Following the Bend
How to Read a River and Understand Its Nature
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- $30.99
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- $30.99
Publisher Description
An engaging and thought-provoking introduction to river science
When we look at a river, either up close or while flying over a river valley, what are we really seeing? Following the Bend takes readers on a majestic journey by water to find answers, along the way shedding light on the key concepts of modern river science, from hydrology and water chemistry to stream and wetland ecology.
In this accessible and uniquely personal book, Ellen Wohl explains how to “read” a river, blending the latest science with her own personal experiences as a geologist and naturalist who has worked on rivers for more than three decades. She charts how water travels through the hydrologic cycle around the globe and downstream to distribute energy, move sediment, and shape river channels, and how living organisms adapt to life in flowing water to create vibrant river ecosystems. Wohl looks at the role of disturbances such as floods and droughts and discusses how geologists interpret the sedimentary records of past river processes. She illustrates how river networks interact with Earth’s surface and considers issues for rivers in the future, such as progressive drying, river restoration, and advocating for the legal personhood of a river to maintain its distinctive spirit, identity, and integrity.
Sharing a new understanding of how rivers function as both physical systems and ecosystems, Following the Bend enables us to observe rivers with fresh eyes and more fully appreciate the beauty, vibrancy, and complexity of our planet’s vital waterways.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Colorado State University geoscience professor Wohl (Dead Wood) mixes personal experience and science for an impassioned guide to interpreting rivers. She notes that rivers cycle water throughout the planet and are vibrant ecosystems that house unique plant and animal species. Scientists study rivers three-dimensionally, she explains: longitudinally (the upstream-downstream path), laterally (between the channel and floodplain), and vertically (their depths). All three are important. For example, sideways and vertical movements in a river channel create internal patterns that "control the microbial communities that power channel and floodplain food webs." Elsewhere, Wohl details how studying the types of plants growing along a river channel can provide a history of the height of its flows; delves into the significance of atmospheric rivers, masses of water vapor in the lower atmosphere that can transport even more water than the Amazon; and explores the impact of the smallest river channels, elucidating why "small in size does not equate to unimportant." Throughout, she weaves in her personal experience with rivers, from her fascination with them as a child to her endeavors as a researcher. Her accessible scientific explanations alternate with lyrical passages that pack an emotional punch ("A river is a world, the world, and eternity"). Readers will see these waterways in a new light.
