**Preface to "Experimental, Numerical and Field Approaches to Scour Research"**

Whether it occurs in the fluvial, coastal, or offshore environment, scour can endanger the integrity of adjacent engineering structures, leading not only to economic loss but also to the loss of human lives. The interdependent interaction between the structure-induced flow field and sediment motion poses a highly complex physical mechanism, which comprises both temporal and spatial variations in flow property and has baffled researchers and engineers for a long time. Intensive research likely began in the mid-20th century, when extensive infrastructural development, including the construction of numerous bridges, ports, and offshore structures, was necessary due to the ravages of the Second World War. The objective was to provide cost-effective engineering design for these structures. Despite such research efforts, a full and complete understanding of the subject remains elusive. Additionally, new structures are now required in more extreme environments, presenting new challenges to researchers. This book presents fourteen research papers and one editorial based on the results of innovative research studies (experimental, numerical and field-based) conducted around the world. The editors hope that this will collectively provide new insights for researchers to explore the highly intriguing and challenging subject of scour.

> **Yee-Meng Chiew, Jihn-Sung Lai, Oscar Link** *Editors*
