Geomorphology Vignettes

These illustrated essays have been contributed by participants in the Teaching Geomorphology in the 21st Century workshop in 2008. The vignettes are drafts that are being written and revised by the participants and are not finished products.



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Land disturbance and recovery following a massive deforestation event in the Missouri Ozarks
Winston Crausaz
In 1983 California businessman Raymond L. Sheeks purchased 40 square kilometers of wooded upland in the Ozark Mountains of south-central Missouri. Starting with steep forested slopes, a relief of 100 meters, thin ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Mass Movement, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landscape Evolution, Landforms/Processes:Fluvial, Hillslopes
Vignette Type: Process

Glacial Features of Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
R. Laurence Davis, University of New Haven
INTRODUCTION Franconia Notch, New Hampshire (Figure 1) is a classic northern Appalachian glaciated valley. It has geomorphic features from pre-glacial times, from the glaciation itself, from glacial meltwater, and ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Glacial/Periglacial, Mass Movement, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Landscape Evolution, Landforms/Processes:Fluvial, Hillslopes
Vignette Type: Chronology, Process

Karst Processes and Landforms on San Salvador Island, Bahamas
R. Laurence Davis, University of New Haven
INTRODUCTION San Salvador Island is located in the Central Bahamas, about 225 km ESE of Miami and is about 12 km north to south and about 5 km east to west (Figure 1). It is notable for being Columbus' first ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Karst
Vignette Type: Process

Geomorphic history controls the locations of fresh-water wetlands on barrier islands, Virginia's Atlantic shore
Rich Whittecar, Old Dominion University
Fresh-water ponds on low sand islands Native Americans, pirates and the early European colonists used them. Ship-wreaked sailors owe their survival to them. Fresh-water ponds somehow seem out of place, though, ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Geomorphology as applied to other disciplines, Landforms/Processes:Coastal-zone
Vignette Type: Stratigraphy, Process

Plateau Glaciers and their significance
Brian Whalley, niversity of Sheffield
Plateaus exist in many mountainous parts of the world. Although not as spectacular as high, prominent peaks, they do often have (or have had in the past) glaciers associated with them. In this vignette I describe ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Glacial/Periglacial, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landscape Evolution, Dating and Rates, Landforms/Processes, Climate/Paleoclimate
Vignette Type: Process, Chronology

Rock glaciers: their ice and debris balances
Brian Whalley, niversity of Sheffield
Rock glaciers are best defined by their topography (Fig. 1) and that they flow slowly. Their dynamic character is attributed to the flow of ice deforming the associated weathered rock debris. Typically, they flow ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Glacial/Periglacial, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Geomorphology as applied to other disciplines, Dating and Rates, Landforms/Processes:Mass Movement, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Climate/Paleoclimate
Vignette Type: Chronology, Process, Computation

Beach replenishment on developed shorelines: a coupled human–landscape system
Eli Lazarus
Beach replenishment (also called "beach nourishment") is an engineering strategy commonly used on sandy shorelines where erosion threatens coastal property and infrastructure. The process involves ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Landforms/Processes:Coastal-zone, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Modeling/Physical Experiments
Vignette Type: Process

Precipitation and debris flows in the Adirondacks
Devin McPhillips, University of Vermont
In the Adirondack Mountains in New York State, slide scars are distinctive features of the landscape. These scars are usually long, narrow exposures of bedrock on steeper slopes that form when debris flows scour ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Mass Movement, Hillslopes, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes
Vignette Type: Process

Sinkhole hazard above salt, Dead Sea shore
amos frumkin
The hazard of sinkholes (collapse dolines) is commonly associated with karst (landscapes dominated by dissolution and subsurface drainage), where subsurface cavities undermine the overlying strata, causing ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Coastal-zone, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Landscape Evolution, Arid Region Geomorphology, Landforms/Processes:Karst
Vignette Type: Chronology, Process

Stream incision and surface uplift in the Kings River drainage, Sierra Nevada, California
Devin McPhillips, University of Vermont
Among the awe-inspiring canyons of the Sierra Nevada, the Kings River Canyon stands out. John Muir considered the South Fork of the Kings possibly even grander than Yosemite Valley. In fact, the valley walls are ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Fluvial, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Tectonic Geomorphology
Vignette Type: Process, Chronology