Report of committee on dynamics of streams, 1936–37

Abstract

It may be well at this time to review briefly the field of study of the Committee on Dynamics of Streams. The Committee is concerned with the flow of water in rivers and smaller streams, the forces which the water exerts, the work which it does in erosion, transportation and deposition, and the relation between the streams and the channels they occupy. It is also concerned with the dynamics of rain‐ and surface‐waters in soil‐erosion. Research in the field, laboratory, and by means of analytical mechanics is being pursued and fostered by the Committee in order that the investigations might be as comprehensive as possible. The Committee is interested in the accumulation of scientific data as such, but also with a view to the utilization of these data in practical problems. Thus, an attempt to define the natural laws governing the transportation of sediment by streams is a specific aim, but the formulation of this new information so that it may be used in the design of river regulation‐works is likewise an important consideration.