This book advances a typology of experimentation in the fieldscience of geomorphology -- the study of the form of the earth'ssurface and the evolution of its relief. This typology is then appliedto problems of total drainage basin change and subsets of processes ofchange associated with slopes and channels.
Geomorphology has traditionally been a descriptive disciplineconcerned with the evolution of landscapes over very long time periods.However, since the 1950s there has been a strong trend towards thestudy of contemporary processes of change and the influence of societyas well as of natural biophysical factors. Consequently, anexperimental approach is becoming more appropriate.
Commissioned by the International Geographical Union, this work isthe first to document different field methodologies in geomorphology.The contributors are internationally known geomorphologists fromCanada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. They reviewmethods, global coverage, and advances in understanding while at thesame time promoting a more dynamic, more relevant, and more appliedscience of earth surface change -- the geomorphological aspects ofglobal change.
The well-prepared and well-edited text is illustrated with excellent line drawings and photographs.
... the book is a gold mine for experimental geomorphology and its high price should not keep professional geomorphologists from buying the book.
1. The Nature of Geomorphic Field Experiments / OlavSlaymaker
Why Field Experiments?
Appropriate Categories of Geomorphic Field Experiments
Actual and Potential Contributions of Field Experiments in EarthScience
2. Drainage Basin Studies / DesWalling
Introduction
The Survey
Organization and Objectives
The Catchment Scale
Instrumentation Networks
Results -- The Geomorphological Context
3. Rapid Mass Movement / Setsuo Okuda
Introduction
Slope Morphometry
'In situ' Measurement for Slope Failure Study
Hydrologic Factors
Dynamic Phenomena
Laboratory Work, Modelling, and Simulation
Rapid Mass Movement and Hillslope Evolution
4. Surface Wash / Rorke Bryan
Introduction
Runoff Plots and Practical Land Management Problems
Surface Wash Processes
Laboratory Experiments
Rainsplash Experiments
5. Fluvial Processes / Bill Dietrich and JohnGallinatti
Introduction
Channel Mechanics
Bed Topography
Planform Channel Geometry
Channel Changes
Large Rivers
