Page 10 - Fundamentals of Geomorphology

SERIES EDITOR’S PREFACE

We are presently living in a time of unparalleled change and when concern for the environment has never been greater.
Global warming and climate change, possible rising sea levels, deforestation, desertification, and widespread soil
erosion are just some of the issues of current concern. Although it is the role of human activity in such issues
that is of most concern, this activity affects the operation of the natural processes that occur within the physical
environment. Most of these processes and their effects are taught and researched within the academic disci-
pline of physical geography. A knowledge and understanding of physical geography, and all it entails, is vitally
important.
It is the aim of this Fundamentals of Physical Geography Series to provide, in five volumes, the fundamental
nature of the physical processes that act on or just above the surface of the earth. The volumes in the series are
Climatology, Geomorphology, Biogeography, Hydrology and Soils. The topics are treated in sufficient breadth and
depth to provide the coverage expected in a Fundamentals series. Each volume leads into the topic by outlining the
approach adopted. This is important because there may be several ways of approaching individual topics. Although
each volume is complete in itself, there are many explicit and implicit references to the topics covered in the
other volumes. Thus, the five volumes together provide a comprehensive insight into the totality that is Physical
Geography.
The flexibility provided by separate volumes has been designed to meet the demand created by the variety of courses
currentlyoperatinginhighereducationinstitutions.Theadventofmodularcourseshasmeantthatphysicalgeography
is now rarely taught, in its entirety, in an ‘all-embracing’ course but is generally split into its main components.This is
also the case with many Advanced Level syllabuses. Thus students and teachers are being frustrated increasingly by
lack of suitable books and are having to recommend texts of which only a small part might be relevant to their needs.
Such texts also tend to lack the detail required. It is the aim of this series to provide individual volumes of sufficient
breadth and depth to fulfil new demands. The volumes should also be of use to sixth-form teachers where modular
syllabuses are also becoming common.
Each volume has been written by higher-education teachers with a wealth of experience in all aspects of the topics
they cover and a proven ability in presenting information in a lively and interesting way. Each volume provides a
comprehensive coverage of the subject matter using clear text divided into easily accessible sections and subsections.
Tables, figures and photographs are used where appropriate as well as boxed case studies and summary notes.