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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Using technology as an aid to the geomorphologist
Sarah Robinson, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus
Geomorphology requires characterization of the earth's surface at sufficient high resolution in 3 dimensions to explicitly represent landforms. Measuring change requires repeat survey, thus adding the 4th ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landscape Evolution, Tectonic Geomorphology, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:GIS/Mapping/Field Techniques, Landforms/Processes
Vignette Type: Computation, Chronology

Using geomorphology to determine tectonic slip at Wallace Creek
Sarah Robinson, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus
The Carrizo Plain along the San Andreas fault in California is world-famous for its dramatic offset features. Sag ponds, linear ridges, beheaded channels and scarps define the landscape along the fault (Vedder and ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landscape Evolution, Tectonic Geomorphology, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:Arid Region Geomorphology, Dating and Rates
Vignette Type: Chronology

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

Uplift rates and vertical fault displacements derived from marine terraces, Crete, Greece
Sean Gallen, Colorado State University
Introduction: Long-lived and continuing uplift and pervasive extensional faulting are a testament to the active tectonics of the island of Crete, located in the eastern Mediterranean (Figure 1). Large earthquakes ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Tectonic Geomorphology, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:Dating and Rates, Landforms/Processes
Vignette Type: Stratigraphy, Process, Chronology

Defining rates of erosion using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides in the Himalaya
Lewis Owen, North Carolina State University
The Himalaya and Tibet comprise the greatest mountain mass on our planet, stretching for ~ 2000 km east-west and >1500 km north-south with an average elevation of ~5000 m above sea level. The mountain mass ...

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

Living on a slippery slope: Case studies of geologic hazards from the Wasatch Front, Utah
Kathleen Nicoll, University of Utah
Throughout their history, humans have fought the natural elements; we build shelters, roads, hospitals and malls wherever we can engineer "solutions" and strategies that permit us to thrive, even in harsh ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Landforms/Processes:Mass Movement, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landscape Evolution, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Environmental Science:Natural Hazards:Mass Wasting, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Hillslopes, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Tectonic Geomorphology, Arid Region Geomorphology
Vignette Type: Process

Fluvial geomorphology in a tank - The scientific value of physical experiments
Nikki Strong, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
The beauty and utility of experiments is to illuminate the fundamental processes that drive the evolution of natural systems. Experiments help us build intuition for processes that otherwise might be hard to ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Landforms/Processes:Fluvial, Coastal-zone, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landscape Evolution, Modeling/Physical Experiments, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:Tectonic Geomorphology, Climate/Paleoclimate, Dating and Rates
Vignette Type: Computation, Process, Chronology, Stratigraphy

Geomorphic Evolution of the Upper Basin of the Tigris River, Turkey
Kathleen Nicoll, University of Utah
Introduction The Tigris is one of Antiquity's famous rivers, as it flanks the fertile strip of land known as the Mesopotamian Plain, the heartland of the mighty biblical empires of Sumeria and Assyria (Figure ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Landscape Evolution, Tectonic Geomorphology, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Fluvial, Karst
Vignette Type: Stratigraphy, Process

Marine terraces in mid-latitude settings: the case of the Oregon USA coast
Harvey Kelsey, Humboldt State University
Marine terraces are terraced landforms that occur as elevated flats inboard of, and parallel to, coastlines. Outstanding examples of a stair-step landscape of marine terraces can be found in many places in the ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Coastal-zone, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Tectonic Geomorphology, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:Climate/Paleoclimate, Dating and Rates
Vignette Type: Chronology, Process

Soil versus rock-dominated landscapes
Arjun Heimsath, Arizona State University at the Tempe Campus
Introduction When you look at a hilly, gently sloped landscape do you ever wonder why it's covered with soil? Similarly, when you're on your favorite hike through a steep, mountainous landscape do you ...

Subject: Geomorphology: Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes, Weathering/Soils, Geoscience:Geology:Tectonics, Geomorphology:Landforms/Processes:Hillslopes, Geoscience:Geology:Geomorphology:Tectonic Geomorphology
Vignette Type: Process