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Main Themes

The main River Flow 2026 conference themes, align with the key thematic interests of the vast community of water engineering professionals, similar to past River Flow conferences, and tentatively are as follows:

  1. Fundamental Flow Processes: This theme focuses on the basic principles that govern the movement of water in river systems. It includes the study of fluid dynamics in the context of rivers, examining how water flows under different conditions and how it interacts with the riverbed and banks. This theme can also focus on the use of physical and numerical modeling (including machine learning), as well as monitoring tools and technologies used in river research, and their applications in understanding and managing river systems.

  1. Sediment Transport Dynamics and River Evolution Processes: This theme is concerned with the transport processes of erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment in rivers, which are responsible for continuously changing its boundaries. It covers the full span of spatial and temporal scales, from particle scale dynamical processes to the broader study of river morphodynamics, which is the analysis of the formation and evolution of river forms (like meanders and deltas) in response to changes in flow and sediment transport.

  1. Flow and Sediment Transport Through Hydraulic Structures: This theme focuses on the design, construction, and impact of hydraulic structures like dams, weirs, and levees on river systems. It examines how these structures affect the riverbed and the flow regime, including changes in water velocity, depth, and direction. The theme may also cover the implications of these effects for river management, ecology, and human use.

  1. Eco-Hydraulics and River Re-naturalization: This theme explores the intersection of ecology and hydraulics, focusing on how aquatic and riparian vegetation and woody debris influence river flow and sediment processes. It also covers the role of these elements in river restoration efforts, including their impacts on habitat creation or loss, erosion control, and river morphology. The theme will also delve into the challenges and best practices in eco-hydraulic research and river restoration, focusing on efforts to re-naturalize rivers, including the challenges and successes of these efforts, and their impacts on river health, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

  1. Pollutant Transport Processes: This theme focuses on the transport and transformation of pollutants in river systems. It includes the study of how pollutants are introduced into rivers, how they mix with river water, and how they are transported downstream. The theme will also cover the impacts of pollutants on river health and water quality, as well as strategies for pollutant monitoring and mitigation.

  1. River Systems and Resilience Under a Changing Climate: This theme explores the impacts of climate change, such as extreme hydrologic events like floods and drought, on river systems, including changes in river flow patterns, increased frequency of extreme events, and implications for river management, restoration and climate adaptation strategies. It encompasses the study of how these events and changes affect river flow, sediment processes, hydraulic structures, and river ecosystems.

  1. Integrated River Basin Management: This theme could delve into the challenges and opportunities of managing river basins in an integrated manner, considering the multiple uses of rivers and the need to balance competing demands. It can also explore the social and economic dimensions of river systems, including the impacts of river management decisions on communities, the role of rivers in supporting livelihoods, and the economic value of river ecosystem services, while also examining the policy and governance aspects of river management, including the roles of different stakeholders, the effectiveness of current policies, and the need for new policy approaches.