Anthropogeomorphology

Question 1

Viles quote on anthropogeomorphology

Answer 1

‘Human impacts and geomorphology are all-pervasive and geomorphology textbooks need re-writing’

Question 2

what are the two types of effect that humans can have?

Answer 2

Cumulative
Systematic

Question 3

what is a cumulative impact?

Answer 3

building up of impacts across the world that add up to response in global systems
(eg. shaping river channels, coastal protection and quarrying)

Question 4

what is a systematic impact?

Answer 4

whatever we do has an almost instantaneous effect on global change
e.g. climate change

Question 5

Quote for anthropocene- and name/date

Answer 5

Steffen, 2010

Anthropocene is an epoch when human activities have ‘become so profound and pervasive that they rival, or exceed the great forces of Nature in influencing the functioning of the earths system’

Question 6

Why is there contestation over when the Anthropocene started?

Answer 6

Because 3 potential stages:
Paleoanthropocene
industrual era
Great accelleration

Question 7

when was the paleoanthropocene? effects?

Answer 7

7000BP - 1750
extinction of megafaunal species
long period of relatively low population but extraction of important materials
deforestation
agricultural terrcing
Cumulative impacts

Question 8

when was the industrial era? effects?

Answer 8

1750- 1945

deforestation, urban growth, trading routes , mining activity , industry
more cumulative impacts than systematic

Question 9

When was the great acceleration? Effects?

Answer 9

large scale deliberate earth moving
large scale reservoir creation
exploitation of oil and groundwater causing subsidence
large scale agriculture and land use change
coastal large scale modifications
Triggers change from cumulative to systematic

Question 10

how much sand is extracted each year?

Answer 10

50 billion tonnes

Question 10

what is the use of sand?

Answer 10

concrete
microchips
glass

Question 11

Effect of cities on geomorphology?

Answer 11

air pollution
enhanced surface relief - complex topography that influences wind flow and microclimates
concrete = decreased surface permeability
Tunnelling/ sewers and extraction of groundwater = cause surface instability
New sinkhole method of formation nothing to do with limestone

Question 12

example of anthropogenic sinkhole

Answer 12

Guatemala City, 2010
rain from tropical storm Agatha
alongside volcanic eruption and leakage from sewer pipes created giant sinkhole in the city

Question 12

Who coined the term ‘Anthropocene stream’ and what is this?

Answer 12

Merrits et al (2011)
a stream characterised by deposits, forms and processes that are the result of human interface

Question 13

Explain the effects of deforestation on meanders

Answer 13

trees encourage stable meanders through mechanical stabilisation of river channels and retention of sediment that can create flood plains
Continued removal of trees is reverting some river landscapes to pre-vegetative conditions where sediment and the river channel were more mobile
both vegetated and barren landscapes exhibit meanders - vegetated just more stable
river deforestation increase rate of channel migration

Question 14

Horton et al date?

Answer 14

2017

Question 15

example of effects deforestation on meanders- study

Answer 15

Horton et al (2017)
Kinabatangan River in Malaysia -
huge areas of forest around the river cleared for palm oil monoculture production
using satellite imagery - channel migration rates calculated as 23% quicker than in areas that still remained vegetated

Question 16

what research suggests afforestation is not effective?

Answer 16

Buechel et al (2022)
used uk land simulator to model the effects of large scale afforestation in Great Britain
found that whilst afforestation actively increases channel stability the growth in vegetation may also reduce water availability (due to increased interception and transpiration)
concern in drier areas where water is already a limited resource

Question 17

Research onto significance of tree species in reforestation-

Answer 17

Qian et al (2024)
found that effective tree planting is also dependent on the three species planted
using native tree species increases soil nutrition and stabilises river banks for longer periods of time than non-native species

Question 18

Name of study that discusses the effect of animal extirpation from fluvial landscapes?

Answer 18

Beschta and Ripple (2006)

Question 19

explain the Beschta and Ripple (2006) wolves study

Answer 19

removal of wolves from the Gallatin River basin in early 1900s
Grey wolves hunted and trapped and poisoned = leaving elk population to rise without predation
elk roam river banks decrease vegetation coverage - specifically willow trees
willow trees provide stability for river channels = roughness of above ground stems reduces water velocities and increases deposition also root systems are deep
acceleration of erosion has led to channel widening, incision and avulsion
also decreased hydrological connectivity

Question 20

study on repatriation of salmon into habitat?

Answer 20

MacDuff and Bauer (2018)

Question 21

explain MacDuff and Bauer (2018) study?

Answer 21

highlighted that repatriation of species back into habitat is not as simple as just putting them back - prior reconstruction of the river to pre- anthropogenic conditions needed

Study of salmon in Lower Vernon Creek BC , Canada
Due to construction of McIntyre Dam prevented the movement of fish between mainstream lakes and tributaries
saw 90% decrease in spawning
modelling found that only a small fraction of the river is actually viable for reintroduction of salmon as bed material changed size - now too heavy for salmon to move during nesting and water velocity too fast
re-meandering to slow water velocity and control sediment size needed

Question 22

Study to support the effects of dams on river geomorphology -

Answer 22

Skalak et al 2013
River damming has increased the mean residence time of river waters from 16 to 47 days and increased the volume of water by more than 700%

Question 23

damming has increased voume of water by what percentage

Answer 23

700%

Question 24

damming has increased mean residence time of river water from _____ to ______

Answer 24

16 to 47 days

Question 25

Dams effect on river form

Answer 25

• prevent flow of sediment causing accumulation of material upstream and sediment starvation downstream
• downstream areas experience heightened rates of erosion resulting in channel incision
  erosion increased further by straightening of channel causing higher river velocity

Question 26

Dams effect on formation of floodplains

Answer 26

reducing frequency of flood events
less material is deposited into the flood plains causing them to shrink and biodiversity to decline

Question 27

how much river do the EU biodiversity strategy aspire to remove dams from by 2030?

Answer 27

25, 000km

Question 28

What are nature based solutions?

Answer 28

management strategies that aim to protect or conserve ecosystems and their biodiversity whilst also addressing social and economic challenges

Question 29

How do nature based solutions apply to rivers?

Answer 29

Consider river as a dynamic whole
acknowledgement that they can provide benefits for both people and nature

Question 30

Example of a nature based solution

Answer 30

The Eddleston project
funded by the Scottish government
at the start of the 19th century the river was straightened
combined with the building of railway embankment and intense agricultural practice led to increased flood risk and biodiversity loss downstream

rather than impose hard engineering infrastructure to mitigate flood risk - use river re meandering, new wetland creation and tree planting to decrease river velocity

Question 31

How much has flood risk decreased by since Eddleston water project started?

Answer 31

30%

Question 32

what holds back environmental management strategy ?

Answer 32

• continuation to view rivers as static and segmented
  capitalist culture prioritising quick economic growth over long term sustainability
  governments and organisations often avoid publicising research that suggests more expensive and complex understandings of environmental management as doesn’t fit the ‘business model’

Question 33

what is Enhanced Rock weathering?

Answer 33

strategy that takes carbons out of the air and storing it in rocks
Grind rocks up making fine gravel or dust that reacts more easily with air or water eg. Olivine very common rock used because weathers so quickly and locks up carbon as it dissolves
sprinkle over fields
Atmospheric carbon reacts with the rock and is washed away into rivers and eventually oceans that lock carbon away

Question 34

limitations of Enhanced Rock Weathering

Answer 34

energy intensive
expensive
some studies suggest that olivine may actually add co2 to atmosphere
byproducts of mining harmful to ecosystems and health
contamination of rock = can be toxic and dust spreads to agriculture dur to wind

Question 35

Research into the city as an emerging landform

Answer 35

Dixon et al (2017)
research has overlooked the ways that earth system processes can act on urban fabric to produce hybrid landforms
research should consider urban fabric as an Anthropocene landform

Question 36

warfare as an example of Anthropocene geomorphological processes -

Answer 36

high explosives in urban areas causes destruction of buildings and creation of rubble with a range of particle sizes

Question 37

case study of warfare and geomorphology -

Answer 37

Dixon et al (2017) - warfare in Syrian city of Aleppo between 2011 and 2014 caused damage to 300,000 buildings - piles of rubble and debris accumulated - neglect and abandonment leave these new landforms to be shapes by aeolian, fluvial and biogeomorphological processes