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Numerical analysis in geomorphology. An introduction
BOOK REVIEWS
375
are of utmost importance in relating cause and effect, and cause cannot be related to effect until hydrogeologic maps are available. Electric analogue and digital computer techniques that allow the rapid study of cause-andeffect relationships involving complex aquifer conditions have recently been developed. Derivation of equations as well as numerous illustrative case histories of analyses based on actual field data are presented in this book. Numerous practical problems which may be solved with available equations and methods are given. A selection of the numerous equations and analytical methods available has been made to include those most frequently applied to actual groundwater resource-evaluation field problems. The subject headings of the book include Groundwater Movement Storage and Exploration; Basic Principles and Fundamental Equations; Aquifer Test and Flow-net Analysis; Hydrological Systems Analysis; Well Design Criteria and Production Tests; Groundwater Recharge and Runoff; Quality of Groundwater; and Development and Management of Aquifers. J. C. DOORNKAMPand C. A. M. KING: Numerical Analysi~ in Geomorphology. An Introduction. London. Edward Arnold. 1971.22.5 x 14 cm. 372 pp. Numerous figs. ~4. The authors of this excellent introduction to numerical analysis in Geomorphology are respectively Lecturer in Geography and Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Nottingham. As shown by the authors in their preface, land forms and drainage patterns are being studied by more and more elaborate methods all the time. The increasingly accurate methods of measuring land form and geomorphological processes are providing a vast amount of quantitative data. This has to be analysed by numerical methods so that an orderly behaviour may be discerned from amongst the mass of accumulated data. This book sets out to provide an introduction to those numerical methods which the authors have found to be most useful in the analysis of geomorphological data. In it they have shown how even the simplest statistical tests can bring out significant points concerning the landscape. But land forms are sometimes complex, having many measurable properties, and this demands of the geomorphologists an appreciation of the value of multivariate statistical analysis. At its most complex such methods demand the use of a computer. Nevertheless, many of the methods in this book can be applied with no more than a set of mathematical tables or a slide rule. The book concentrates on four major fields of geomorphological study, namely drainage basins, slopes, and coastal and glacial land forms; its theme is that of the analysis of form, of which the first two are of particular interest
376
BOOK REVIEWS
to hydrologists. Under the heading of Drainage Basins, consideration is given to the analysis of drainage basins and stream networks, the nature of morphometric data, pair-wise relationships among morphometric variables, multiple relations among morphometric properties, and basin morphometry and morphological regions. Under the heading of Slopes the following aspects are discussed: the measurement and organization of slope data, analysis of slope form, slope and environment, and slope models. A. F. PITTY: Introduction to Geomorphology. London. Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1971. 23.5 x 15 cm. 626 pp. Numerous figs. Bibliogr. & Index. £5. Univ. Paperback, £2.50. This thorough and well illustrated volume, from the Department of Geography, University of Hull, should prove an excellent introduction to Geomorphology, and it clearly stresses the importance of the geological background to the study. Its numerous figures are well drawn, and a selected but extensive Bibliography, subdivided according to chapter headings, runs into 34 pages. The approach is systematic throughout, and examples are drawn from a wide geographical range with emphasis on presenting examples of actual observation and measurements. A final section presents concise descriptions of simple methods of acquiring field data in landform study. The close relation of the subject to hydrology and hydraulics is clearly set forth in Chapter III, in which also sedimentary and geochemical factors are described. F.D.
375
are of utmost importance in relating cause and effect, and cause cannot be related to effect until hydrogeologic maps are available. Electric analogue and digital computer techniques that allow the rapid study of cause-andeffect relationships involving complex aquifer conditions have recently been developed. Derivation of equations as well as numerous illustrative case histories of analyses based on actual field data are presented in this book. Numerous practical problems which may be solved with available equations and methods are given. A selection of the numerous equations and analytical methods available has been made to include those most frequently applied to actual groundwater resource-evaluation field problems. The subject headings of the book include Groundwater Movement Storage and Exploration; Basic Principles and Fundamental Equations; Aquifer Test and Flow-net Analysis; Hydrological Systems Analysis; Well Design Criteria and Production Tests; Groundwater Recharge and Runoff; Quality of Groundwater; and Development and Management of Aquifers. J. C. DOORNKAMPand C. A. M. KING: Numerical Analysi~ in Geomorphology. An Introduction. London. Edward Arnold. 1971.22.5 x 14 cm. 372 pp. Numerous figs. ~4. The authors of this excellent introduction to numerical analysis in Geomorphology are respectively Lecturer in Geography and Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Nottingham. As shown by the authors in their preface, land forms and drainage patterns are being studied by more and more elaborate methods all the time. The increasingly accurate methods of measuring land form and geomorphological processes are providing a vast amount of quantitative data. This has to be analysed by numerical methods so that an orderly behaviour may be discerned from amongst the mass of accumulated data. This book sets out to provide an introduction to those numerical methods which the authors have found to be most useful in the analysis of geomorphological data. In it they have shown how even the simplest statistical tests can bring out significant points concerning the landscape. But land forms are sometimes complex, having many measurable properties, and this demands of the geomorphologists an appreciation of the value of multivariate statistical analysis. At its most complex such methods demand the use of a computer. Nevertheless, many of the methods in this book can be applied with no more than a set of mathematical tables or a slide rule. The book concentrates on four major fields of geomorphological study, namely drainage basins, slopes, and coastal and glacial land forms; its theme is that of the analysis of form, of which the first two are of particular interest
376
BOOK REVIEWS
to hydrologists. Under the heading of Drainage Basins, consideration is given to the analysis of drainage basins and stream networks, the nature of morphometric data, pair-wise relationships among morphometric variables, multiple relations among morphometric properties, and basin morphometry and morphological regions. Under the heading of Slopes the following aspects are discussed: the measurement and organization of slope data, analysis of slope form, slope and environment, and slope models. A. F. PITTY: Introduction to Geomorphology. London. Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1971. 23.5 x 15 cm. 626 pp. Numerous figs. Bibliogr. & Index. £5. Univ. Paperback, £2.50. This thorough and well illustrated volume, from the Department of Geography, University of Hull, should prove an excellent introduction to Geomorphology, and it clearly stresses the importance of the geological background to the study. Its numerous figures are well drawn, and a selected but extensive Bibliography, subdivided according to chapter headings, runs into 34 pages. The approach is systematic throughout, and examples are drawn from a wide geographical range with emphasis on presenting examples of actual observation and measurements. A final section presents concise descriptions of simple methods of acquiring field data in landform study. The close relation of the subject to hydrology and hydraulics is clearly set forth in Chapter III, in which also sedimentary and geochemical factors are described. F.D.