Dams and their attendant reservoirs are built for various purposes, including flood control, power generation, water storage, navigation, etc., all of which involve the operation of the dam. Decisions about operations accompany the existence of dams. In this regard, reservoirs are essentially different from natural lakes, however, phenomena similar to natural lakes occur in them. The degree to which these phenomena are significantly influenced by the riverine character of reservoirs is significant and, therefore, of limnological interest. Changes in operations which might carry additional benefits are now being addressed more seriously as the limits of dam construction are approached, as water quality issues become of higher priority and as demography, economics and law alter the legal standing of water users. Thus, the influence of dam operations on the reservoirs themselves and on downstream reaches of the impounded river unavoidably links the basic (science) and the applied (management). A workshop is proposed which will focus on reservoir science with interactions among several disciplines interested in aquatic ecosystems. These include: (1) the physics based modelers, (2) the biology based modelers, (3) empirical earth scientists (geochemistry, ecology, hydrology), and (4) experimental ecologists. A draft of the proceedings of this meeting will document the status of the science and identify gaps in information from the perspective of the scientists. Results from this interdisciplinary meeting of reservoir limnologists and basic scientists will be published in a volume which will be easily accessible for those interested in this major aquatic community.
