Topic 1: History of geomorphology Flashcards
what is catastrophism?
the idea that landforms come from/ are formed by catastrophic event (Linked to christianity and religion, etc, noah’s arc0
What is uniformitarianism?
The idea that any changes in the past were like how they occur now, the processes we see happening today occurred in the same way in the past.
what is the cycle of erosion?
created by William Morris Davis, the idea that landscapes go though cycles of deposition and erosion. this theory fails to take into account internal or climate variability however.
what is process geomorphology?
- created by Luna Leopold, says that there are so many factors that effect geomorphology, that climate is a major aspect of landform change.
what is neocatastrophism?
the idea that proposes that there are some events that we haven’t experienced in our life-times as humans, but have still happened. ex. mega flood/
what are 4 key concepts in geomorphology?
- scale
- equifinality
- multiple working hypotheses
- equilibrium and feedback
what is scale (in terms of geomorphology?)
- how larger/small we view something
- work in a variety of spatial and temporal scales
- individual grains to giant deltas
- from seconds to millennia
what is equifinality?
the idea that multiple different processes can create the same product (ex. both wind and water can create sand ripples, we wont know which caused them unless we do further study)
why do we use multiple working hypotheses in geomorphology?
- because of equifinality, we dont know which process may have created a product, so we have multiple hypotheses and then compare physical traits, chemistry, stratigraphic relationships, to find the best explanation
what are the two broad geomorphic processes?
- Endogenic (within the earth)
- Exogenic (Outside)
What are some endogenic processes?
- volcanism
- earthquakes
- forces of compression or tension
- plate tectonics
What are the 3 main exogenic processes?
- weathering
- erosion
- deposition
