The interaction between flow structure, mobile sediment and the surface morphology has become of central importance in understanding the dynamics of the Earth’s surface. Additionally, managing such flows is a key component of sustainable engineering design/ construction as well as in the maintenance of ecological habitats. All such flows, in environments ranging from deserts to rivers to the oceans, are structured across a wide range of spatio-temporal scales, from small-scale turbulent vortices generated at the bed and responsible for grain-motion, to large-scale circulation patterns that generate geomorphic features visible from space. Substantial advances have taken place in the last decade in theoretical/numerical modeling, physical experimentation and field instrumentation, which have greatly expanded our understanding of the dynamics of these flows across this wide range of scales.

This conference will bring together research teams working on numerical simulation, laboratory modeling and field observation to study coherent flow structures, their interaction with sediment, vegetation, and benthic communities, the manipulation of such flow structures for managing sedimentary environments, and the key role they play in Earth surface dynamics. We seek to draw contributions from researchers working on the links between flow structure and the larger scale morphodynamics of sedimentary features within different geomorphic environments and from across the Earth, environmental and engineering sciences.