Andesitic Strato- or Composite volcano, Cone, Crater, lava dome

Geol 3265 Geomorphology

"What is above knows what is
below, but what is below does not
know what is above.
One climbs, one sees. One
descends, one sees no longer, but
one has seen."
"When one can no longer see, one
can at least still know..."

- Rene' Daumal, The Art of Climbing

Mountains, from 'Mount Analogue' -
 Snowfall in the zone of accumulation

Course Description
Analysis of the various land forms of the
Earth's surface in terms of their form,
origin, and evolution. Field observations.
Mathematical and experimental models.
The influence of the different geologic and
climatic environments upon the
development of land forms.
Map and air photo interpretation.
Arte, ice cap, cirque glacier, plucking, frost wedging
Some photos by John Scurlock
Used with permission
 Prerequisites
I assume you have
The basic skills taught in Geol 1200 Lab
A basic knowledge of:
physical geology
historical geology
including:
Plate Tectonics
Climate changes in the Cenozoic
Surface changes in the Cenozoic
and you can use basic Algebra and Trigonometry

Roche moutonne, hanging valleys, main trunk, u-shaped valley

All sciences are based on nomenclature, literacy, hypothesis and test

Nomenclature
Knowing the names of objects
Literacy
Knowing previous work
Hypothesis
Forming explanations
Test
Checking testable consequences

Waterfall, v-shaped valley, plume, uplift, base level, rhyolitic, ash

 Why Study
Geomorphology?
Understand the present

Interpret the past

Uniformitarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformitarianism_(science)

James Hutton, Charles Lyell

Example: Charles Darwin and Atolls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll
 In your introductory geology class, you
learned about surface features.

In this class, we try to understand how and why

they have their shape

Sea-stack, tides, tombolo, erosion by waves

 Tools of Geomorphology
Maps
Topographic
Surface Geologic
Air photos
Math Models
Experiments
Ground Truth

Example: pointbar and cutbank. mid-channel bar, incised meander

 Fanabosi Tsunami Chevrons, Southern Madagascar

Aerial and Satellite Photos

 Stereo photos

The Highlands of Scotland contain many examples of the products of upland glacial erosion. This
anaglyph shows typical cirques, artes and tarns, as well as the rugged bare rock surfaces resulting from
subglacial plucking. Scale 1: 25 000. (C) 2000 Steve Drury Used according to guidelines
Godfrey Ridge East and Brodhead Creek, DWG, PA, , detail

Topics of Geomorphology
Agents
that which acts or has the power to act
Water and ice, wind
Subsurface Modifiers
Tectonic compression, tension and shear
Processes
progressive steps by which an end is attained
Weathering, erosion, transport, deposition
Energy Sources
Solar, geothermal, gravitational, chemical
 Rise of Geomorphic Thought
Observation and hypothesis Herodotus 450 BC
Description Hutton 1700s+
Explanation 1800s
Agassiz glacial landforms
Powell (1834 -1902) fluvial/structure
Gilbert (1843 -1918) All surfaces
Correlation
Davis (1850 -1934) fluvial+
Quantification and prediction now a common goal

Geomorphology History flashcards

Horn, cirque, col, rock slide, talus
Herodotus (484 - 425 B.C.)
Rocks on land in Egypt contained
marine fossils.
Assumed that the
Nile Delta took
thousands of years
to form.
 Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.)

Dry land can be submerged.

Land can be raised from beneath the
ocean.
Described erosion by rivers, and
deposition in deltas.
 Lucretius (99-55 BC): Recognized
weathering processes on rocks.
Seneca (3-65 AD): Observed erosion of
valleys by running water.
Ibn-Sina (980-1037 AD): Concluded that
mountains could be uplifted, and later
eroded.
 Renaissance Period

Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519) found

marine fossils on land
G. Bauer [Agricola] (1494-1555)
hypothesized that mountains were
sculpted by weathering and mass
movements
Steno (1638-87) regarded water as the
most significant agent of erosion

viscosity
 Landscape Creation vs.
Landscape Development
Biblical interpretations hindered the
proliferation of non-catastrophic landform
evolution theories.
Werner (1749-1817) theorized that all
mountains formed under water as layers of
sediment, , and were ultimately sculpted
by rapidly receding oceans.
 Catastrophic Theories
Georges Cuvier: Great catastrophic
floods produced unconformities, and
carved Earths landscape.
 James Hutton (1726-97)
Granites form through
heat & fusion deep
underground, and are
later uplifted and
exhumed.
Landforms are
produced by slow,
continuous
processes.
Uniformatarianism
 Hutton (continued)
Sediments are eroded from
landforms, only to be
deposited and later lithified
into new rocks.
There is neither an apparent
beginning nor end to landform
development.
 Huttons Proponents
John Playfair (1748-1819)
Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth (1802).
Streams carve their own drainage systems.
Stream reaches and maintains equilibrium, adjusted to
local gradient. CONCEPT OF GRADED STREAM
The Earth is very ancient; ongoing processes
continue to change it.
Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875)
The Principles of Geology (1833 - 1875)
A strong promoter of Uniformitarian theory
A vehement opponent of Catastrophism
 Other Nineteenth Century
European Contributions
Venetz, and Bernardhi: Moraines and
erratics prove glaciations extended from
polal regions(1832)
Louis Agassiz : Recognized glacial
landforms in Europe & N. Am.- introduced
the concept of Ice Ages (1837)

http://books.google.com/books?id=d4er
qwFkgu4C&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=Bern
hardi+glacier&source=bl&ots=uDleT4N
Qiv&sig=OracgXNC5nHLD5FtVwA5Jqkv
WbY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&res
num=1&ct=result#PPA8,M1
 Charles Darwin
Recorded his observations during the
voyage of the Beagle.

Suggested an origin for atolls

 Grove Karl Gilbert

(1890) Recognized some Utah landscapes

were formed by Pleistocene Lake Bonneville.
Great Salt Lake and Bonneville salt flats are
remnants

Contributed to the understanding of river

incision.

Identified lunar craters as caused by impacts,

and carried out early impact - cratering
experiments
William Morris Davis 1850 -1934

Davis' Cycle of erosion

An example from an arid climate.

Davis' idea of a peneplain

 Our Goal
We wish to understand surface
topography at a fundamental level.

At a course scale, the next slides show

surface topography of North America
classified into geomorphic provinces.

We want to understand on a much finer

scale.
 Concepts in Geomorphology
Systems
an assemblage of parts forming a whole
Fluvial, glacial, coastal,
foreland basin, collisional mountains
Climate
Determines dominant agents
Time
Reshaping = "Evolution" of landforms/landscapes
Systems can dominate large areas.
Regions summarized as Physiography Maps
 Regional Physiography

Topography

Early geomorphologists recognized these provinces based on topography

 Regional Physiography

You should all be able to explain every province: Plate Tectonics, Earth History
 What will our hill do if it rains?
Understanding
geomorphic processes
requires a little applied
physics. For example,
we will study mass
wasting.
Geomorphologists conduct
experimental determinations of
friction with rock and ice when
considering slope failure and
glaciers.
Chalkboard, resolve weight mg into components parallel and opposite Ff and N
 To keep the rock from sliding, Notice a is 90 - dip
the static friction force Ff must be greater
Chalkboard: right triangle,
than the opposing component of gravity
unit circle, sine and cosine
force Fo, that is parallel to the slope.
If the vertical makes an
angle a to the slope, then this friction
opposing force Fo is
Fo = mg cos a

This is the friction force just before the rock slips

If rain gets between the surfaces, or the rock moves friction force Ff
decreases

a
mg
 If the vertical makes an
angle a to the slope, then this friction
opposing force Fo is
Fo = mg cos a just before the rock
slips

Just before the rock moves,

all forces are in balance, so
Ff = - F0 = - mg cos a
= - mg cos(90 dip)
= - mg sin (dip)

Notice a is 90 - dip
F0
a
 Another look
Look at the lower angle b, between
the weight mg, and the normal
direction i.e. perpendicular to the slope angle
F0
slope.
b
The sine of angle b = ord / hyp

sin b = Fo / mg

so

F0 = sine b x mg
For the rock to slide, Friction Ff must be less than F0
 Earth material densities kg/m3
Earth, dense 2002
Earth, soft loose mud 1730
Andesite, solid 2771
Basalt, solid 3011
Granite, solid 2691
Dolomite, solid 2899
Limestone, broken 1554
Sandstone, solid 2323
Slate, solid 2691
Snow, freshly fallen 160
Snow, compacted 481
Ice, solid 919
Water, pure 1000
Water, sea 1026
These densities will allow you to calculate the weight, mg,
of a block of soil, rock or ice with known volume.

http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_materials.htm
 Example for Homework
A loose piece of basalt has
dimensions 1 meter x 8 m x 4 m
1.Calculate the volume
2.The density of basalt is 3011 kg/m3
Calculate the mass m in kg
Calculate the weight mg in Newtons
3. The rock sits on a slope of 35o
What Friction Force is necessary to keep the
rock from sliding downhill?
Example for Homework

54612 N

1. 1x8x4 = 32m3
2. 3011 kg/m3 x 32 m3 = 96352 kg
96352 kg x 9.81 m/sec2 = 945213.12 N
3. The angle b is the same as the slope.
F0 = sine b x mg = sine 35 x 945213.12 N
For the rock to slide, Friction Ff must be less
than F0. If it is greater or equal, it wont slide.
 Geomorphologic Prejudices
1) Uniformitarianism ~ Gradualism dominates.
2) Orderly sequences are predominant.
3) Climate dominates structure.
4) Most landscapes are Quaternary i.e. surface
shaping is fast.
5) There are simple explanations for most
landforms.
Mass wasting, slope failure and
basal sliding from Ellesmere
Islands
 Future Labs
Earth scientists must be able to recognize
and interpret surface features using topo
maps and air and satellite photos. Before
you head to the field, you need to know
what to expect.
You must be able to recognize
geomorphic features in map and side view
from your prospective field area, before
your field studies begin.
We will improve your skills with these tools
in the laboratory portion of the course.
 Homework for this class
For homework you will answer questions
from the lectures and labs, and will do
calculations and make observations based
on lecture and lab topics.
Homework is practice for the tests
Again, your previous knowledge from
Geology 1200 is assumed for all tests. If
you hear something mentioned that you do
not recall, look it up immediately.