GEOG 574
GEOGRAPHY OF LANDFORMS
Fall 2015
Maingi Solomon
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will explore the geography of earth’s major landforms and the geographical factors
that influence their development, distribution, and morphology. The current distribution of land
surface features will be examined with respect to the changing geography of tectonic, climatic
and human activity. Topics include mountain building, river systems, desert migration and
expansion, glacial and periglacial environments, shoreline evolution, and how these processes
interact to form surface features that are unique to their geographic environment. Possible future
changes in the distribution of earth’s surface features in response to climate change will also be
discussed.
The course will begin with an introduction to the discipline of geomorphology, the tools used to
study earth’s land surface and the components of the geomorphic system. We will then begin
our survey of earth’s major landforms, focusing first on endogenic mountain building by the
tectonic forces of crustal compression and expansion as well as volcanic activity. Then we will
survey select exogenic landforms created in response to the movement of air, water, and ice.
Although there are a variety of landforms that form in response to exogenic processes, we will
focus on landforms associated with aeolian (wind), fluvial (river), glacial/periglacial (ice), and
coastal processes. We will end the semester with a discussion of the long-term evolution of
landforms and how natural processes, together with human activity, have shaped, and will
continue to shape earth’s surface.
Concepts will be reinforced quantitatively through homework and in-class exercises.
I hope you enjoy this course and take with you a better understanding of the natural environment
that surrounds you. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments you may have
about this course.
GEOG574: Geography of Landforms
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BASICS
TIME & PLACE
MWF 9:10 am to 10:00 am
201 Horton Hall
INSTRUCTOR INFO
Maingi Solomon
331 Huddleston Hall
[email protected]
(603) 862-4007
OFFICE HOURS
Tuesday
Thursday
Friday
10:00 – 12:00 pm
2:00 – 3:00 pm
10:00 – 11:00 am
MYCOURSES
All course documents and announcements are posted on:
mycourses.unh.edu (CANVAS). Please check your email and the
Mycourses page regularly.
TEXTBOOK
Huggett, R.J. (2011), Fundamentals of Geomorphology, 3rd Edition,
Routledge: London, UK, 516 pp. (Recommended)
ISBN-13: 978-0-415-56775-6 (pbk)
MATERIALS
Calculator
Ruler with English and metric units
Colored pencils, No. 2 pencil with eraser
Graph and tracing paper
ACCESSIBILITY
The University is committed to providing students with documented disabilities equal access to all University programs and facilities. If
you think you have a disability requiring accommodations, you must
register with Disability Services for Students (DSS) at (603) 862-2607 or
[email protected]. If you have received Accommodation Letters
for this course from DSS, please provide me with that information
privately so that we can review those accommodations. See the DSS
Website for details: http://www.unh.edu/disabilityservices/disabilityservices.html. UNIVERSITY POLICIES All students should know and understand university policies and
procedures regarding academic performance, including attendance and
academic dishonesty. If you are unfamiliar with these policies, please
refer to the University of New Hampshire Student Rights, Rules, and
Responsibilities for details: http://www.unh.edu/student/rights/.
COMMENTS
The following procedures, policies, and schedules may change during the
course semester. Any changes will be announced in class and posted on
blackboard. Announcements may also be distributed via email. It is your
responsibility to check your university email account and blackboard
regularly.
GEOG574: Geography of Landforms
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GRADING PROCEDURES
GENERAL
EXAMS
All coursework submitted for evaluation must represent each student’s own,
original work. Therefore, all assignments and exams are to be completed on your
own in accordance with the standards of conduct outlined in Section 09:
Academic Honesty of the UNH Students Rights, Rules and Responsibility
(http://www.unh.edu/vpsas/handbook/academic-honesty).
You will have three exams in this course, each worth 20% of your final grade.
Given the comprehensive nature of the material covered in this course, exams will
be comprehensive but oriented toward the section of the course most recently
presented. Exams will only include material covered in lecture and on
assignments and include multiple-choice, matching and short answer questions.
ASSIGNMENTS
You will be assigned ten homework assignments based on material
covered in lecture. The homework assignments together are worth 40%
of your final grade. I encourage you to reference all provided course
materials while competing each assignment; however, collaboration on
assignments of any kind is prohibited (Section 09.2: Out-of-Class Work).
Homework is due at the beginning of, or before, class on the due date
indicated on the assignment.
FINAL GRADES
Final grades will be determined based on your performance on exams and
laboratory assignments. Final grades will be assigned using the following
grade distribution:
A
AB+
≥ 93 %
90 %
87 %
B
BC+
83 %
80 %
77 %
C
CD+
73 %
70 %
67 %
D
DF
63 %
60 %
<60 %
Consideration of improvement, effort, and attendance may be taken into
account when determining your final grade. Final grades may also be
curved depending upon class performance.
GEOG574: Geography of Landforms
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ATTENDANCE
Attendance in lecture is not mandatory but is highly recommended. I do not make my class notes
available to students, so if you miss a class you are responsible for obtaining any missed material
and announcements and submitting assignments. Participation in class discussions is an
important way to share information and ideas and reflects your comprehension of course
material. Regular class attendance and class participation go hand in hand.
TARDINESS
Tardiness is incredibly disruptive and rude, so be on time. Also, all
announcements will be made at the beginning of class. If you are late you are
responsible for any missed material and announcements. Early departure is also
disruptive, and may cause you, and your classmates, to miss important material.
EXCUSED
ABSENCES
Each student must receive equal opportunity to demonstrate his/her ability to
comprehend course material. Therefore, all students will take exams and submit
homework at the same time. A make-up exam may be granted, or a late
assignment may be accepted, if the absence is excused. An excused absence may
be granted for the following situations:
1.) Absences in which arrangements are made at least one week in advance.
2.) Absences due to family or personal medical emergencies.
3.) Absences due to serious illness or personal medical emergency accompanied
by a doctor’s note.
MISSED WORK In all cases, it is entirely up to you to make arrangements to complete missed
assignments and exams. In the case of an excused absence without prior
arrangements, you must notify me within 48 hours of the scheduled exam or
homework due date. If you fail to receive approval for a make-up exam or late
work within this timeframe, or have an unexcused absence, you will receive a “0”
for the missed exam and are subject to the penalties for late work described
below.
LATE WORK
Assignments are due at the beginning of, or prior to, the class period on the
indicated due date. Coursework submitted after the due date will be accepted for
half credit up to a week after the due date. Assignments that are more than one
week late will automatically be given a grade of zero. There is no penalty for late
work due to an excused absence.
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GENERAL RULES OF CONDUCT
COMMUNICATION
All forms of communication directed toward your instructors and
classmates should be conducted in a professional manner. Please include
your full name and course number in all emails.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES The use of digital communication devices is prohibited while in class
unless approved by the instructor. This includes personal use of digital
communication devices during lecture including, but not limited to: text,
instant or email messaging, social media, and web browsing. Anyone
caught engaging in such activity will be asked to leave immediately and
will be given an unexcused absence regarding any missed coursework.
A battery-operated calculator is the only electronic device that can be used
on exams and assignments unless otherwise instructed. Mobile phones
and any type of hand-held digital device with internet capability may not
be used as calculators. You may not share calculators with another
student on an exam. Either action will be considered an act of academic
misconduct following Section 09: Academic Honesty, pages 22-23 of the
University of New Hampshire Student Rights, Rules, and Responsibilities
(http://www.unh.edu/student/rights/).
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SCHEDULE
WEEK
Aug
31 –
Sept 2/4
Sep
9/11
TOPIC
Introduction:
Introduction to Geomorphology
• Development of Surface Forms
• Scales in Geomorphology
Sept 7 No class (Labor Day)
Global Geomorphic Systems
• Process & Form
• Geomorphic Cycles
READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS
Ch 1: 1-9, Allen (2008)
Ch 2: 19-34
Ch 4: 54-60
Ch 2: 38-41, USGS Handouts
Geomorphic Data Sources & Display
• Geographic Coordinate Systems
• Graphic Display & Maps
Due Monday 9/14
HW 1: Spatial Coordinates & Map Symbols
Tectonic Geomorphology:
Endogenic Processes
Sep
Ch 5: 87-98
• Plate Tectonics
14/16/18
Ch 5: 102-105
• Plate Boundary Processes
Due Monday 9/21
HW 2: Plate Tectonics
Plate Boundary Landforms
Fischer (2002)
• Orogens
Sep
Ch 6: 113-118
• Volcanic Landforms
21/23/25
Ch. 6: 123-132
• Collision Structures
Due Monday 9/28
HW 3: Major Morphological Landforms
Plate Interior Landforms
Sep
Ch 5: 99-101, 105
28/30 – • Basins
Garcia et al. (2008)
Oct 2
• Hot Spots & Rifting
Oct 5
Exam One: Map Interpretation and Tectonic Landforms (Chs 1, 2, 4-6)
Climatic Geomorphology:
Landscape Evolution
Oct
Ch 3
7/9/12 • Relict Landforms
Ch 4: 80-83
• Human Agency
Exogenic Processes
Ch 4: 61-78
Ch 7: 137-163, Meierding (1993)
• Denudation & Deposition Oct
Ch 8: 164-185
• Weathering
14/16/19
• Mass Wasting
Due - Wednesday 10/21
HW 4: Weathering Rates
GEOG574: Geography of Landforms
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WEEK
TOPIC
READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS
Cryospheric Environments
Ch 10, Egholm et al. (2009)
• Cold Environments
Oct
Ch 11, Gooseff et al. (2009),
• Glacial Landforms
21/23/26
Zhuang, et al. (2009)
• Periglacial Landforms
Due – Wednesday 10/28
HW 5: Glacial & Periglacial Landforms
Aeolian Landscapes
Ch 12: 314-338
• Dry Environments
Oct
28/30 – • Erosional Landforms
Nov 2
• Depositional Landforms
Due – Wednesday 11/4
HW 6: Desert Landforms
Nov 4
Revision
Nov 6
Exam Two: Climatic Geomorphology (Chs 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 & 12)
Fluvial Geomorphology:
Fluvial Processes
Ch 9: 187-216
Nov
• Stream Networks
9/11/13
• Channel Flow
Due – Monday 11/16
HW 7: Stream Channels
Fluvial Landforms
Nov
• Erosional Landforms
16/18/20
• Depositional Landforms
HW 8: Fluvial Landforms
Nov
23/25
Nov 30
– Dec
2/4
Coastal Geomorphology:
Coastal Environments
• Littoral Zone
• Wave Action
Ch 9: 222-233
Kim et al. (2009)
NHDES
Due – Monday 11/23
Ch 13: 345-349, 353-354
Nov 27 No Class (Thanksgiving)
Coastal Landforms
• Coastline Classification
• Sea-Level Rise HW 9: Coastal Environments
Revision
Ch 13: 354-376
Ch 13: 379-387, Ch 16: 513-524,
Jevrejeva, et al. (2008)
Due – Monday 12/7
Dec 7/9
Dec 17
HW 10: Reading Assignment
Due – Thursday 12/11
Exam Three: Fluvial & Coastal Geomorphology (Chs 9, 13 & 15) (8:00 – 10:00)
READING LIST
GEOG574: Geography of Landforms
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Introduction:
• Allen, P.A. (2008) From landscapes into geological history, Nature, 451: 274-276.
Tectonic Geomorphology:
• Fischer, K.M. (2002) Waning buoyancy in the crustal roots of old mountains, Nature, 417:
933-936.
• Garcia, et al. (2008) Widespread Secondary Volcanism Near Northern Hawaiian Islands,
Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 89(52): 542-543.
Climatic Geomorphology:
• Meierding, T.C. (1993) Marble Tombstone Weathering and Air Pollution in North America,
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 83(4): 568-588.
• Gooseff, et al. (2009) Effects of Hillslope Thermokarst in Northern Alaska, Eos,
Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 90(4): 29-30.
• Zhuang, et al. (2009) Global Methane Emissions from Wetlands, Rice Paddies, and Lakes,
Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 90(5): 37-38.
• Egholm, et al. (2009) Glacial effects limiting mountain height, Nature, 460: 884-887.
Fluvial Geomorphology:
• Kim, et al. (2009) Is It Feasible to Build New Land in the Mississippi River Delta? Eos,
Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 90(42): 373-374.
• Walter, R.C. and D.J. Meritts (2008) Natural Streams and the Legacy of Water-Powered
Mills, Science, 319: 299-304.
• “Geomorphology-based Restoration Alternatives: Suncook River, Epsom, New Hampshire”
– Prepared by: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc for The Town of Epsom, NH and NH
Department of Environmental Services.
Coastal Geomorphology:
• Jevrejeva, et al. (2008) Recent global sea level acceleration started over 200 years ago?
Geophysical Research Letters, 35: 4 pp.
• Leatherman, S.P. (1979) Migration of Assateague Island, Maryland, by inlet and overwash
processes, Geology, 7: 104-107.
• USGS (2001) Geology of the Woods Hole Area, Massachusetts – The Story behind the
Landscape, USGS Fact Sheet, FS-066-01: 2 pp.
Mannahatta Project:
• Sanderson, E.W. (2005) Urban Legend: Discovering Manhattan’s Wetlands, National
Wetlands Newsletter, 27(1): 15-17.
• Sanderson, E.W. and M. Brown (2007) Mannahatta: An Ecological First Look at the
Manhattan Landscape Prior to Henry Hudson, Northeastern Naturalist, 14(4): 545-570.
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