EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, VOL. 15,489-490 (1990)

BOOK REVIEWS

GEOMORPHOLOGY IN ENVIRONMENTAL PLAN- NING, J. M. Hooke, 1988, John Wiley and Sons, New York, British Geomorphological Research Group Sym- posia Series. No. of pages: 274 pp (Hardback).

Academics in all disciplines have been encouraged to adopt a more applied focus in recent years. Geomorpho- logists have not avoided this trend which has involved both a seeking out of applications for pure research and a marketing exercise to convince an often skeptical group of potential customers that we have the tools and ex- pertise to solve practical problems. This collection of papers edited by Janet Hooke will serve a useful purpose in both areas. It defines a multitude of management problems which could benefit from geomorphological insight and it explains the requirements and activities of the geomorphologist wishing to undertake this type of investigation. These attributes range from technical com- petence to political awareness. Geomorphologists are urged to be prepared to put their heads on the block a little more and provide the customer with answers rather than a multitude of interesting further questions. The editor suggests that the reason why this trend is important for the field of geomorphology is:

‘political pressures and economic forces in higher edu- cation and research establishments have meant that we have had to justify our existence and increasingly pay for our activities’ Page 11.

Two chapters illustrate the dual role of this book. The first, by Malcolm Newson on upland land management, describes a field in which geomorphologists have been contributing to practical management decisions with huge financial implications for many years. Geomorpho- logists have, at times, held the ring in major conflicts between powerful resource agencies, in this case the water and forest industries. This position of influence was won because hydrogeomorphologists could provide credible answers of relevance to contemporary manage- ment problems. Basic research questions were problem driven and, as a result, the resources for protracted investigations were provided by government and re- source agencies. From this initial focus of applied geo- morphology many geomorphologists have been diverted (or possibly corrupted) into investigations of acidification and upland water quality. This first chapter offers a perspective on the natural progression of mainstream geomorphology into applied areas. The second, on urban river pollution in the U.K. and the WRc river basin management programme, is authored by Bob Crabtree of WRc. This area is traditionally the domain of the

sanitary civil engineer who can design facilities to main- tain river water quality given an adequate knowledge of the contributing catchment and its hydrological charac- teristics. The chapter is written very much from the viewpoint of the sanitary engineer with empirical design equations for sewerage system design and rehabilitation strategies involving sewage holding facilities at modern storm overflow discharge locations. The geomorpholo- gist will immediately recognize the effects of increasing storage volume on hydrographs within the sewer. Crabtree goes on to relate the important water quality management aspects of sewer design to the hydrology which determines both storm overflow water quality and sewer sedimentation characteristics. The management problems are essentially geomorphic, they involve water, sediment and other interesting materials. At times the dearth of existing information about the system is surprising. Data on simple matters such as the time and duration of storm sewer overflow events is sparse. Again these aspects are well within the range of the catchment geomorphologist who has been effecting cheap and sim- ple instrumentation systems in harsh environments, often with the very limited financial support available for more pure geomorphic research in small upland catchments.

These chapters illustrate well the range of problems and opportunities in applied geomorphology. It would be wrong to suggest that geomorphologists should take to the sewers in the vague hope that muck will lead to brass. However, the chapter by Crabtree presented both a practical management problem and intellectual chal- lenges which, to my surprise a t least, fell within the realm of the professional geomorphologist. The strength of this book is that so many of its chapters make these links and identify potential areas for applied geomorphic investiga- tion. Other topics covered include soil contamination and erosion, the geomorphic aspects of urban planning policies including slope stability, limestone quarry res- toration, river channel engineering, and coastal zone management. The last two chapters address issues of information requirements for policy formulation and in the final chapter the edittor defines The way ahead.

Janet Hooke and her contributors are to be congratu- lated on an excellent package which should be compuls- ory reading for all new postgraduate students embarking on a career as a professional geomorphologist. She has succeeded in defining at least one way forward and the issues addressed are relevant to all with a n interest in the health and future of geomorphology.

DAVID KAY St. Davids University College

0 1990 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.