The 9th ISRS (Yichang, China, 2004)

The Ninth International Symposium on River Sedimentation (9^th ISRS) has been successfully held on Oct. 18 to 21, 2004 at the site of the partially completed Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River near Yichang of Hubei Province, China. The Symposium is organized by the Ministry of Water Resources, People’s Republic of China (MWR), sponsored by International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES), Changjiang River Water Resources Commission (CWRC), China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) and Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society (CHES). Twenty nine organizations including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR), International Association for Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) are co-sponsors.

A total of 450 scientists, engineers, researchers and decision makers from 40 countries, including officials from international organizations, government Departments and other organizations attended the important technical event. Mr. Shucheng WANG, Minister of the MWR, Lisheng SUO, Vice Minister of the MWR, Dr. A. Szollosi Nagy, Deputy Assistant Director General of the UNESCO, Dr. Christopher George, Executive Director of the IAHR, Prof. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, President of the IAHS and Prof. Desmond E. Walling, newly elected President of the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research (WASER) and other VIPs attended the Symposium and made opening addresses.

The theme of the 9th ISRS is “interactions between fluvial systems and hydraulic projects and pertinent environment impacts”. Under this central theme, six topics are suggested for in-depth discussion, namely large-scaled hydraulic projects and their impacts, river sedimentation, estuarine and coastal engineering, environmental problems in sedimentation, Soil and water and Sediment information. Twelve Keynote lectures were presented in the Plenary Sessions, they are:

·           Lisheng SUO: River Management and Eco-Environment Construction in China

·           Kuniyoshi TAKEUCHI: Importance of Sediment Research in Global Water System Science

·           Sam S.Y. WANG: River Sedimentation and Morphology Modeling

·           Guoying LI: Keeping the Yellow River Healthy

·           Leo C VAN RIJN: Estuarine and Coastal Sedimentation Problems

·           Zhen LIU: Soil and Water Conservation in China

·           K.G. RANGA RAJU: SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT IN HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS

·           Des E. WALLING: Using Environmental Radionuclides to Trace Sediment Mobilisation and Delivery in River Basins as an Aid to Catchment Management

·           Zhaoyin WANG: Interactions Between Fluvial Systems and Large Scale Hydro-Projects

·           Ren ZHANG: Sediment Research for the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River since 1993

·           Sven HARTMANN: Sediment Management of Alpine Reservoirs Considering Ecological and Economical Aspects

·           Jinyou LU: Progress of Sedimentation Research for the Yangtze River

About 200 papers were presented in the Parallel Sessions, among which three special sessions were organized, namely, sediment problems in hydraulic engineering, observation and measuring technique of river sedimentation, and simulation technique on river sedimentation. There were also several poster paper presentations. The lectures, presentations and discussions covered a very wide range of objectives related to river sedimentation, such as hydroprojects and their impacts on fluvial processes and ecological system in rivers, flood control and river training, reservoir sedimentation and its management, headworks and desilting chambers, harbours and waterways, bridge and bed scour, sediment abrasion and energy dissipation, estuarine and coastal processes, debris flows and landslides, sediment biochemical processes and sediment quality, surface erosion and sediment yield, erosion control and watershed management, GIS and RS application, climate change and its impact, hydraulics and fluvial dynamics, physical and mathematical modeling, erosion and sediment measurement, and modern information technique, etc. A rich mixture of theory and practice was provided with a number of notable case studies on some projects and rivers from five continents, including, for example, the Three Gorges Project (TGP) and Yangtze River, and the Xiaolangdi Reservoir and Yellow River in Asia, the Aswan High Dam and Nile River, and the Lake Victoria in Africa, the Mississippi River in North America, The Belo Monte Reservoir and Xingu River in South America, the Rhine and Danube rivers in Europe, Eprapah Creek in Oceanica and others. All the lectures and contributions are highly appreciated for their advancement and good quality.

WASER, the World Association For Sedimentation and Erosion Research, has been inaugurated during the 9th ISRS. The objectives of WASER are: 1) to promote the study and development of science of erosion and sedimentation interpreted in its widest sense and 2) to foster the application and dissemination of knowledge of sedimentation and erosion. Prof. Desmond E. Walling was elected as the President, Prof. C. Ted Yang and Prof. G. Di Silvio were elected as the Vice President and Prof. Zhao-Yin Wang as the Secretary-General. Dr. A. Szollosi-Nagy, UNESCO representative, Dr. Christopher George, IAHR Executive Director, Prof. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, IAHS President, Prof. Zhimin Meng, Deputy Director-General of Department of International Cooperation, Science & Technology, MWR. and Prof. George Gergov, representative of WASWC made congratulation speeches in the inauguration.

Four volumes of the proceedings published by the Tsinghua University Press contain the keynote and invited lectures and selected papers, total 390 papers, 2689 pages, ISBN 7-302-09684-8. These papers cover a broad spectrum and reflects the vibrant research activity on erosion and sedimentation all over the world. A CD-ROM contains all of the content of the four volumes of the proceedings in pdf files.

For details about the 9^th ISRS, please visit the website: 第九次河流泥沙国际讨论会 (irtces.org),   http://www.irtces.org/nszx/zt/9isrs/index.html .

The 8th ISRS (Cairo, 2001)

The 8th ISRS was successfully held in Cairo, Egypt from 3 to 5 November 2001. It was organized by the National Water Research Center of Egypt under the auspices of Dr. M. Abu-Zeid, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt. 

The Symposium theme is "Management of River Sedimentation". The main topics are as follows: 
1. Flow in Alluvial Channels 
2. Environmental Issues 
3. River Protection and Development 
4. Sediment Control Measures
5.Sediment Measurements
6.Modeling of Sediment Transport

207 researchers and engineers from ten countries namely, Austria, Belgium, China, Egypt, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Sudan and UK attended the symposium. 150 research papers were submitted to the scientific committee. However, only 50 papers were orally presented because of the mishap of Sept. 11th. Two keynote speeches were presented, the first was" Nile River Protection and Development- An Over View" by Dr. M. El. Moattassem, and the second "UNESCO Role in Sustainable

The 7th ISRS (Hong Kong, 1998)

The Seventh International Symposium on River Sedimentation (ISRS-98) was organized by the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Hong Kong. It was jointly held in parallel with the Second International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics (ISEC-98) at the Sheraton Hotel, Hong Kong, During December 16-18,1998.

The Proceedings of the Symposium contains 150 selected papers including contributions from 3 keynote speakers and 5 invited speakers, binging in expertise and experiences from 26 countries.

The main topics of the Symposium include:
1.Sedimentation Problems in River and Coastal System;
2.Environmental Hydraulics;
3.Sediment/ Environment Interaction.

The 6th ISRS (New Delhi, 1995)

The sixth ISRS was held from 7 through 11, in New Delhi, India. Altogether about 150 engineers and scientists from 23 countries and areas attended this symposium.

The Symposium was hosted by the Central Board of Irrigation and  Power, Government of India, and sponsored and co-sponsored by IRTCES, IAHR.

The Central theme of the Symposium was " Philosophy, aims and techniques of sediment management ".

The main topics are as follows:
1.Reservoir sediment management
2.River morphology
3.Modelling   Methodologies
4.Hydraulic structures-scouring and deposition control
5.Environmental aspects of sediment management

The 5th ISRS (Karlsruhe, 1992)

The 5th ISRS was held from April 6 through 10, 1992, at University of Karlsruhe, Germany. Altogether about 220 engineers and scientists from 38 countries and areas attended this symposium.

The Symposium was hosted by the Institute of Hydraulic Structures and Agricultural Engineering, University of Karlsruhe, and sponsored and co-sponsored by IRTCES, IAHR, UNESCO, Germany Research Foundation (DFG), Germany Association for Hydrology and Rural Engineering (DVWK), Federal Ministry of Transportation, Baden-Wurttemberg State Ministry for Science and Art, and Federal Hydraulic Laboratory (BAN).

The Central theme of the Symposium was "Sediment management". The main topics are as follows:
1. Sediment quality and its measurement
2. River morphology
3. Strongly graded bed materials and armoring
4. Hydraulic structures-scouring and deposition control
5. Sediment management in the reservoirs
6. Modeling methodologies
7. Environment aspects of sediment management

The 4th ISRS (Beijing, 1989)

The fourth ISRS was held in Beijing, China from 5 through 9, June 1989. It was jointly organized by the International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES), The Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society (CHES), and the Chinese Society for Soil and Water Conservation (CSSWC), and co-sponsored by UNESCO, UNDP, IWRA, IAHR, IAHS, CACE and other Chinese relevant agencies.

A total of 285 participants attended the symposium. Among them 77 scholars came from 28 countries and regions. The preprinted proceedings in two volumes contained 202 selected papers of nine themes.

Overseas and Chinese scholars highly evaluated the success of the 4th ISRS. It strengthened friendship between scholars of various countries, promoted exchange of information and cooperation and proved to be beneficial to all the participants.

The central theme for the Fourth Symposium is "Effects of erosion control measures on sediment yield" which is of great importance in the management of watersheds and regulation of rivers. Hopefully this will help bridge the gap between soil conservation and fluvial hydraulics.

The central topics for the Symposium are as follows:
1.Process of soil erosion and simulation techniques 
2. Small watershed management and its benefits
3. Mechanics of sediment transport
4. Fluvial processes
5. Aspects of sedimentation engineering
6. Environmental impacts of erosion and sedimentation
7. Simulation and measuring techniques of sedimentation
8. Socio-economic and institutional aspects of sedimentation.

 The 3rd ISRS（Jachson, 1986)

The third ISRS was held in the Ramda Renaissance Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi from March 31 to April 4, 1986. This symposium continues the successful First and Second Symposia held in Beijing, China in 1980 and Nanjing, China in 1983, respectively.

The principal sponsors are the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the University of Mississippi.

The objective of this series of symposia is to provide scholars, researchers and practitioners with a forum for reporting their latest findings of great importance, reviewing the current state-of the –art, determining the future direction of research, and exchanging ideas and experience in all areas of sedimentation research with emphasis on river sedimentation.

The central theme for the Third Symposium is Estuarine and Coastal Sedimentation because of its importance in the region coving the lower Mississippi River Valley and the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. As evidenced by the strong support of researchers around the world as well as national and international professional societies and governmental agencies, there is reason to expect that this series or symposia is to be developed into a major forum with the most comprehensive coverage in all areas of sedimentation research.

The central topics for the Symposium are as follows:
1.Sediment transport in rivers
2.Estuarine and coastal sedimentation
3.Hydraulics of sediment transport
4.Aspects of sedimentation engineering
5.Sediment yields and sources
6.Sedimentation processes in reservoirs and lakes
7.River and coastal hydrodynamics
8.Methodology in sedimentation research

The 2nd ISRS (Nanjing, 1983)

The second ISRS was held in Nanjing, China, from Oct. 11 to 16, 1983, was another significant gathering of specialists in the field of river sedimentation. Authors presenting papers and participants from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America total more than two hundred, including some one hundred from abroad. During he symposium, fellow river engineers, meeting together, reviewed new developments in the research of river sedimentation, exchanged the latest findings and discussed future research needs, thus strengthening the friendship and cooperation between scientists of various countries.

Presented in the symposium were 11 general reports and 108 papers covering five major themes in river sedimentation, which aroused immense interest of the participants and brought for the heated discussions.

The participants spoke highly of the convocation of international symposia on river sedimentation and expressed the hope of continuing the events of this kind. Many of them suggested and supported the establishment of Standing Secretariat of International Symposium on River Sedimentation in China, which will take charge of the preparation and arrangement of the future symposia.

This symposium, sponsored by the Chinese Society of Hydraulic Engineering and the Chinese National Committee of the IHP and supported by the UNESCO and the UNDP, ended successfully.

The main topics of the second ISRS are as follows: 
 
1. Hydraulics of alluvial rivers
2. Sediment transportation in rivers
3. Fluvial processes
4. River training means
5. Model investigation and prototype measuring techniques of rivers

The 1st ISRS(Beijing, 1980)

The first ISRS held in Beijing from March 24 to 29, 1980 was the first international meeting organized by the Chinese Society of Hydraulic Engineering since the founding of New China. This Symposium was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Society of Hydraulic Engineering and the Chinese National Committee for the IHP and with the support of UNESCO.

The five main topics selected for this Symposium represent the five important phases of the river sedimentation problems including:

1.Sediment yield and utilization Sediment transport mechanics (including hyper-concentration transport)
2.Fluvial processes (including estuarine and coastal sedimentation)
3.Reservoir sedimentation
4.Laboratory and field measuring techniques an model tests of sediment transport.