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Proceedings of the British Hydrological
Society International Conference held at Imperial College
London, 12-16 July 2004
Preface
Hydrology: Science & Practice for the 21st Century,
held in July 2004 at Imperial College London, is the second
international conference to be convened by the British Hydrological
Society. Its aim was to bring together hydrologists from the
UK and overseas concerned with the scientific and practical
challenges in understanding and managing hydrological systems
during the new century. The conference venue is a particularly
appropriate one given the leading role which Imperial College
has played in the history of hydrological research and teaching
in the UK and beyond.
The conference proceedings are published in two volumes,
as a complete work on Compact Disc, and here as pdf documents.
As in the Society's first international conference in Exeter
(Wheater and Kirby, 1998), six themes are addressed, and several
of the topics being considered in 2004 find echoes of those
covered in 1998 - although, to a certain extent, it is also
clear that the foci of hydrology have evolved over the last
six years and some priorities have changed with the advent
of a new millennium.
Understanding the impacts of changing climate and land use
at a global scale continues to pose major challenges to hydrology,
which are explored in Theme 1, Global hydrology and the impact
of global changes. The papers presented contribute to an improved
understanding of large-scale hydrological systems and shed
new light on teleconnections and trends at world and sub-global
scales. Important new work is reported on modelling the impact
of future climate change on hydrological systems, including
the downscaling of effects from global to regional and local
scales.
The second theme, Hydrology of extremes, is one that continually exercises hydrologists and has been especially to the fore in recent years as a series of major floods have occurred with damaging consequences to human society in the UK, Europe and further afield. Although many of the papers presented in this theme address the problems of too much water generated by extreme rainfalls, advances in our understanding of the consequence of too little water and the resulting drought conditions are also reported. Several contributions focus on the value of long-term rainfall and flow records, often using a variety of information from historical sources, while it is clear that modelling studies, involving a wide range of different approaches, continue to enhance our knowledge of extreme events and how to forecast and manage their consequences. In a world subject to climate and other changes, it is also evident that hydrological extremes will not exhibit stationary behaviour.
Theme 3, New techniques in hydrology, marks an area not specifically considered at the first BHS international conference but one where many exciting developments have taken place over the last half-dozen years. Part A of this theme, Advances in modelling and data assimilation, emphasises the considerable progress made in understanding error and evaluating uncertainty when modelling hydrological phenomena. Papers presented also highlight advances made in data assimilation using among other approaches, fuzzy logic and neural networks; they illustrate new models developed for runoff production, aquifer systems and water quality, and they demonstrate the progress being made in data-based modelling. Not all new techniques are rooted in modelling, and Part B of Theme 3, New methods of hydrological observations, focuses on the advances in hydrological data capture that have arisen from continuing development of a range of remote sensing approaches, and on innovative new field techniques relating to tracers, erosion monitoring and discharge measurement, among other hydrological phenomena.
As the new century progresses, studies at the interfaces between hydrology and other physical, environmental and social sciences will become increasingly important in order to develop a better understanding of complex hydrological processes and their management. The papers presented in Theme 4, Interdisciplinary hydrology and its application, reflect the strong development that has taken place in ecohydrology since the first BHS international conference when ecology and hydrological interactions was flagged as an emerging area of inquiry. Considerable progress in the fields of riverine hydro-ecology, in water-substrate-vegetation interactions and in land use and catchment management is reported. In addition, new work that provides an interface between hydrological sub-disciplines, including water flow/water quality relationships and surface water/groundwater interactions is presented, some of it in the context of national research initiatives, such as the Lowland Catchment Research (LOCAR) programme in the UK.
Theme 5, Urban water, marks an area of continuing interest and challenge in hydrology. Water in urban environments can be studied from a wide range of perspectives, and the papers presented cover a number of problems that may arise in urban watercourses, including flooding, use of groundwater, water quality, and ecology. The progress made in containing and ameliorating these problems, and the developments achieved in the management of urban water systems, are addressed and illustrated by examples drawn not only from the urban areas of North America and Europe but also from urban environments in developing countries.
The final theme, Integrated catchment management, addresses some of the most important challenges facing hydrology in the new millennium as hydrologists responsible for catchment management in developing and developed regions strive to take into account issues such as the impact of world population growth, the need to alleviate poverty and the increasing demand on limited water resources, and the effects of climate and land-use changes. The presented papers in this theme illustrate the theory and practice of holistic management and range across issues relevant to the basin scale, management in the context of agricultural practice and different land uses, the role of public and stakeholder participation and the decision support systems that have been developed to guide integrated catchment management.
Water is a key item on many international and other agendas.
That international hydrological conferences can make a significant
contribution to relevant debates, research activities and
international programmes is witnessed by the outcome of the
first international BHS conference which through the Exeter
Statement (British Hydrological Society, 1998) led to the
establishment of Hydrology
for the Environment, Life and Policy (HELP), which was
taken up as a joint initiative of the United Nations Educational
Scientific Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO). The long-term impact of Hydrology:
Science & Practice for the 21st Century is as yet
unknown, but the scope and contents of these proceedings provide
an insight into the focus, progress and aspirations of hydrology
at the beginning of a new century.
The convening of an international conference is not possible without the help of many individuals and several organizations. On behalf of the British Hydrological Society, I wish to express our gratitude for the sponsorship we have received from several national and international organizations. This has been particularly helpful in supporting the attendance of many contributors from overseas and in encouraging the participation of younger hydrologists. A conference cannot exist without a scientific programme and thanks are due to all the contributors, the convening teams for each theme and those who have refereed papers for this meeting. A heavy burden has fallen on the lead convenors in effecting the review and organization of their themes, and I would like to acknowledge here the unstinting efforts of Nigel Arnell for Theme 1, who was assisted by co-convenors Jim Shuttleworth, Peter Cox and Nick Reynard; Christian Onof for Theme 2, who was assisted by co-convenors Dan Rosbjerg, Rob Lamb and Ian Cluckie; Neil McIntyre for Theme 3A and Robert Gurney for Theme 3B, who were assisted by co-convenors Keith Beven and Jeff McDonnell, respectively; Mike Acreman for Theme 4, who was assisted by co-convenors Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe, Denis Peach and Mike Bonell; Cedo Maksimovic for Theme 5, who was assisted by co-convenors David Butler, David Lerner and Angela Gurnell; and Hilary Smithers for Theme 6 who was assisted by co-convenors Hoshin Gupta, Enda O'Connell and Abdin Salih. As will be apparent to anyone who has been involved in the pre-publication of international conference proceedings, the process of getting near to 140 papers into print in a limited timescale is a very demanding task and one that has only been possible through the untiring efforts of Celia Kirby, who has been assisted in this task by Hilary Arnell.
Bruce Webb, Exeter University, Devon, UK
Wheater, H. and Kirby, C. (Eds.) Hydrology in a Changing Environment, Volumes I, II and III, Proceedings of the First International Conference of the British Hydrological Society, University of Exeter, July 1998, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK
The Exeter Statement, International Conference on 'Hydrology
in a Changing Environment', University of Exeter, UK, 10 July,
1998
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