Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Room CL 322.1
585-4030
sauchyn@uregina.ca
TEXTBOOK:Ahnert, Frank. 1996. Introduction to Geomorphology.
WEB SITE: http://www.uregina.ca/~sauchyn/geog323
GRADING:
Term assignment 30%
Mid-term (Oct. 27) 30%
Final exam (Dec. 10) 40%
DESCRIPTION
Geography 323 is an introduction to geomorphology, the study of landforms
and the processes that produce and modify them. Emphasis is placed on the
mechanics of geomorphic processes and on the relationships between
properties of earth materials and the forces applied to them by gravity, wind,
ice, water, waves and humans. The lectures address the conceptual basis of
geomorphology, while the assignments are practical and empirical.
SCHEDULE
Week Topics
1 Basic concepts
2 Endogenic geomorphic processes,Term Assignment
3 Structural Landforms
4 Physical properties of rock, soil and water; Field Trip
5 Weathering
6 Mass Wasting
7 Slopes
8 Fluvial processes and landforms, Mid-term exam
9 Eolian processes and landforms
10 Coastal processes and landforms
11 Periglacial geomorphology
12 Glacial processes
13 Glacial landforms
Geomorphology
the systematic description and analysis of landforms and the processes
that create/modify them
Landform
an element of the landscape that can be observed in its entirety and has
consistence of form
Landscape
earth surfaces composed of an assemblage of subjectively defined, lesser
surfaces
Geomorphic system
a set of related landforms and processes, usually defined in terms of a
dominant agent of geomorphic activity (water, gravity, ice, wind, waves,
or organisms)
Time
the interval over which driving and resisting forces interact to alter the
landscape to a definable extent (stage)
Frequency and magnitude of geomorphic processes
which processes do the most work, high frequency/low magnitude
(quasi-continuous) or low frequency/high magnitude (discrete, episodic);
uniformitarianism versus catastrophism
Geomorphic thresholds
limits of equilibrium states, the landscape does not yield continuously
and stresses do not act continuously
Endogenic Processes
source of energy: internal heat (geothermal energy) from decay of radioactive
isotopes
Plate Tectonics
tekton (Gr): carpenter or builder
outer 100 km of the earth (lithosphere) is composed of rigid plates
convection in the partially liquid asthenosphere causes shearing of the
molten rock and shearing stress applied to the lithosphere
determines continental relief and volume of the ocean basins, and
distribution of rock masses with varying lithology and structure
three types of contact at plate margins
1. constructive: plates moving apart; molten rock injected adding new rock
to the trailing edge of the plates and creating ridges, mostly on the floors
of ocean basins
2. destructive: collision or, more commonly, subduction of denser oceanic
plates below margins of less dense continental plates, creating oceanic
trenches and mountain belts on the continental margins
3. conservative: transform faults where plates slide past one another (e.g.
San Andreas fault)
Vulcanism
more than 500 active volcanoes and 10s of thousands of extinct ones
about 2 million km2 of land underlained by 500-3000 m of mostly flat
lava plains or plateaux, e.g. the Columbia Plateau of eastern Washington
State
62% of all active volcanoes are in the Pacific Rim of Fire; also many on
the mid-Atlantic ridge (sea floor spreading)
like other structural landforms they form independently of climatically-
controlled (exogenic) processes and thus have the same morphology
everywhere
1. exhalative: gas
o vents that continuously or intermittently discharge hot water,
steam and other gases, but rarely solid or molten rock
e.g. hot springs, geysers, sinter mounds, fumeroles and mud
volcanoes (where near surface hot water liquifies sediments and
erupts as hot mud; typically 50-100 m high)
2. effusive: lava
o silica poor lava has low viscosity and thus forms low angle
landforms, most lava is silica poor, e.g. basalt is formed from
silica poor lava
o silica rich lava is more viscous and thus form steep angle
landforms, e.g. volcanic plug
o various kinds of lava: scoria is vesicular (bubbly) because alot of
gas escapes as it cools; aa forms an angular blocky surface,
pahoehoe is smooth and twisted (ropy) as it is hot fluid lava,
pillow lava is pahoehoe lava that flow into or erupts into water,
lava tubes flow out of a cooling hardened exterior
3. explosive: ash or tephra
o solid fragments ejected from ash (silt texture) to lapilli (gravel
sized) to blocks and bombs (boulders)
o size-sorted during wind transport, also decreasing thickness of
tephra deposit with distance from eruption
o nuee ardente (Fr.): 'glowing cloud'
superheated steam and tephra erupted explosively
o
temperatures of 650-1060 C
e.g. May, 1902 killed 30,000 people at St. Pierre,
Martinique
o tephrachronology: dating with the use of extensive ash (marker)
beds
ashes distinguished by refractive index of glass shards and
trace element chemistry
dated by correlation to tuffs (rocks composed of ash); K/Ar
isotopic dating, fission track dating, or C14 dating of
adjacent organic deposits (for late-Quaternary ashes)
o significance for geomorphology: provide chronological control for
determining age of landforms and deposits, rates of erosion or
deposition, tectonic displacement, soil formation
Soil strength
shear strength (S)
resistance to shear force = f(normal force, friction, cohesion, pore pressure)
friction
mechanical resistance
internal friction (phi) = plane friction (between plane surfaces) + interlocking
friction (resistance due to roughness of surfaces)
angle of repose : angle of rest of dry sediment,typically 25-40o depending on
particle size
sliding angle: angle at which dry sediment fails, up to 10o greater than the angle of
repose
angle of static friction > angle of dynamic friction, because failing material has
momentum and usually comes to rest at angles < the angle of repose
cohesion (c)
positive porewater pressure is a buoyant force, that is, is supports part of the weight of the
soil and therefore wet sediment has very low shear strength
Coulomb equation
1. dry soil
o u is atmospheric
o c=0
o S = normal stress * tan phi
2. wet soil
o c > 0, u <0
o effective normal stress = normal stress - (-u) = normal stress + u, that is
water increases the normal stress (adds weight to the soil)
o s = c + normal stress * tan phi
3. saturated soil
o u>0
o S = c + (normal stress - u) tan phi
Note
when c = 0 (# 2 above), tan phi = shear strength/ normal stress, when shear
strength = shear stress, i.e. at the critical stability threshold (failure is imminent)
therefore, tan phi = shear stress/ normal stress = W sin theta / W cos theta = tan
theta
or tan phi = tan theta, i.e. slope angle (theta) is governed by friction (phi)
Factor of Safety
shear strength/ shear stress
= 1, critical threshold
< 1, slope instability
> 1, slope stability
Atterberg limits
behavoir of fine sediment:
plastic limit
water content at the transition from solid to plastic behavior, measured when a
wet thread of fine soil begins to crumble
liquid limit
water content at transition from plastic to solid behavior, measured when soil in a
shallow dish flows to close a 12.5 mm groove after 25 drops from 1 cm
plasticity index
liquid limit - plastic limit, that is the range of water content over which sediment
behaves
Sensitive clay
marine clays cemented with Na+
"house of cards" or honeycomb structure
Na+ is leached when the clays are exposed to subaerial conditions
high porosity such that natural moisture contents can exceed the liquid limit
sensitivity = undisturbed strength / disturbed strength
o 2-4 for most clays
o 8-16 for sensitive (quick) clays
sensitive clay fails and flows when disturbed by erosion, heavy rain, heavy traffic,
river ice breakup, etc.
earth flows in Norway have been slowed by applying NaCl to the slope restoring
the Na+ bonds
earthflows are common in the glaciomarine (Leda) clay of the St. Lawrence
lowlands
o St. Jean-Vianney, Quebec, 1971; 31 deaths as retrogressive slumps
engulfed 40 houses
o Lemieux, Ontario 1993; a large landslide temporarily blocked the South
Nation River
Weathering
the set of exogenic (physical, chemical and biological) processes that
alter the physical and chemical state of rocks at or near the earth's
surface
intensity of most weathering decreases with depth, because variations in
temperature and moistures decrease with depth
therefore biochemical weathering is generally confined to the uppermost
few metres of soil and rock
occurs in situ (nontransported alteration), unlike erosion which removes
soil and weathered rock; although the 2 sets of processes proceed
simultaneously with positive feedback
the 2 forms of weathering act simultaneously and affect the nature and
rate of one another: disintegration produces an increase in rock surface
area while changes in strength with changes in composition
Functions of weathering
1. gives rock lower strength and greater permeability, rendering it more
susceptible to mass wasting and erosion; reduces strength (cohesion and
friction) and increases permeability of rock and therefore decreases
resistance to fluid and gravitational stresses; precursor to erosion
2. produces minor landforms, produces landforms in soluble rock
(especially limestone) and otherwise creates microrelief (e.g. weathering
pits)
3. releases minerals in solution (e.g. iron oxides, silica, carbonates) which
become concentrated to form hard coatings on rocks and hard resistant
layers in soil (duricrusts) that inhibit seepage and resist erosion
4. first step in soil formation; ultimately produces an unconsolidated mass
of 1) minerals that resisted alteration (e.g. feldspar), 2) new minerals
(e.g. bauxite), 3) organic debris
Physical weathering
physical weathering is the disintegration of rock and soil aggregates, by
physical (mechanical) processes acting primarily on pre-existing
fractures (e.g. joints, cracks between mineral grains); reduces size of
fragments according to rock and soil structure (producing grains,
crystals, blocks, slabs, etc.), with no change in composition and
Processes
1. stress (pressure) release: disintegration of rock in parallel sheets as it
expands in response to the removal of confining stress
o most common mechanism of stress release is removal of
overlying rock by erosion; thus this process is controlled by
erosion but subsequently controls erosion
o the dilation fractures conform to the surface topography and
increase in spacing with depth (e.g. from a few cm at the surface
to a few metres at 30 m in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of
Yosemite National Park)
o thermal contraction due to cooling counteracts expansion;
therefore stress release is most pronounced near the surface where
the rocks have already cooled and contracted
o also most common in massive rocks: higher thermal conductivity
causes heat loss and thus reduces counter influence of cooling and
contraction, fractured or thinly bedded rock will expand with out
sheeting, massive rocks store stress until overburden pressure is
very low (i.e. about 100 m of overburden)
o stress release causes exfoliation: the separation of concentric
layers of rock
4. hydration (slaking)
o wetting, swelling and disintegration of soil aggregates, layered
and fine grained rocks
o also pressure of air drawn into pores under dry conditions and
then trapped as water advances into soil and rock; suction or -ve
pore pressure (less than atmospheric) can exert considerable stress
o e.g. biotite expands 40% by volume contributing to the weathering of
granite
Expansion of Clay Minerals by Volume
Ca-montmorillonite 45-185%
illite 15-120%
kaolinite 5-60%
5.
7. plants
o minor agent of weathering
o maintain cracks created by other processes
o roots may pry rocks apart when tall trees sway in a strong wind;
root throw can break fragments away from bedrock
o as lichens expand and contract or are removed by abrasion they
can pull small rock fragments loose
Chemical Weathering
chemical weathering is the decomposition of soil and rock (change in
composition) by biochemical processes
weathering pits form where water collects and accentuates rates of
chemical weathering
Processes
1. oxidation
o process by which an element loses an electron to dissolved
oxygen
+2
o iron is the most commonly oxidized mineral element Fe (ferrous
iron) ——> Fe+3 (ferric iron) or 2FeO + O2 ——> Fe2O3
o other readily oxidized mineral elevments include magnesium,
sulfur, aluminum and chromium
o among the immediate chemical weathering processes
o gives altered earth material a characterisitic yellowish brown to
red color
o water table is boundary between oxidizing and reducing
environments
2. hydroloysis
o decomposition of minerals in water as hydrogen ions replace
cations in minerals
o pure water is a poor H+ donor, however CO2 dissolves in water to
produce carbonic acid:
+ -
o CO2 + H2O ——> H2CO3 (carbonic acid) ——> H + HCO3
(bicarbonate)
o soil air is greatly enriched in CO 2 by decay of humus
o up to 30% of soil air is CO2 as compared to 0.03% of the
atmosphere
o biogenic CO2 is the major source of carbonated groundwater
o solubility of CO2 increases as water temperature decreases (warm
beer is flat)
o hydrolysis is the most important process in the weathering of
silicate minerals
o the most common weathering reaction on earth is the hydrolysis
of feldspars producing clay minerals
o e.g. K-feldspar ——> kaolinte
o 2KAlSi3O8 + 2H2CO3 + 9H2O ——> Al2Si2O5(OH)4 + 4H4SiO4 +
2K+ + 2HCO3-
o the other weathering products (silicic acid and ions) are in
solution, so the residue is clay
o the soil water solution becomes more basic as H+ is consumed
3. carbonation (solution)
o dissolution of calcium carbonate in acidic soil and groundwater
+2 -
o CaCO3 + H2CO3 ——> Ca + 2HCO3
o similar reaction as hydrolosis but the dissolution is congruent, that
is, the products are ionic, there is no residue
o bicarbonate represents the largest constituent of the dissolved load
of most rivers
o carbonation of limesotone results in karst topography
o the insoluble minerals form soil
4. cation exchange
o substitution of mineral cations in solution for those held by
mineral grains and crystals
o changes spacing in crystal lattice but not molecular structure
o most effective in clay-textured sediments as cations adhere to the
surface of negatively charged clay minerals
o organic matter and sodium zeolites (watert softner salt) have a
high cation exchange capacity (CEC)
o CEC = f(temperature, content and chemistry of interstitial water,
types and abundance of ions)
o colloidal suspensions of clay and organic matter adsorb H +
creating acidic soil and weathering environment
5. chelation
o minerals cations incorporated into hydrocarbon molecules
(complexing agents or chelates)
o chelating agents are produced by alteration of humus in plant
acids and excreted by lichens
o e.g. ethylenediaminetetracedic acid (EDTA) is a common food
additive
o chelates in solution are stable at pH under which the incorporated
cation would normally precicpitate and thus they are leached in
seeping soil water
+
o H released during chelation from organic molecules is available
for hydrolysis
o thus plants contribute to the decomposition of soil and rock waste
at depths to the base of the root zone
o lab experiments with equisetum (horse tail) in crushed rock show
silica uptake equivalent to removing the silica form 30 cm of
basalt in 5350 years
o the dissolved load of runoff from barren basalt plateaus in Iceland
suggest that the rate of weathering is 1/3 as fast as on lichen
covered surfaces
colluvium
earth materials moved by gravity
gravitation
tendency for matter at the earth's surface to accelerate towards the center of the
earth, given the small mass relative to the earth
gives all mass above the earth's surface potential energy
o PE = mgh
o acceleration due to gravity (g) is constant (9.8 m sec-2)
o therefore, for a unit mass PE is proportional to height or relief
o slope gradient (h/d) is also an energy gradient governing the rate of
conversion from potential to kinetic (1/2mv2) energy
o high geopotential energy is available for mass wasting in landscapes with
large relief (h) and steep slope (h/d)
mass moves over hillslopes when the shear stress exceeds the resistance to
shearing (shear strength)
1. spread (creep)
o slow, imperceptible, seasonal decline in shear strength
o decreasing velocity with depth
o soil creep: slow spread as soil expands and contracts with freezing and
thawing or wetting and drying
o rock creep: slow continuous failure of rock masses, especially in rocks
with low yield stress and overlain by stronger rocks; often the precursor to
rapid catastrophic mass movements
2. flow
o rapid failure of earth materials by internal shearing (liquid behavior)
o usually related to excessive porewater pressure
o earthflow: flow of unconsolidated materials on an open slope
Mink Creek Earthflow, Terrace, B.C.
o debris flow: confined fluid mass wasting, i.e. in a stream channel, but
moving independent of the stream
o debris flow fans form at the mouths of steep canyons
3. slide
o slope failure as rock (rockslide) or less consolidated earth materials
(landslide) fail at depth by shearing along a distinct sliding plane
o rotational landslide (slump): curved sliding surface
o translational landslide: planar sliding surface
4. fall
o the free fall, bouncing and rolling of rock (rockfall) over steep weathering
cliffs to from talus
composite failures
o rock avalanche: rapid mass wasting of rock, ice and snow involving
sliding and falling
o solifluction: spread and flow of saturated substrate over an impermeable
stratum (e.g. gelifluction over permafrost )
o landslide is the term most commonly used to refer to mass wasting events,
even though sliding may be only one (often the initial) mode of failure
Slopes
Mass wasting dominates the geomorphology of steep slopes in most
environments (i.e. subhumid to humid)
In dry environments (badlands) slopes are subject to episodic fluvial
erosion
Slope forms
characteristic slopes
the angle of the dominant slope segment that is achieved when the slope
profile is in equilibrium with the predominant slope
convex slope segments
o form on the upper parts of slopes in response to soil creep and
rainsplash erosion, when slopes are below the threshold for rapid
mass wasting
concave slope segments
o depositional (e.g. talus) or transporational (e.g. pediments) slope
segments that form near the base of slopes and in the absence of
removal of waste (e.g. river downcutting)
o with increasing runoff downslope, velocity and sediment transport
can be maintained over increasingly lower slopes
straight slope segments
o mid-slope segments dominated by transfer of debris or removal at
a uniform rate (e.g. shallow slides)
o also the lower parts of slopes where debris is removed from the
base
composite slopes
o most hillslopes consist of a series of segments, for example,
convex-concave slopes with soil and vegetation: a convex upper
segment, straight mid slope and basal concavity
rock slopes
slope angles are controlled by geologic structure or rock mass strength,
i.e. the resistance of rock units to gravitational and fluid stresses
strength equilibrium slopes
o rock slope profiles that reflect the strength of the rock units that
underlay the slope
o occur in massive or horizontally bedded rocks
structurally-controled slopes
o in dipping or folded rocks where slope angles conform to geologic
structures
Slope evolution
decline
o progressive decrease in slope angle as upper convexities and basal
concavities from by creep, splash and wash and consume the
straight segment
replacement
o the straight segment retreats and is replaced by a lower wash slope
parallel retreat
o uniform intensity if slope processes and/or constant rock strength
and removal of debris from the base
2. rainsplash erosion
4. rill erosion
5. subsurface erosion
piping
formation of natural pipes as interflow and baseflow erode macropores
and fractures in fine sediments
sapping
collapse of the roof of a pipe to form a gully
gully
o first-order stream channels that develop on slopes at the upper
reaches of watersheds
o carry ephemeral stream flow
o narrow and steep sided
o persist for years or decades, so more persistent than rills but still
not "permanent" features
o agricultural definition: farm machinery can pass through rills but
not gullies
stream competence
the maximum particle size transported
increases with velocity because competence is a function of boundary
(bed) shear stress
the relationship between particle size and stream velocity is given by the
Hjulstrom curves
o critical erosional velocities determined for uniform bed materials
and for average (versus bed) velocity
o small particles are cohesive and thus have a high erosional
velocity but remain in suspension in running water (low
depositional threshold)
o large particles are continuously transported and deposited because
the erosion threshold is only slightly > the transport threshold
o intermediate particle sizes (coarse silt/fine sand) and most easily
eroded by running water
stream capacity
the theoretical maximum mass of suspended sediment transported by a
stream
difficult to determine because a sediment laden stream is transitional to a
debris flow
increases with the 2-3rd power of discharge (i.e. faster than the increase
of channel width or depth with discharge) as mass wasting and slope
erosion in headwaters deliver sediment to tributary streams
2. traction (bedload)
o coarse fraction that rolls and slides along bed or moves in long
low paths by saltation
o common where coarse materials are delivered to the channel with
high velocities (flood flows or steep channels)
3. suspended
o accounts for most stream sediment and most of the work
performed by streams, because suspendable (fine) sediments are
always available and all streams are capable of suspending fine
sediment
o measured and expressed as load (mass) or concentration
(mass/unit volume)
o concentration decreases downstream as the number of small
tributaries (sources of much sediment) decrease and the
proportion of baseflow (groundwater) increases
Fluvial Morphology
the spatial expression of fluvial geomorphic processes as channel,
network and basin morphologies
Channel geometry
significant difference between bedrock (structurally controlled) versus
alluvial(adjustable) channels
1. plan view
a. meandering
sinuous single thread, the most stable and efficient channel
geometry (least variable energy distribution) to conduct
water and sediment over any surface (e.g. supraglacial
streams
formed and maintained by erosion of banks and deposition
on point bars
b. braided
multiple thread, superimposed meandering channels as
discharge and sediment load vary seasonally and diurnally,
e.g. semiarid and proglacial streams
bars reforms during flood stage, deposition during falling
stage that splits subsequent flow
different hydraulic geometry at different stages
c. anatomosing
permanent multiple channels and mid-channel bars
channel width increases and depth decreases below a
threshold for sediment transport and flow splits into deeper
more narrow channels
d. straight
either artificial or structurally controlled
2. longitudinal profile
change downstream
b = .5
f = .4
m = .1
semi-dependent factors
dependent factors
rate of adjustment
Network geometry
all streams in adjustable materials will from a dendritic (tree-like,
branching) network
all other channel networks (radial, trellis, rectangular, distributary,
annular) result from structural control
deterministic explanation
o represents the movement of water with the least expenditure of
energy; least path length
o governed by conservation of energy in an open system
o acute junctions involve least rate of work (power) expended and
therefore neither erosion (excess energy) of deposition
(insufficient energy to transport the load)
probabilistic explanation
o branching networks are high probable random structures
o they can be produced from a random walk model (using random
number, dice or a bingo machine)
o this, however, is only a explanation of the form and not the origin
(e.g. headward erosion or progressive intersection of channels)
consequent
channel is the consequence of the initial topography and drainage; i.e. on
a newly exposed (deglaciation) or created (tectonism) surface
subsequent
rivers in structurally-controlled valleys that evolve subsequent to the
consequent drainage (e.g. annular drainage in an eroded structural dome)
obsequent
opposite to the consequent drainage
antecedent
preceded but not defeated by tectonism, e.g. a gorge eroded into a rising
land mass
superposed
superimposed on underlying strata exposed by denudation, thus often not
controlled by underlying structure because river course established
according to structure of overlying strata
stream capture
drainage progressively or abruptly diverted from one basin to another as
a stream is beheaded by headward erosion
scenarios:
o progressive adjustment of drainage network to geologic structure
exposed by erosion
o parallel streams at different elevation and with different base
levels (drainage captures by lower stream)
o one stream has a structural advantage, e.g. degrading more rapidly
in softer rock
water gap
gorge cut in an interfluve, become wind gaps as drainage is captured and
streams incise to lower elevations
elbow of capture
a sharp change in direction reflecting capture of a low order stream,
tends to have anonymously steep gradient
floodplain
the surface of low relief developed on the alluvium adjacent to a stream
becomes the stream bed during flood
an efficient hydraulic geometry during flood stage (peak annual
discharge); constant velocity and steep shallow and wide relative to the
meandering channel
floodplain features: point bars (lateral accretion), overbank sediments
(horizontal accretion), levees, levee crevasses, splay deposit, meanders,
neck cutoff, oxbow lake
terraces
unpaired terraces
fragment of former floodplain “accidentally” preserved (e.g. by a rock
buttress) as a meandering stream slowly degrades it floodplain
paired terraces
occur at same elevations on opposite valley sides; produced by
intermittent downcutting with changes in Q, load or base level, i.e. the
independent factors in the fluvial system
alluvial fan
segment of a low-angle cone with its apex at the mouth of a canyon
convex in cross-section, slightly concave in long-profile
as a stream leaves a canyon, drainage becomes distributary; these wider,
shallower, lower-gradient streams have less transport capacity
also water infiltrates the coarse bed materials, losing transport capacity
debris flows may occur with increased sediment concentration
adjacent alluvial fans coalesce to produce a peidmont plain at the base of
mountain fronts
delta
similar morphology to an alluvial fan but deposition results from sharp
reduction in velocity as a stream enters standing water
also tends to include finer sediments and turbidity currents
2. surface cover
o an extremely important factor since there is no wind erosion on a
vegetated surface
o wind velocity decreases exponentially near the ground and is theoretically
zero on a natural (i.e. rough) surface; thus erosivity (V3 is dramatically
reduced)
o on a windy day, put your nose next to the ground and you will discover
there is no wind; small birds and insects take advantage of this on windy
days
o the zone of little or no wind is called the laminar sublayer (or the boundary
layer), the rougher the surface (e.g. taller the vegetation) the deeper the
layer of laminar air flow (i.e. no turbulence to entrain and suspend
sediment)
o thus there is no wind in the interior of a closed forest
3. grain size
o threshold erosional velocity is related to the square root of particle size
o thus when the threshold velocities for various particle size plot as a
straight line when the particle size axis is on a square root scale
o the threshold velocities are slightly lower for sand when impact among
grains (saltation and creep) is taken into account
o the fluid threshold velocities (wind shear) plot as two straight lines that
slope down to converge at a minimum threshold velocity for coarse silt
and fine sand (i.e. these are the most easily eroded grains)
o with smaller particle sizes grains tend to cohere when wet and resist
erosion
o larger grains resist erosion by virtue of their greater size (mass)
2. saltation
o transport of sand grains in long (1 m or more) low (within 1-2 m of the
ground) trajectories as momentum is passed from grain to grain
o grains are momentarily suspended but too heavy to remain in suspension
o most of the transport of dune sand
o at high wind speeds saltation is more or less continuous and appears as a
fuzzy layer next to the ground
3. creep (traction)
o movement of coarse sand and pebbles (up to 6x larger than saltating
grains) as they slide and roll impacting one another and transferring
momentum
o usually does not occur with velocities less than 4.5 m/sec
sorting
the finest fraction is removed from the eolian landscape as dust and accumulates
elsewhere as loess
saltating grains out distance the traction load, leaving a lag of creeping and non-
transported grains
with exponential increase in sand transport with wind velocity, energy is quickly
diverted from erosion to transport dissipating much of the wind energy
thus wind velocity increases over barren rock surfaces, where sediment transport
and the friction among saltating grains and with the stationary sand is not a factor
sand is transported until friction over a rough surface (sand or vegetation) or an
obstruction causes a decrease in wind velocity and deposition
therefore eolian landscapes are characterized by a mosaic of 1) windswept and
sandblasted surfaces, 2) stony lag deposits, 3) sand sheets or dune fields, and 4)
loess sheets
unlike other geomorphic processes wind does not result in the lowering of the
landscape (denudation) towards an ultimate base level, rather sediment is usually
just moved within a closed system in the direction of prevailing winds, unless it
gets exported (e.g. transferred into a river)
Depositional landforms
1. ripples
o small sand waves with a wavelength of about 1 m, i.e. the typical path
length of saltating grains
o they are ephemeral and mobile, i.e. move, disappear and reform during
wind storms
o common the windward slopes of sand dunes
2. dunes
o classic eolian landform
o stable or advancing landform of windblown sand
o originates as a mound of free sand from a sandy surficial deposit (e.g.
beach, weathering sandstone) or from a blowout
o as the mound grows it develops the dune asymmetry characterized by a
gentle windward slope and a leeward slip face at the angle of repose for
sand
o same longitudinal shape as a ripple but several orders of magnitude
difference in size, and thus dunes are much less mobile and more
persistent
o dunes migrate downwind as sand saltates up the windward face (i.e.
ripples migrate), accumulates where the wind dies just over the crest, and
then flows (mass wasting) over the slip face
2. parabolic dune
o associated with vegetation, so form in subhumid and semiarid
environments (rather than arid) where vegetation is nearby (e.g. beaches,
grasslands - sw sask)
o originate as a blowout, dune forms as the head of the dune at the
downwind edge of the blowout develops the dune asymmetry and
advances beyond the horns
o stability of the sides and horns used to be attributed to vegetation but
recent research (including P. David and S. Wolfe in Saskatchewan) suggest
that water is a more important factor, so the stability of parts of a parabolic
dune and the presence of vegetation are both related to water
o eventually deflation lowers the blowout to the water table or to an
underlying stratum lacking sand (e.g. bedrock or stony clay till) and the
dune becomes impoverished
3. transverse dune
o linear, cuspate and forms perpendicular to the wind, with large sand
supply and low winds
o with stronger winds they evolve into barchans
o usually occur on beaches, floodplain alluvium or erodible sandy bedrock
rather than in dry deserts
4. longitudinal dune
o large (kms in length, ~ one km wide) linear forms parallel to the strong
persistent winds
o form in dry subtropical deserts with irregular sand supply
o separated by lag gravel
o whaleback: a ridge of coarse sand left in the path of a migrating
longitudinal dune
5. erg
o "sand seas", vast sand sheets (Lawrence of Arabia stuff)
o 1/4 - 1/3 of the area of true deserts
o the largest sandy deserts overlie poorly consolidated sandy bedrock
7. sand shadow
o accumulation of sand on either side of a fixed obstacle (e.g. shrub or tuft
of grass)
8. sand drift
o accumulation of sand in the lee of a gap between obstacles or in the still
air at the bas of an escarpment
Coastal Geomorphology
Shorezone
high-energy geomorphic system where wave energy is dissapated
a landscape of small height and width but circumscribes the continents
accounts for less than 10% of the earth's land surface but about 2/3 of the
population
Swell
waves in the offshore
represent the transmission of energy but not mass, i.e. the ocean surface
swells as the crests of waves pass by
created as wind shear stress is applied to the ocean surface
wave size (height and wave length) is a function of
o wind velocity
o duration of wind from a constant direction
o fetch: the length of water over which the wind is passing
therefore the large, long duration storms produce the largest waves,
typically 15 m in height , but up to 34 m
low rounded symmetrical waves move 1000s km with little energy loss,
as the potential energy (PE = mgh) is transmitted with the wave form
the kinetic energy (KE = mv2/2) is the circular orbit of the water
molecules
Surf
breaking waves in the shorezone (foreshore)
as waves drag on the sea floor in the foreshore, the waves decelerate
becoming asymmetric (circular orbit becomes elliptical), shorter and
higher (i.e. increasing PE); waves become higher and steeper until they
are unstable and break to form surf
Longshore drift
movement of nearshore sediment parallel to the shore
3
a typical drift 80-100 cm/sec can transport more than 1000 m of
sand/day
2. storm surges
4. tides
o the diurnal rise and fall of sea level in response to the gravitational
interaction between the earth and its moon
o distributes wave energy over a range of shoreline elevations
between low tide and high tide
o also tidal bores move up the mouths of rivers at 15-30 km/hr and
currents can be generated between basins with different tidal
periods
eolian
o beaches and mud flats at low tide are unprotected from onshore
winds, thus coastal sand dunes are common landforms
mass wasting
o wave erosion is concentrated at the water surface producing sea
caves and wave-cut notches
o headlands therefore retreat as sea cliffs are undermined by wave
erosion, and therefore fail by sliding, flowing or falling
o the mass wasted debris can initially protect the base of a sea cliff,
but then contributes to erosion as the material is exported and
reduced in size (attrition) by waves and also contributes to
abrasion of the sea cliff
weathering
o chemical and mechanical weathering are accentuated at the
shoreline by the presence of water and salt
o water-level weathering contributes to the planing of shore
platforms
Erosional Landforms
in resistant rock, erosional landforms tend to relict, because of
significant Quaternary sea level change
thus most contemporary erosional landforms are in relatively weak rock
or on coastlines with considerable wave energy
o gentle rock slope that extends from high tide to low tide
o the remnant of erosion of headlands, because erosion occurs at
and above the water level
o abrasion and water-level weathering have a planing as the
shoreline diurnally transgresses and regresses over the platform
o the platform geometry reflects an equilibrium between wave
energy and rock resistance
o because the platform slopes, the sea cliff becomes progressively
lower and eventually is replaced by a long shore platform, given
enough time and a stable sea level
Depositional Landforms
landforms in the sediment (mostly sand) delivered by rivers and, to a
much lesser extent, generated by headland erosion
1. beach
2. barrier bars
3. beach ridges
4. spit
5. baymouth bar
o spits merge to create bars that extend across the mouths of bays
o waves energy is dissipated on the bar and the bay becomes a
logoon
o logoons fill with sediment, supporting salt marshes
o thereby, sediment progrades towards retreating headlands and
coastlines become less irregular
6. tombolo
o at low tide, especially during the slack water interval before the
tide reverses, fine sediment is stirred by the surf and deposited by
streams on the intertidal flats
o the fine sediment flocculates in the salt water (cemented by Na +)
and resist erosion during the rising tide
o mudflats are be colonized by salt-tolerant plants that reduce wave
and tidal energy and trap sediment
o mangrove swamps along tropical deltaic coats make the shoreline
hard to define; the mangrove trees tolerate tidal immersion
Periglacial
originally defined as the zone peripheral to glaciers
now defined as near-glacial in the sense of either location or conditions:
o perennially frozen ground (permafrost)
o seasonally-thawed ground (active layer)
o incomplete vegetation cover of herbaceous plants and dwarf trees
o ground is snow free for part of the year
o
o frequent fluctuations of air temperature across 0 C
Permafrost
ground with a temperature perennially below 0o C
by definition does not require the presence of ice
for example, there is dry permafrost in northeast Greenland (Perryland)
and parts of Antarctica
however, water is usually present when ground freezes and thus ice is
usually associated with permafrost
pore or interstitial ice
o ice that forms in pore spaces and fractures and cements the soil
matrix
o forms as freezing plane descends into the ground without
displacing soil
segregated ground ice
o bodies of pure ice (lenses, veins, wedges) that form as liquid
water and vapour are attracted to the lower vapour pressure (cold
air) at the freezing plane
o intermediate porosity and permeability (i.e. silt) permit the
optimal storage and diffusion of water and thus formation of
segregated ground ice
Origin and distribution of permafrost
o
with a mean annual temperature less than 0 C, the depth of frost
penetration exceeds the depth of thaw. if this climate persists, an
increment of permanently frozen ground is created each year and
permafrost aggrades by cm per year to thicknesses of several hundred
metres, with maximum depths of about 1500 in parts of siberia.
permafrost thickness represents an equilibrium between heat loss to the
atmosphere and the increase in geothermal with depth (ca. 1 o/30 m)
thus distribution of permafrost depends on mean annual air temperature
and the thermal properties of earth materials
permafrost underlies about 20% of the earth's land surface or about 50%
of canada, in three zones:
continuous
permafrost is everywhere except under deep lakes
discontinuous
permafrost absent under water bodies and warmer sites (e.g. south-facing
slopes), north of about 55o N in Canada
sporadic
permafrost is preserved at scattered sites, e.g. northern-facing slopes or
peat bogs, where the peat prevents melting (insulates) in summer
permafrost also occurs in submerged sea bottoms (e.g. Beaufort Sea) and
at high altitudes at all latitudes
much mid-latitude permafrost is relict, that is, inherited from the
pleistocene, when permafrost overlay up to 40% during the earth's land
surface
thus periglacial conditions have affected a large proportion of the
continents in recent geological time
2. mass wasting
o frost creep
soil creep is enhanced by expansion and contraction of the
active layer with freezing and thawing
o solifluction (gelifluction)
slow flow of the active layer over the permafrost table
o
occurs on slope of 5-20
o
above 20 , periglacial slopes are subject to more rapid mass
wasting
o rockfall and rock avalanches on steep rock slopes
o earthflow and debris flow in unconsolidated materials
o massive landsliding in thawing permafrost and ground ice
2. nivation
3. fluvial processes
o much of the year, water is stored as snow and ice, however, water
is released violently during a short melt season
o ice jams floods characterize north-flowing rivers in canadian and
russian arctic, as melt proceed from the headwaters downstream;
floodwater passing over ice tend to erode laterally producing wide
shallow river channels
o bank erosion of frozen sediments involves mechanical (hydraulic)
and thermal erosion
o smaller streams commonly have a diurnal cycle with freezing
nightly temperatures
o there also tends to be much sediment available during the melt
season
o with fluctuating discharge and high variable sediment loads,
periglacial streams commonly are braided
4. eolian processes
o favoured by incomplete vegetation cover, braided stream deposits,
cryoturbation and dessication (freeze drying) of surface
sediments, and exposure to strong winds
o thus many present and former periglacial environments are
mantled with loess (e.g. northern China; upper Mississippi basin,
mid-western US)
2. rock streams
3. talus
o slopes in coarse angular debris that falls to the foot of steep slopes
o not unique to periglacial environments, but is characteristic given
rates of frost shattering and rockfall on periglacial cliffs
4. rock glacier
o thick deposits of rock debris that move as the result of an ice core
or interstitial ice
5. gelifluction lobes
o tongue-shaped masses of active layer with a gentle terrace and
steep frontal scarp (1-6 m) where reisistance from adjacent
materials causes the mass to bulge
o occur in fields where lobes overlaps one another to from a
staircase slope profile
o composed of colluvium, angular debris from fines to boulders
7. asymmetric valleys
8. patterned ground
10.thermokarst topography
Glacial Processes
Glacier
a body of land ice that moves
forms from the metamorphosis of snow: new snow (.01-.3 gm/cc) to firn,
snow that has survived a melt season, (.55 gm/cc) to ice (.89-.92 gm/cc)
rate of transformation from firn to ice depends on temperature, from
about 50 years in humid temperate climates (e.g. coastal mountains) to
100s of years in cold dry climates
a. niche
smallest glaciers
from in hollows, benches or from avalanche snow
often hanging on a cliff
b. cirque
c. alpine
d. outlet
e. transection
f. peidmont
"foot of the mountain"
valley glaciers which have advanced beyond the mountain
front
g. floating
h. ice cap
i. ice sheet
continental glacier
b. cold-based or polar
3.
2. activity
a. active
continuous supply of ice from the zone of accumulation
thus active glaciers are moving even as they waste away
and retreat
passive
b. undernourished
c. dead
the larger the glaciers the more delayed is the response of the terminus to
a change in mass balance, up to 1000s of years for a continental ice sheet
Glacier flow
Glen's flow law
3
strain rate is proportional to temperature cubed (T )
the behavior of glacier ice is mostly plastic; beyond a yield stress of
about 1000 N/m2, it deforms continuously, i.e. flows under its own
weight with no increase in stress
but its not perfectly plastic, because it creep under low stress, i.e. like a
viscous fluid
basal shear stress
shear stress = W sin(slope) and the density of ice is fairly constant,
therefore bed shear stress is a function of the thickness and slope of the
ice
so glacier flow is driven by slope (mountains) or thickness (ice sheets)
variations in velocity
high velocity in thickest ice, i.e. in the middle of the glacier and near the
equilibrium line
extending flow
o acceleration with increasing slope or thickness
o flow lines are directed towards the bed promoting erosion
o causes crevasses and, on steep slopes, ice falls
compressive flow
erosional processes
abrasion
o scouring by rock fragments embedded in the sliding (wet-based)
ice
o directions of glacier flow are reconstructed from striations
o produces rock flour, fine sediment that becomes suspended in
glacial lakes giving them a blue-green colour
plucking (quarrying)
o freezing of rock fragments to the glacier
o produces chatter marks with removal of the fragments
sediment load
subglacial
o mostly debris plucked from the bed and embedded in the ice
englacial
o subglacial debris carried up from the bed along flow lines or
supraglacial debris buried by snow and ice in the accumulation
zone
supraglacial
o transported on the surface
o mass wasted from adjacent cliffs
o major source of lateral and medial moraines, including ice-cored
lateral moraines
Glacial Landforms
Erosional landforms
Ice sheets
ice scoured basins
the Great lakes and millions of other lakes basins on the Canadian shield
and other glaciated shields
roche mountonnees
"rock sheep", bedrock ridges striated and polished on the stoss (up-
glacier) side and plucked on the lee side where meltwater produced on
the stoss side refroze to the lee side of the ridge
meltwater valleys
large wide valleys eroded by meltwater draining along the ice margin or
spillways draining glacial lakes (e.g. all the major valleys of the southern
Canadian Interior Plains)
Mountain glaciers
cirque
bowl-shaped rock cavity, where alpine glaciers form and then retreat to
and persist; commonly have small lakes called tarns
arete
narrow ridge between glacial cirques and troughs
horn
pyramidal peak faceted by glaciation on all sides
hanging valley
tributary valley that hangs above the trunk valley, i.e. the floors of the
two valley are a t different elevation and separated by a cliff (and thus
usually waterfalls)
glacial trough
the U-shaped valley created when a valley glacier, usually by modifying
a pre-glacial fluvial (V-shaped) valley
truncated spur
the ends of interfluves truncated by valley glaciation
Glacial deposits
glacial drift
all sediment transported by glaciers or glacial meltwater
till
unsorted, unstratified drift deposited directly from glacier ice
outwash
glacial-fluvial sediments washed out from the margin of the ice with
more sorting than with ice-contact drift
glacio-lacturine sediments
clays and silts deposited in lakes near or on glaciers
glacio-marine sediments
sediment rained down or ice rafted onto continental shelves from a
floating glacier
glacio-tectonic drifto
frozen or saturated drift and/or bedrock folded and faulted by the force
of a glacier
Depositional landforms
moraine
collective term for landforms of direct glacial origin
o morphology
ridged (terminal, lateral, etc.)
hummocky (dead ice moraine)
rolling or undulating (ground moraine)
o orientation relative to the ice front
transverse: ice-marginal and recessional
parallel: medial and lateral moraines, drumlins,
flutings, crevasses fills
non-oriented: dead ice moraine (kames and kettles)
o origin
terminal, recessional, lateral and medial moraines
ground moraine(subglacial)
ablation moraine (supraglacial)
dead ice moraine
glacio-tectonic (ice thrust hills)
glaciofluvial
eskers
meandering ridges of stratified drift deposited in tunnels in the ice
kame
a landform in ice-contact stratified drift