Physical Geography in Southeast Asia: Past Themes, Current Status and Future Trends

Abstract

Our knowledge regarding the physical geography of Southeast Asia is incomplete to a surprising extent. This paper reviews the past research, describes the ongoing work, and attempts to identify the future trends. Coverage of such a large area, even for the last 25 years, requires study of publications in several languages and coping with literature which is not easily available. Therefore certain topics. which are prominent in current research and likely to remain so in the future were chosen and reviewed in detail. Such topics include studies related to active plate margin features; the Pleistocene in Southeast Asia; erosion and sedimentation rates; rainforest; river systems; karst in Southeast Asia; coastal geomorphology; and the urban environment. ( 1993). 'Accelerated sediment production and its effects: examples from Southeast Asia', in C. Briffett & L.L. Sim (eds.), Environmental issues in Development and Conserwtion, Singapore,