I never cease to be amazed at the ways in which infrastructure is exposed to damage all over the world.  By looking carefully at the geomorphology, so much wasteful damage and so many disasters could have been averted. 

By publishing Engineering Geomorphology - A Practitioner’s Guide, Dr Gareth Hearn and Porto Press have removed the obstacle of lack of information in this area.  Now every practitioner – be they on design teams or in construction and maintenance units – can have to hand the guidance that they really need to ensure that their infrastructure is appropriate for the physical environment in which it is located. 

This book draws together a lifetime of carefully documented experience.  For all environments in which humans move, live and build, Dr Hearn shows how to identify and assess hazards.  He covers lowlands and mountains, coastal and fluvial zones, and the geomorphology caused by water, wind, ice and volcanism, in rural and urban settings, the world over.  He describes the implications for large earthworks, mining and linear infrastructure.  There is also an extensive section on construction materials. 

Anyone who absorbs and utilises the knowledge in this book will go a long way to understanding the world we live in, and will create better engineering outputs than have been seen in many countries for decades.  This should be compulsory reading for everyone who is let loose on any kind of physical works project, anywhere in the world.

John Howell, Director, Living Resources Ltd

I highly recommend Engineering Geomorphology: A Practitioner's Guide by Gareth Hearn. It's an excellent resource written by a pioneer in the field and a leading independent consultant geomorphologist, engineering geologist, and geohazard specialist... A must-have guidebook for anyone working in geomorphology, geotechnical engineering, or geo-hazard assessment.

Kalyan Thapa, Director Everest Landscaping and Erosion Control, Vancouver, Canada

This is a fine addition to the lineage of engineering geomorphology texts. Gareth continues and expands on the previous-generation contributions by the likes of Brunsden, Dearman, Fookes, Griffiths to name but a few. If you are parachuted into a project and don't know where to start the many case studies presented in this book are a good start for assembling random data into coherent analysis and understanding.

Paul Maconochie, Director GeoTek Solutions Pty Ltd, Brisbane

Gareth Hearn has produced a book of rare quality, filled with detailed case studies based on his own work experience (often in remote regions) and supported by highly original annotated images and maps. In many ways it is the story of his distinguished career as an engineering geomorphologist. The standout Chapters are where he describes the use of geomorphological methods in those sectors of engineering in which he had a lifetime of experience: notably roads and railways, pipelines, dams, opencast mining and construction materials.

This book demonstrates to students, researchers and early career practitioners the ways in which their geomorphological knowledge and skills can be applied in ‘real world’ situations.

Dr Mark Lee, Ebor Geoscience Limited

This book is a veritable tour de force for engineering geomorphology. This book will become essential reading especially with all the practical case histories. An excellent job. Thanks, Gareth

Prof. John M. Reynolds, Reynolds Geo-Solutions Ltd

For anyone who works in the broad field of geotechnics, who has to create or consider 'ground models', or has to identify or deal with 'geohazards' this comprehensive book is a must have. For those people who practise in Europe the timing of the publication happily coincides with the transition to the new generation of Eurocode 7 and its mandatory requirement for the expression of a ground model. Recommended for all Engineering Geologists and especially recommended for all Geotechnical Engineers with a civil engineering background. 

John Davis, past chair of Engineering Group of the Geological Society