Mountain Uplift and Erosion
Compiled by Jeff Crabaugh at Carleton College (more info) (SERC) (more info) and the University of Wyoming
This section provides access to a number of visualizations illustrating the physical processes interacting to create mountain uplift and erosion. Visualizations include simple animations, experimental models, visual output from numerical models, as well as static diagrams and photos.
How do Mountains Form? Uplift.
Where and How Do the Continents Deform? (more info) Plate tectonic data, earthquake data, and concepts from modeling are used to explain the uplift of the Himalayan Mountains and the accommodation of northward motion of the Indian Plate. Animations, interactive graphics, static diagrams, and photos with brief text are used in this simply illustrated and well-designed module from the University of Leeds.
Buoyancy, Gravity, and Mountain Roots. (more info) A detailed description of buoyancy, Archimede's principle, and evidence for mountain roots. Includes mathematical and graphical examples of buoyancy and gravity.
Why Topography. (more info) From the Dynamic Earth website at the University of Leeds, simple and clear interactive graphics illustrate how two models of isostasy have been used to explain variations in topography.
How are Mountains Destroyed? Erosion
Mountains, Weathering and Erosion. (more info) A detailed description of weathering; both physical and chemical, erosion and mass wasting. Rich with example images of landforms and weathering products.
Landscape Instability in an Experimental Drainage Basin. (more info) Animations of a physical model and associated numerical model investigating the stability of eroding drainage basins under conditions of constant climate and uplift.
