Geomorphology Introduction

Geomorphology Introduction

1. Summary

   • "Processes acting on materials over time, produces results expressed as landforms" (Gregory, 2000)
   • What 3 things are important to investigate?

2. At a Local Scale

   • Weathering systems, coastal systems, fluvial systems, glacial systems, aeolian systems

3. How can we observe changes in landforms over large timescales?

   • Ergodic Reasoning
     • To do this we can: - Look at similar landforms at different stages of development

4. Magnitude and Frequency

   • "the size of an event and the frequency of its occurence" (Gregory & Lewin, 2014)
   • Recurrenc Interval - "the frequency of which an event of specific magnitude occurs is expressed as the recurrence interval" (Huggett, 2007)
   • Gradualism - change occurs slowly over long periods of time Catastrophism - changes occur quickly over short periods of time Neocatastrophism - changes occur over long periods of time that are interrupted by rapid changes over short periods

5. Biogeomorphology

   • How plants and animals interact with the landscape and environment to help shape it

6. 2 Concepts to Consider

   • Endogeny - related to plate tectonics and processes in the interior of Earth
     • Processes - Earthquakes, Tectonic Uplift, Seafloor Spreading & Folding
     • Landforms - Rift Valleys, Ocean Trenches, Island Arcs & Mountain Ranges
   • Exogeny - processes at or above Earth's surface
     • Processes - Fluvial Erosion, Glacial Erosion, Rainfall & Coastal Processes
     • Landforms - Dunes, Glacial Valleys, Waterfalls & Flood Plains

7. Approaches

   • Process Geom - Processes responsible for landform development
     • (Bagnold) studied how blown sand particles constructed complex dune systems
   • Historical Geom - Histories and Projection of landform evolution
   • Structural Geom - allowing the influence of geological structures upon landforms
   • Climatic Geom - each climatic zone shapes landforms and processes
   • Applied Geom

8. landforms

   • What are they? - "clearly defined topographic features"(Goudie & Viles, 2010)
   • Classifying Landforms
     • Genetic - Mode of Formation
     • Morphologic - Areas of similar physiography
     • Problems: 1) Terminology is often vague (non-genetic) 2) Differnet terminology used in different areas

Images and files in the map