ABSTRACT
The hydrological system ought to be one of the most easily understood open systems of energy and material transfers in the physical environment. Fluvial processes are severely disrupted in glacial catchments. Downstream changes are applied to the geomorphological development of fluvial landsystems, after first reviewing their significance for the basin-wide network. Fluvial sediment transfer is the prime agent of the third component of continental denudation, after weathering and mass wasting. Distinctions are drawn between sediment derived by fluvial erosion of bedrock, debris delivered to channels from adjacent slopes and reworking of unconsolidated fluvial sediments. In older, lower mountains and uplands, fluvial channels dominate the narrow floors of valleys with V-shaped cross-sections and rock slopes barely concealed beneath thin regolith. Lakes represent a further, transient interruption of fluvial development of the catchment. The proxy record of fluvial responses to past climate-driven environmental change informs watershed models working to predict the catchment impacts of current climatic trends.
