This book provides a detailed coverage of the landforms of Planet Earth and the processes that shaped them. The study of these morphologies, some of which formed during past geological periods under environmental conditions very different from those of today, makes it possible to reconstruct the evolution of relief and to infer environmental changes that have involved geological media, the climate, or human activity.
A major advance of Geomorphology in recent decades is the development of techniques that make it possible to quantify morphogenetic processes and rates at which forms change under different environmental conditions. The development of Geochronology, or absolute dating methods, is helping us correct the limitations of relative dating that have prevailed in Geomorphology for many years. The ability to assign numerical ages to both landforms and deposits opens up multiple possibilities for reconstructing the evolution of relief, making correlations, calculating rates, and estimating recurrence periods.
A theme of major concern facing people today is the possible warming of the planet due to the release of greenhouse gases into the environment. Investigations conducted by the scientific community show that this temperature increase is at least partially anthropogenic. Given this more-than-probable cause and effect relationship, the most sensible and prudent path is to design and apply mitigation measures to alleviate this heating that can negatively affect both the natural environment and human society. The information that Geomorphology can provide on the recent past (Historical Geomorphology) may be very useful in making predictions on the activity of these potentially dangerous processes in the future and on the possible effects of environmental changes.
The aim of this book is to provide a general vision of the multiple aspects of Geomorphology and to provide a methodological foundation to approach the study of various branches of geomorphology. To this end, the book contains a basic bibliography that can be used for future research. In addition, applied aspects of Geomorphology are covered at the end of each chapter to provide knowledge of the activities of geomorphologists in the professional world.
PREFACE
1 GEOMORPHOLOGY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 HISTORY OF GEOMORPHOLOGY
Geomorphology prior to the 20th century
Models of landscape evolution
Geomorphology in the first half of the 20th century
Process geomorphology
Reconstruction of geomorphic history: Geochronology
1.3 GEOMORPHIC SYSTEMS
1.4 GEOMORPHIC CONCEPTS
1.5 TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES
1.6 APPLIED GEOMORPHOLOGY
1.7 STRUCTURE OF GEOMORPHOLOGY
2 STRUCTURAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH
2.3 COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH
2.4 LITHOSPHERE AND ASTHENOSPHERE
2.5 ISOSTASY
2.6 PRECURSORS OF GLOBAL TECTONICS
2.7 PLATE TECTONICS
2.8 STRUCTURAL LANDFORMS
2.9 PSEUDO-STRUCTURAL LANDFORMS
3 TECTONIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 GEOMORPHIC MARKERS
Planar geomorphic markers
Linear geomorphic markers
3.3 DATING METHODS
Relative dating methods
Absolute dating methods
3.4 TECTONIC GEOMORPHOLOGY TECHNIQUES
Cartography of paleoseismic regions
Cartography of paleoseismic stratigraphy
Geophysical techniques in paleoseismology
Archeological techniques
Geodetic techniques
Other techniques
3.5 DEFORMATION OF LANDFORMS
Geomorphic indices of tectonic activity
The fluvial system and tectonic geomorphology
Uplift, subsidence, and earthquakes in fluvial systems
Deformation in colluvial and fluvial deposits
Deformation in littoral and lacustrine environments
3.6 SEISMIC RISK
3.7 PREVENTION, MITIGATION, AND WARNING
3.8 HUMAN-INDUCED EARTHQUAKES
4 VOLCANIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 PLATE TECTONICS AND VOLCANISM
4.3 MAGMA AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
4.4 TYPES OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
4.5 PRINCIPAL TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
Icelandic eruptions
Hawaiian eruptions
Strombolian eruptions
Vulcanian eruptions
Vesuvian eruptions
Peleean eruptions
Plinian eruptions
4.6 NUÉES ARDENTES AND PYROCLASTIC FLOWS
4.7 HYDROVOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
Sub-aqueous eruptions
Phreatic eruptions
Sub-glacial eruptions
4.8 ROCK AVALANCHES AND LAHARS
4.9 GASEOUS OR HYDROTHERMAL ERUPTIONS
4.10 LAVA FLOWS
Basalt flows
Acid lava flows
4.11 PYROCLASTICS
Pyroclastic fall deposits
Pyroclastic surges
Pyroclastic flows
4.12 VOLCANO MORPHOLOGY
Volcanoes that erupt basic lava
Volcanoes that erupt acidic lava
4.13 PYROCLASTIC CONES
4.14 STRATOVOLCANOES
4.15 CALDERAS
4.16 VOLCANIC LANDFORMS RESULTING
FROM EROSION
4.17 VOLCANIC RISK AND PREDICTION
5 WEATHERING AND RESULTING LANDFORMS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 TYPES OF WEATHERING PROCESSES
Physical weathering
Sheeting
Gelifraction
Insolation weathering
Weathering by wetting and drying
Salt weathering
Biological weathering
Chemical weathering
Weathering of silicates
Degrees of weathering and weathering products
Weathering profile
Weathering depth
Weathering zones
Weathering rates
5.3 RESULTANT WEATHERING FORMS
5.4 PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF WEATHERING
Weathering processes and products
Supergene mineral ores and placers
Regolith characteristics: Implications for engineering geology
Weathering of monuments
Weathering of sandstones in various climatic environments
6 KARST GEOMORPHOLOGY
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 CARBONATE DISSOLUTION
6.3 SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIMESTONES: KARREN
6.4 DOLINES/SINKHOLES
Solution sinkholes
Collapse sinkholes
6.5 POLJES
6.6 KARST VALLEYS AND SPRINGS
6.7 ENDOKARST
Principal factors in cave formation
Limestone type and structure
Type and amount of water flow
Physiographic and climatic factors
Some cave types
6.8 CAVE DEPOSITS
6.9 TYPES OF KARST AND THE ROLE OF CLIMATE
6.10 EVAPORITE KARST
Evaporite dissolution
Karst landforms in evaporites
6.11 KARST RISKS, APPLICATIONS AND USES
7 SLOPES AND MASS MOVEMENT
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 SLOPE SHAPES
7.3 TYPES OF MASS MOVEMENTS
Falls and rockfalls
Topples
Landslides
Rotational landslides (slumps)
Translational landslides
Lateral spreading
Lateral spreading in rocks
Lateral spreading in soils and detritus
Sackung
Flows
Complex mass movements
Rock avalanches
Flow slides
Large gravitational landslides
7.4 FACTORS THAT CONTROL MASS MOVEMENTS
7.5 LANDSLIDE RISK: CASE HISTORIES
7.6 LANDSLIDE PREDICTION AND MITIGATION
8 FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY I
8.1 INTRODUCTION
8.2 BRIEF HISTORY OF FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
8.3 THE FLUVIAL SYSTEM—CONCEPT OF A HYDROSYSTEM
8.4 MORPHOMETRY OF A RIVER BASIN
8.5 HYDRAULICS OF FLUID FLOW
8.6 SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
8.7 FLUVIAL EROSION
8.8 LONGITUDINAL PROFILE, BASE LEVEL, AND STREAM CAPTURE
8.9 FLUVIAL CHANNEL SYSTEMS
8.10 STABILITY OF FLUVIAL CHANNELS
8.11 METAMORPHOSIS OF RIVERS
9 FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY II
9.1 FLUVIAL SEDIMENTATION
9.2 FLOODPLAINS
9.3 ALLUVIAL FANS
Definition, prior work, and terminology
Alluvial fan morphology
Factors that control alluvial fan development
Sedimentary processes
Sediment supply processes
Reworking processes
Dynamics and evolution of alluvial fan development
9.4 FLUVIAL TERRACES
9.5 LARGE RIVERS
9.6 FLOODING
Introduction
Types of floods
Causes and factors that intensify flooding
Magnitude and frequency of flooding
Mapping of flood risk areas
Paleohydrology
9.7 FLOOD RISK
Flood risk in Spain
Two catastrophic floods: Barranco de Arás (Huesca, 1996) and the Riada del Júcar (Valencia, 1982)
9.8 FLOOD PREVENTION AND MITIGATION
10 EOLIAN GEOMORPHOLOGY
10.1 EOLIAN PROCESSES
10.2 ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EOLIAN PARTICLES
10.3 EOLIAN PARTICLE MOVEMENT
10.4 TYPES OF EOLIAN TRANSPORT
10.5 RIPPLES
10.6 EOLIAN EROSION AND RESULTING LANDFORMS
Ventifacts
Yardangs
Deflation basins
10.7 EOLIAN ACCUMULATIONS
10.8 FACTORS CONTROLLING ERG DEVELOPMENT
10.9 DUNE PROCESSES
10.10 DUNE CLASSIFICATION
Transverse dunes
Linear dunes
Pyramidal and network dunes
Sand sheets and zibars
Dunes anchored by vegetation
Topographically anchored dunes
10.11 DESERT DUST
General characteristics
Source area and generating processes
Entrainment, transport and sedimentation
Geomorphic implications
Loess
10.12 WIND RISK: PROBLEMS AND CONTROL
11 COASTAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
11.1 INTRODUCTION
11.2 BRIEF HISTORY OF COASTAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
11.3 TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES
11.4 SEA LEVEL VARIATIONS
Causes of sea level changes
Holocene eustatic changes and future predictions
11.5 WAVES, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
11.6 CLIFF COASTS AND ROCKY PLATFORMS
11.7 CORAL REEF COASTS
11.8 BEACHES, BARRIERS, AND SPITS
11.9 COASTAL DUNES
11.10 MUDFLATS, SALT MARSHES, AND MANGROVES
11.11 ESTUARIES AND DELTAS
11.12 COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS: USES, MANAGEMENT, AND RISKS
12 CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
12.1 INTRODUCTION
12.2 THE BEGINNINGS OF CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
12.3 THE STRUCTURE OF CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
12.4 THE EVOLUTION OF CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
12.5 APPLICATIONS AND FUTURE TRENDS
12.6 CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY: PROCESSES AND MORPHOCLIMATIC DIFFERENTIATION
12.7 THE CONCEPT OF ZONATION IN CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
12.8 PRINCIPAL MORPHOCLIMATIC ZONES
13 GLACIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY I
13.1 GLACIERS
Introduction
Present and past extent of glaciers
Mass balance in glaciers: Accumulation and ablation
Transformation of snow into ice
Glacier classification
Thermal classification
Morphological classification
Glacier movement
Glacier structures
13.2 GLACIAL EROSION
Erosional processes
Types of processes
Landforms produced by glacial erosion
Striations, grooves, and glacial polish
Friction cracks and p-shapes
Roches moutonnées and other landforms
Cirques
Glacial valleys
Glacial landforms in low relief regions
Fjords
14 GLACIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY II
14.1 GLACIAL TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION
Glacial supply and environments
Mechanics of glacial deposition
Till characteristics
Landforms resulting from glacial deposition
14.2 FLUVIOGLACIAL EROSION
AND SEDIMENTATION
Meltwater
Landforms resulting from fluvioglacial erosion
Landforms resulting from fluvioglacial deposition
14.3 APPLIED GEOMORPHOLOGY IN GLACIAL REGIONS
Introduction
Risks caused by ice mass activity
Icebergs
Ice avalanches
Glacier-dammed lakes
Volcanism and glaciers
Problems caused by glaciotectonics
Geological engineering considerations for non-glaciated areas
Placer deposits in glacial environments
15 PERIGLACIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY
15.1 THE PERIGLACIAL ENVIRONMENT
Introduction
Permafrost characteristics
Periglacial processes
Frost action
Chemical weathering
Mass movement
Nival processes
Fluvial activity
Wind action
15.2 PERIGLACIAL LANDFORMS
Patterned ground
Ice-cored mounds
Palsas
Pingos
Slope morphology and evolution
Gelifluction slopes
Cryoplanation terraces
and cryopediments
Talus slopes and debris cones
Block fields, block slopes and block streams
Rock glaciers
Grèzes litées
Nivation landforms
Slope evolution
Fluvial landforms
Thermokarst or cryokarst
15.3 APPLIED GEOMORPHOLOGY IN PERIGLACIAL REGIONS
Introduction
Snow avalanches
Mass movement
Engineering problems in frozen soil regions
Buildings
Linear infrastructure
Oil and gas pipelines
Mining
Other activities
16 GEOMORPHOLOGY OF ARID ZONES I
16.1 INTRODUCTION
Causes of aridity
Climate features of deserts
Geomorphic classification of desert areas
16.2 DESERT SURFACES: PAVEMENTS, PATTERNED GROUND, VARNISHES, AND CRUSTS
General characteristics of desert pavements
Processes involved in the formation of desert pavements
Pavement development
Patterned ground
Desiccation cracks
Gilgai
16.3 DESERT VARNISH
Composition and age
Formation processes
Environmental implications and age of varnishes
16.4 DURICRUSTS
Caliches
Geochemistry and mineralogy
Morphology
Origin
Siliceous crusts
Gypsiferous crusts
16.5 WATER IN ARID ZONES
Precipitation, vegetation, and evapotranspiration
Desert fluvial networks
Runoff and sediment transport on slopes
Water erosion on slopes
Fluvial landforms and processes
Valley fills and incised channels
17 GEOMORPHOLOGY OF ARID ZONES II
17.1 SLOPES IN ARID ZONES
Slopes in crystalline rocks
Slopes in stratified rocks
Simple slopes
Compound slopes
Flatirons
Scarp retreat rates
Badlands
17.2 PIEDMONTS IN ARID REGIONS: PEDIMENTS
Glacis and pediments: Definition, terminology and distribution
Pediment morphology
Role of geology and climate on pediment formation
Dominant pediment processes
Hypothesis on the origin of pediments
Pediment evolution—pediplains
17.3 DESERT LAKES: PLAYAS AND SABKHAS
Origin of closed depressions in arid environments
General hydrology of arid zones
Sedimentation in desert lakes
Clay-rich closed depressions
Salt lakes
Littoral sabhkas
17.4 APPLIED GEOMORPHOLOGY IN ARID ZONES
Introduction
Volume changes
Lacustrine systems
Human induced subsidence
Degradation of arid zones: Desertification
Earth dams and reservoirs
18 GEOMORPHOLOGY OF TROPICAL ZONES
18.1 INTRODUCTION
Climate characteristics, vegetation, and morphoclimatic domains
18.2 LATERITES
Weathering, composition, and structures
Factors that affect formation
The laterite profile
Laterite formation
Laterite ages and their paleoenvironmental significance
Bauxites
18.3 TROPICAL LANDFORMS
Erosion and sedimentation in fluvial systems
Quantification of soil loss
18.4 SLOPES AND STONE LINES
18.5 LANDFORMS SHAPED BY FLUVIAL EROSION
18.6 FLUVIAL SEDIMENTARY LANDFORMS
18.7 LARGE TROPICAL RIVERS
18.8 LANDFORMS THAT DEVELOP IN LATERITES
18.9 TROPICAL PLANATION: ETCHPLAINS
18.10 INSELBERGS
Boulder inselbergs (tors)
Domed inselbergs (bornhardts)
18.11 APPLIED GEOMORPHOLOGY IN TROPICAL REGIONS
Catastrophic flooding
19 ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
19.1 INTRODUCTION
19.2 THE EARTH’S CLIMATE SYSTEM
19.3 CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Consequences of climate change
Prediction of climate change
Evolution of the principal contributions to climate change and uncertainties
Mitigation
19.4 ANTHROPOGENIC CHANGE
Changes in populations and society through time
Human impact on the environment
19.5 TOWARD SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
20 CLIMATE CHANGE IN GLACIAL AND PERIGLACIAL REGIONS
20.1 INTRODUCTION
20.2 PALEOCLIMATE DATA PROVIDED BY DRILL CORES OF ICE SHEETS AND DEEP SEA SEDIMENTS
20.3 FLUCTUATIONS OF QUATERNARY ICE SHEETS AND RESULTING LANDFORMS
20.4 RETREAT OF CIRQUE AND VALLEY GLACIERS
20.5 GLACIO-ISOSTASY AND GLACIO-EUSTASY
20.6 RECONSTRUCTION OF PERIGLACIAL ENVIRONMENTS
20.7 RELICT PERIGLACIAL LANDFORMS
20.8 FLUVIAL SYSTEMS IN PERIGLACIAL AREAS
20.9 EOLIAN ACTIVITY IN PERIGLACIAL REGIONS
20.10 FLUCTUATIONS IN PERIGLACIAL AREAS DURING THE LATE QUATERNARY
20.11 CONSIDERATIONS OF GLOBAL CLIMATIC CHANGE IN PERIGLACIAL ZONES
21 CLIMATE CHANGE IN ARID AND TROPICAL HUMID REGIONS
21.1 ARID REGIONS
Fluvial systems
Slopes and their evolution
Talus flatirons
Ramblas and arroyos
Alluvial fans
Desert rivers
Paleolakes
Dune systems
Introduction
Active and inactive dunes
Paleoclimatic information from dune systems
Climate change in desert regions and uncertainties
Causes of paleoclimatic oscillations during the late quaternary
21.2 TROPICAL REGIONS
Introduction
Biological modifications
Geomorphological evidence
Regolith and relict weathering profiles
Inselbergs
Fluvial systems
Eolian activity
REFERENCES
INDEX
Biography
Mateo Gutiérrez Elorza, Emeritus Professor of Geomorphology at the Science Faculty of Zaragoza University served as vice-director of the Teruel University College and managed post-doctoral courses in the Sao Paolo University (USP-Brazil) and San Juan University (Argentine). He was the First President of the Spanish Society of Geomorphology (1987-1990), and he is currently Corresponding Academic of the Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales de Madrid (since 1992) and member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas, Quimicas y Naturales de Zaragoza (since 1996). Professor Gutiérrez was member of the IAG Executive Committee (2001-2005) and the main organizer of the 6th International Conference of Geomorphology held in Zaragoza (2005).
He has published four books: Geomorfologia de España (1994), Rueda. Madrid; Geomorfología Climática (2001), Omega, Barcelona; Climatic Geomorphology (2005), Elsevier, Amsterdam; and Geomorfología (2008) Pearson/Prentice Hall. He is also the author of more than 200 papers in journals of the SCI and other publications. His scientific work is mainly focused on karst and geomorphology in arid regions.