Decades of change: contributions of geomorphology to fluvial and coastal engineering and management

Major developments in the contribution of geomorphology to engineering and environmental management have taken place over the past ten years in the Un ited Kingdom, particularly in the coastal and fluvial spheres. Considerable achievements have been gained in raising awareness of the nature of geomor phic processes and their dynamics, and of how the understanding of geomorph ology can aid effective management and decisions on engineering strategies. Specifically, this has meant gaining an understanding of interconnectednes s in geomorphic systems and the long-term variability of processes and land forms. Radical changes in both policies and decision-making frameworks have taken place such that the approach to coastal and river management adopted by the British Government is now to 'work with nature'. Likewise, manageme nt structures have been implemented to facilitate and encourage integrated planning. Such changes have not, of course, occurred from the influence of geomorphologists alone, but they do align policy much more with geomorpholo gical principles than in the past. Examples are presented of geomorphologic al involvement in coastal engineering in Britain. Engineering geomorphology is now in a second phase of answering geomorphological questions, providin g geomorphological information, and implementing management in accordance w ith the principles advocated. This is involving much case-study work at spe cific locations. A third phase of major development in the future is envisa ged in this paper, mainly stemming from major changes in geomorphology itse lf and underlain by radical alterations of scientific theories, philosophy, and methods. This will involve modelling and predicting responses in ways that adequately deal with complexity, positive feedback, non-linearity, and holism. Questions remain, with regard to the links between geomorphology a nd engineering, about the type of predictions that are possible and accepta ble, and about the extent to which geomorphology will provide solutions, bo th nationally and internationally. Whatever strategies or solutions are sug gested, there remains the issue of political acceptability in specific appl ications and the need for mechanisms to make public gain compatible with pr ivate loss. Geomorphologists arguably have the potential for another major leap forward, stimulated by theoretical and technological developments, in which the results of research will feed directly into environmental enginee ring, provided that the requisite spatial and temporal data are available. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.