Summary

This text presents the key findings of the International Symposium held in Delft in 2003, which explored the process of shallow flows. Shallow flows are found in lowland rivers, lakes, estuaries, bays, coastal areas and in density-stratified atmospheres, and may be observed in puddles, as in oceans. They impact on the life and work of a wide variety of readers, who are here provided with a clear overview of the subject. Shallow flows are intrinsically turbulent. On one hand, there are strongly three-dimensional, small-scale turbulent motions and on the other hand, large-scale quasi-two-dimensional turbulence. This book explains and examines these differences and their effects with sections on transport processes in shallow flows; shallow jets, wakes and mixing layers; stratified and rotating flows in ocean and atmosphere; river and channel flows; and numerical modelling and turbulence closure techniques. The reader is provided with the pick of current studies and a fresh approach to the subject, with expert examination of a fascinating and crucial phenomenon of our world's water systems.