Abstract

The complete understanding of bedload transport requires the development of reliable apparatus and techniques for predicting, measuring, and sampling bedload in rivers. This review presents an overview of the development of knowledge and research into bedload transport during the past century. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of methods of predicting and estimating bedload discharge. Problems involved in using field data to calibrate bedload transport formulae and bedload samplers, and factors that affect the design of sampling programmes are specifically addressed. Reluctance to acknowledge the inherently unstable nature of bedload transport has been a principal factor in limiting progress. Some causes of temporal and spatial instability in bedload transport are isolated, and their effect upon the transport process elucidated.