Book excerpt: River Confluences and the Fluvial Network brings together state of the art thinking on confluence dynamics tributary impacts and the links between processes at these scales and river network functions. The book is unique in focus, content, scope and in bringing together engineering, ecological and geomorphological approaches to the three key areas of river system science. Taking a global approach this multi-authored text features a team of carefully selected, internationally renowned, experts who have all contributed significantly to recent ground breaking advancements in the field. Each chapter includes a comprehensive review of work to date highlighting recent discoveries and the main thrust of knowledge, previously unpublished research and case studies, challenges and questions, detailed references as well as a forward looking assessment of the state of the science.