System 551Sunil K. Singh19.1 Introduction 55119.2 The Brahmaputra River System 55219.3 Geology of the Basin 55419.4 Hydrology 55619.5 Floods in the Brahmaputra 55719.6 Characteristics of the Brahmaputra Channel 56219.7 Erosion and Weathering 56219.8 Sediment Yield or Erosion Rates in the Various Zones 56719.9 Chemical Weathering and Erosion 56819.10 Bed Load and Weathering Intensity 57219.11 Control of Physical and Chemical Erosion in the Brahmaputra Basin 57219.12 Conclusion 574References 57420 The Jamuna–Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh 579James L. Best, Philip J. Ashworth, Erik Mosselman, Maminul H. Sarker, and Julie E. Roden20.1 Background 57920.2 Channel Scale Morphology and Recent Historical Changes in the Course of the Brahmaputra–Jamuna River 58820.3 Bedform Types and Dynamics 59520.4 Bifurcations, Offtakes, and Confluences 60320.5 Floodplain Sedimentation 60720.6 Sedimentology of the Jamuna River 61120.7 Applied Geomorphology and Engineering in the Jamuna River 61720.8 Summary: What Does the Future Hold? 628Acknowledgements 630References 63121 The Ayeyarwady River 641Alexis Licht and Liviu Giosan21.1 Introduction 64121.2 The Ayeyarwady Drainage Basin 64121.3 History of the Ayeyarwady 65321.4 Looking Ahead 655References 65522 The Mekong River: Morphology, Evolution, and Management 661Avijit Gupta22.1 Introduction 66122.2 The Mekong Basin: Physical Characteristics 66322.3 The River 66922.4 The Mekong Over Time: The Geomorphic History 67622.5 Erosion and Sediment Transfer 67822.6 The Mekong and Its Basin: Resource and Management 67922.7 Conclusion 684Acknowledgements 684References 68423 Dynamic Hydrology and Geomorphology of the Yangtze River 687Zhongyuan Chen, Kaiqin Xu, and Masataka Watanabe23.1 Basin Geology and Landforms 68723.2 River Morphology 68923.3 Storage and Transfer of Water and Sediment 69123.4 Large-Scale River Management – Three Gorges Damand the Planned Water Transfer 700Acknowledgements 702References 702Part III Measurement and Management24 The Nile River: Geology, Hydrology, Hydraulic Society 704M. Gordon Wolman, Capucine Le Meur, and Robert F. Giegengack24.1 Introduction 70424.2 Physiography 70524.3 Geologic History 70924.4 Climate and Climate Change 71224.5 Hydrology 71524.6 A Unique Record 71924.7 The Nile and Hydraulic Civilizations 72124.8 A Recent History of Nile Water Management 725Acknowledgements 732References 73225 Patterns and Controls on Historical Channel Change in the Willamette River, Oregon USA 737Jennifer R. Wallick, Gordon Grant, Stephen Lancaster, John P. Bolte, and Roger Denlinger25.1 Introduction 73725.2 An Approach for Interpreting Multiple Impacts on Large Rivers 73925.3 Geologic Setting, Human, and Flood History of the Willamette 74225.4 Data and Methods for Measuring Historical Channel Change 75025.5 Results: Patterns and Controls on Historical Channel Changes 75325.6 Discussion, Narrative of Historical Channel Change 75925.7 Conclusion 770Acknowledgements 771References 77126 Rivers and Humans – Unintended Consequences 776Stanley A. Schumm26.1 Introduction 77626.2 Armour 77626.3 Hydrology 78326.4 Conclusion 793References 79327 Large Rivers from Space 796Leal A. K. Mertes and Tamuka Magadzire27.1 Introduction and Update 79627.2 Basin Characteristics 79927.3 Valley Configuration 80127.4 Geomorphology 80427.5 Water-surface Elevation, Gradient, and Discharge 80427.6 Water Extent and Inundation Mapping 80427.7 Mapping Sediment Concentration 80827.8 Zambezi River –Water Type Mapping on Floodplains 80927.9 Thermal Properties 81127.10 Change Detection 81127.10.1 Mesopotamian Marshlands 811References 81428 Channel Geometry Analysis Technique for the Lower Mississippi River 818Philip J. Soar, Colin R. Thorne, Oliver P. Harmar, David S. Biedenharn, and C. Fred Pinkard28.1 Introduction 81828.2 Context 81928.3 Data Acquisition and Pre-processing 82228.4 Analytical Approach and Methodology 82728.5 Results 83028.6 Interpretation and Commentary 83028.7 Conclusion 835Acknowledgements 836References 83729 The Management of Large Rivers: Technical and Political Challenges 838Ian C. Campbell29.1 Introduction 83829.2 The Challenges of River Management 84229.3 Management of Rivers in Developing Countries 85229.4 Conclusion 855References 85630 The Physical Diversity and Assessment of a Large River System: The Murray–Darling Basin, Australia 861Martin Thoms, Scott Rayburg, Mel Neave, Melissa Parsons, and Francis Chiew30.1 Introduction 86130.2 The Murray–Darling Basin 86430.3 The Character of Rivers within the Murray–Darling Basin 86930.4 Assessment of the Physical Condition of Rivers in the Murray–Darling Basin 87430.5 Resilience and Large Rivers as Social-Ecological Systems – Future Directions 88330.6 Conclusion 885Acknowledgements 887References 88731 Spatial and Temporal Variations of Water and Sediment Discharges of the Yangtze River (Changjiang) from 1950 to 2018: Erosion of Lake, Channel, and Delta 891Kehui Xu, Shilun Yang, John D. Milliman, Zuosheng Yang, Haifei Yang, and Hui Xu31.1 Introduction 89131.2 Physical Setting 89331.3 Data and Methods of Study 89331.4 Spatial Variations of Water and Sediment 89431.5 Temporal Variations of Water and Sediment 89531.6 Discussion 90031.7 Channel and Coastal Responses to Declining Sediment Discharge 90531.8 Future Water and Sediment Discharges 90631.9 Climatic and Anthropogenic Impacts on Other Global Rivers – the Mississippi Example 907Acknowledgements 910References 91132 Large River Systems and Climate Change 916Michael D. Blum32.1 Introduction 91632.2 A Brief History of Ideas 91632.3 Fluvial Response to Climate Change: Some General Concepts 92132.4 Fluvial Response to Past Climate Change: Contrasting Examples 93232.5 Epilog: Large Rivers and Climate Change, Past to Future 946References 951Index 959