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Module introduction. What is geomorphology?Approaches to geomorphologyHistorical approachesDavis'
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1. GY2312 Geomorphological Processes
GY2311 Geomorphological Processes
and Landforms
Dr Mark Powell/Prof Tony Parsons
Room F44/F73
dmp6@le.ac.uk/ajp16@le.ac.uk
2. Module introduction What is geomorphology?
Approaches to geomorphology
Historical approaches
Davis’ ‘Geographical Cycle’
Alternative frameworks - King
Climatic geomorphology
Functional (process response) approaches
Aims of the module
Learning outcomes
3. What is geomorphology? Geomorphology is scientific study of the origin of landforms.
4. Historical approaches
5. Denudation chronology
6. Davis’ ‘Geographical Cycle’, 1899
7. Rival views – King (1935)
9. Climatic geomorphology-morphogenetic regions
10. Functional approaches Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
11. Advantages of the functional approach avoids the need to extrapolate from evidence to untestable inferences about landscape history;
provides opportunities for measurement and experiment leading to quantifiable relationships between landscape processes and forms;
permits greater specialisation Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
12. Disadvantages of the functional approach
difficulty of generating an understanding of long-term landscape evolution Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
15. The question of scale Which approach to adopt in tackling geomorphological questions is not so much a matter of choice, but is determined by the spatio-temporal scale of the investigation (Church, 1996).
Three scales…….. Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
Mesa of Etendeka Lava, Namibia.
16. Landscape development:Small scale Topic - The erosion of a particular soil particle
Question – Will a soil particle be entrained by overland flow and how far will it travel?
‘Best’ answer – There is a 30% chance that the particle will be entrained by the flow and, if it is, its travel distance will have a maximum probability of 15 cm, with a standard deviation of 4.3 cm.
17. Landscape development:Medium scale Topic - The erosion of a hillslope
Question – How much material has moved off the hillslope and how far did it move?
‘Best’ answer – The landslide moved 2600 m3 of soil from the hillslope. The travel distance of the landslide was 200 m
18. Landscape development:Large scale Topic – The evolution of the landscape
Question – How has this landscape developed?
‘Best’ answer – An account of the unique landscape’s history.
19. The approach of this course
20. Aims of the course To demonstrate how an understanding of geomorphological processes provides a basis for understanding the origin and evolution of earth surface landforms and landscapes.
Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the mechanisms of mass movements of slope forming materials under the influence of gravity and the dynamics of sediment entrainment, transportation and deposition by water, wind and ice.
21. The structure of the course GY2312 and semester 1 GY2311 - Processes
Forces, resistances and responses
Hillslope materials and failures
Fluid Flows
Sediment transport
GY2311 Semester 2 – Landscape responses
22. Learning outcomes (1)
discuss how rock, soil, water, wind and ice respond to stress and how these responses determine their flow dynamics;
discuss the basic principles underlying the entrainment, transport and deposition of sediment by water, wind and ice;
apply a quantitative understanding of flow and sediment transport processes to solve geomorphological problems;
apply laboratory and field techniques to measure earth material properties and the flow of water;
produce a web-site to communicate information about field techniques relevant to the measurement of earth material properties.
23. Learning outcomes (2)
apply a knowledge of geomorphological processes to develop an understanding of landform and landscape development at a range of spatial and temporal scales;
discuss the concepts of process-response, magnitude, frequency and dominant events and their relevance for understanding landform development;
discuss limitations of the process-response approach to geomorphological study.
25. Assessment GY2312 25% CW 75% Exam
CW – Problem solving exercises
Hand in date Mon 16 Jan
GY2311 50% CW 50% Exam
CW1 Problem solving exercises
Hand in date Mon 16th Jan
CW2 Exercise in landform development
Hand in date Semester 2
27. Reading