The ISI Online Training Workshop on Sediment Transport Measurement and Monitoring will take place from July 5-9, 2021, and represents a key initiative of the International Sediment Initiative (ISI) of UNESCO for 2021. It meets the objectives of the new strategy of ISI, which in turn is a contribution to the 8th phase of the IHP (2014-2021), focuses on “Water security: responses to local, regional and global challenges”, and addresses the wide-ranging environmental, social and economic impacts of erosion, sediment transport and sedimentation processes. Measurement and monitoring of sediment transport are of critical importance for managing and mitigating these impacts.

Sediment Transport refers to the movement of solid particles (sediment), typically due to a combination of gravity acting on the sediment, and/or the movement of the fluid in which the sediment is entrained. The primary modes of sediment transport in rivers are as bedload and suspended load. Variations in the relative importance and areal distribution of these different modes of sediment transport cause changes in river-channel form and therefore fluvial habitats. Fine sediment is also frequently seen as a pollutant, because of both the adverse physical impact of fine sediment itself on aquatic habitats and its role as a vector for the transfer and fate of important sediment-associated pollutants, including pesticides, as well as nutrients such as phosphorus. Understanding sediment transport and the conditions under which sediment is mobilized or deposited in catchments and river/reservoir systems and quantifying the magnitude of the associated fluxes is therefore critical to understanding and managing sediment and sediment-related problems in rivers/reservoir systems.

Sediment Measurement and Monitoring are, for example, the key to providing accurate information on sediment loads and concentrations and their variation in space and time, which is in turn a key requirement for successful river basin and reservoir management. The ISI Online Training Workshop on Sediment Transport Measurement and Monitoring has been designed to address the needs of engineers, and scientists, engaged in river basin management, in various countries and especially of technicians and early career researchers, in developing countries with serious sediment problems. Through lectures and discussion, participants will gain fundamental knowledge of, and familiarity with, relevant methods, techniques and concepts in the field of sediment measurement and monitoring needed to support integrated sediment management in river basins, as well as extending their professional networks.