This publication comprises 20 chapters which derive from a conference at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (May 1999), on the theme of drainage basin processes and morphology. They reflect the complex functioning of the drainage basin sediment cascade and follow the flux of water and sediment from source to sink. Fluvial geomorphology and related processes in arid areas, and especially those represented in the Negev Desert (Israel), are a particular focus.

The rainfall input to arid geomorphological systems is considered in detail. Understanding of both its temporal and spatial distribution is a prerequisite of successful rainfall–runoff modelling and particularly so for arid systems. Rainfall–runoff modelling and erosion studies in the Negev and also Australia, Slovakia and the USA are reported.

Central questions in fluvial geomorphology are addressed including that of the geomorphic effectiveness of high magnitude events such as tropical storms in Baja California, USA, and in India. The sediment output term has, until recently, been comparatively neglected by geomorphologists but four contributions provide information about the functioning of drainage basins from lacustrine sedimentary evidence.

The volume is a tribute to the contribution made by Asher Schick to the science of geomorphology. The success of Schick’s work arises largely from his single-minded attention to the fundamental links between geomorphology and hydrology.