Arid geomorphology

Geomorphologists working in the arid zone have continued to make a significant contribution to knowledge in the past year, producing a wide variety of high-quality papers. As reflected in the last three Progress Reports (Nash, 1999, 2000, 2001), there continues to be a high volume of publications, with over 200 articles reviewed here. Work on aeolian processes has continued to dominate, especially research into the origins and implications of dust storms, but there have also been major advances in our understanding of desert hydrological and fluvial processes, weathering and geochemical sediments, and slope systems. There were relatively few specialist dryland conferences in 2001, although research into geomorphological processes was prominent at the IGCP-413 Dryland Change conference in Upington, South Africa, and at the 7th International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology at Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. Papers arising from these conferences will, no doubt, be reviewed in the next series of Progress Reports.