Introduction to the special issue: From fluvial geomorphology to fluvial archives

This paper introduces a special issue arising from a session at the 2011 (28th) INQUA Symposium in Bern, Switzerland, organised by the Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG) jointly with GLOCOPH. Its theme, falling within the broader remit of FLAG, is devoted to the study of fluvial evolution at varying timescales and in response to various forcings. This theme links the interests of fluvial geomorphologists, including work on processes and the understanding of fluvial systems, with those of Quaternary scientists, who are concerned with timescales and the influences on rivers of climatic fluctuations and human activity. The benefits of a multi-proxy, multidisciplinary approach, as applied to the mitigation of fluvial hazards or in fluvial geoarchaeology, is readily apparent and suggests that an environmental pproach to the future study of fluvial systems would be fruitful. This would take account of the forcings from climate and anthropogenic factors, the recognition of which stems from studies of Quaternary fluvial evolution. The study of the sedimentary and morpho-stratigraphic records of rivers can be undertaken at a range of timescales, from the detailed historical to Holocene archives in numerous systems to the longer-timescale sequences that survive only in areas where there have been no destructive glaciations during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The latter can reveal differences in the style of valley development at such times. New methods and technological developments have revolutionized such studies, particularly by enabling improved chronological control, although remote sensing and modelling have had considerable and growing influences, underpinning the new levels of understanding. The papers of the special issue range across these issues and timescales, with a focus on fluvial systems in Western Europe, from the Alps to the Mediterranean and from the Paris Basin to the Rhenish Massif.