Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255 – 272

www.elsevier.com/locate/geomorph

Weathering instability and landscape evolution

Jonathan D. Phillips*
Tobacco Road Research Team, Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0027, USA
Received 30 June 2003; received in revised form 31 May 2004; accepted 1 June 2004
Available online 8 December 2004

Abstract

The argument in this paper is that the fundamental control on landscape evolution in erosional landscapes is weathering. The
possibility of and evidence for instability in weathering at four scales is examined. The four scales are concerned with
weathering processes, allocation of weathered products, the interrelations of weathering and denudation, and the topographic
and isostatic responses to weathering-limited denudation (the regolith, hillslope, landscape unit, and landscape scales,
respectively). The stability conditions for each model, and the circumstances under which the models themselves are relevant,
are used to identify scale-related domains of stability and instability. At the regolith scale, the interactions among weathering
rates, resistance, and moisture are unstable, but there are circumstances—over long timescales and where weathering is well
advanced—under which the instability is irrelevant. At the hillslope scale, the system is stable when denudation is transport
rather than weathering limited and where no renewal of exposure via regolith stripping occurs. At the level of landscape units,
the stability model is based entirely on the mutual reinforcements of weathering and erosion. While this should generally lead to
instability, the model would be stable where other, external controls of both weathering and erosion rates are stronger than the
weathering–erosion feedbacks. At the broadest landscape scale, the inclusion of isostatic responses destabilizes erosion–
topography–uplift relationships. Thus, if the spatial or temporal scale is such that isostatic responses are not relevant, the system
may be stable. Essentially, instability is prevalent at local spatial scales at all but the longest timescales. Stability at intermediate
spatial scales is contingent on whether weathering–erosion feedbacks are strong or weak, with stability being more likely at
shorter and less likely at longer timescales. At the broadest spatial scales, instability is likely; although stability may be present
at intermediate temporal scales if weathering–erosion feedbacks are weak. The distinction is important because stability is
associated with convergent evolution whereby the effects of initial variations or disturbances are reduced over time as the
landscape converges toward a stable equilibrium state. Instability, by contrast, indicates divergent evolution, increasing
differentiation over time, and the persistence and growth of disturbance effects and initial variations.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Weathering; Instability; Landscape evolution; Denudation; Feedbacks

1. Introduction

* Tel.: +1 859 257 6950; fax: +1 859 323 1969. The morphology of Earth’s surface is the outcome
E-mail address: jdp@uky.edu. of the interplay of endogenic processes (tectonics,
0169-555X/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.06.012
256 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
isostasy, volcanism) and exogenic processes (weathe-
ring, erosion, etc.). Citing the geological imperma-
nence of landforms and the tendency of the surface in
many cases to bmove away from the aspect of
uniformity,Q Scheidegger (1983) formulated the
binstability principle of geomorphic equilibrium.Q
Scheidegger’s argument was that the activity of
exogenic processes is greatest in those places where
preexisting deviations exist (for instance microtopo-
graphic irregularities or lithological variations). These
variations grow unstably up to some finite limit,
implying a saturation effect (Scheidegger, 1983). The
paper gave numerous examples, both generic and
specific, of the unstable growth of small perturbations
and used a nonlinear dynamical systems formalism to
describe and model the general phenomenon.
Since Scheidegger originally proposed the insta-
bility principle, numerous examples of dynamical
instability in geomorphology have been demonstra-
ted (see reviews by Phillips, 1999, 2002). These
examples occur at a variety of spatial scales, span-
ning length scales of micrometers to planetary.
Instability has also been shown at a variety of
temporal scales, from instantaneous to evolutionary
and geological. Dynamical instability involves the
persistence and growth of minor perturbations and
variations in initial conditions. Yet, this divergence is
finite and occurs within well-defined ranges. Diver-
gence follows not only from mathematical descriptions
of dynamical instability, but from geomorphological
common sense. The unstable growth of sinkholes,
cirques, or river meanders, for instance, can continue
only up to a point where the features begin to interfere
with each other or the mechanical limits on the size of
the feature are reached (Scheidegger, 1983). Thus,
Scheidegger (1983) concluded that bin the very long
run, one is again justified to treat geomorphic systems
as statistically stationary;Q and Phillips (1999) argued
that both instability and stability are emergent proper-
ties that manifest as scales or resolutions change. The
instability principle does not hold that all geo-
morphic systems are unstable; merely that instability
is common and that stable, steady-state equilibria
are not necessarily the norm. In addition to the
many examples of instability, numerous examples of
stable geomorphic systems exist in which the
effects of disturbances rapidly diminish over time
(Graf, 1977; Schumm and Rea, 1995). In many
cases, of course, the issue is scale; and unstable/
divergent and stable/convergent behavior is obser-
vable in the same system but at different scales.
The unstable growth of a miniscule perturbation
is finite and bounded. Thus, viewed at a different,
broader scale, it takes on the aspect of an expo-
nentially decaying response over time as the system
approaches saturation.
The purpose of this paper is to revisit the
instability principle in the context of a particular set
of geomorphic processes related to weathering, at
multiple scales. Dynamical instability is invoked as a
meta-explanation, but I attempt to link instability
directly to weathering phenomenology. Further, an
elementary attempt is made to give concrete exam-
ples of the instability phenomena. In attempting to
reconcile reductionist and universalist explanations of
landscape patterns and complexity, Werner (1999)
advocated a hierarchical approach, recognizing that
complex nonlinear dynamics at one scale may be
resolved into simpler, more orderly patterns at a
broader scale (cf., Culling, 1988; DeBoer, 1992;
Phillips, 1997). This paper also takes a hierarchical
approach, recognizing that, to be generally applica-
ble, explanations or interpretations of geomorphic
complexity must be appropriate at a range of scales
and hierarchical levels. Viles (2001) noted that while
scale issues are critical in weathering studies, they are
difficult to conceptualize, much less operationalize.
This paper seeks to contribute to the conceptualiza-
tion of scale issues in weathering as they relate to
landscape evolution by considering, in turn, the
stability of weathering systems at four different
scales.
The argument that destructional landscape evolu-
tion may be driven by unstable weathering systems
was presaged by Twidale’s (1991) model of landscape
evolution based on increasing relief amplitude arising
from original variations in rock weathering suscept-
ibility. A conceptual model of hierarchical, multiscale,
geographical variations in specific weathering pro-
cesses, products, and intensity was presented by Pope
et al. (1995). This paper treats four scales or levels. At
the regolith scale, corresponding to the pedogenic/
weathering mantle scale of Pope et al. (1995), the
principle concern is with weathering processes. At the
hillslope scale, the focus is on a weathering-driven
mass balance and feedback between production and
 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
removal of weathered debris and the accumulation of
a regolith cover. At the landscape scale, the funda-
mental interrelationship between weathering and
denudation is explored. Finally, at the broadest scale,
the interactions of weathering-limited erosion/deposi-
tion, topography, and isostatic responses are consid-
ered. Are these scales fundamental or merely
convenient subdivisions of a continuum? To some
extent, the latter is the case; and additional scales or
hierarchical levels are not addressed here; nor are
other ways of lumping and splitting. However, it can
be argued that the four scales identified here do
represent four (not necessarily the four) fundamental
levels of organization in weathering and geomorphic
systems. These involve weathering processes and the
conversion of rock to weathering products; the
allocation of weathering products; weathering–denu-
dation interactions; and the role of weathering-limited
denudation in landscape evolution.
1.1. Weathering and dynamical instability
Dynamical instability occurs when kN0 in the
following:
xðt Þ ¼ Cxð0Þekt ð1Þ
where x(0) and x(t) are the state of a weathering
system at time 0 and time t, C is a constant reflecting
the initial conditions and external environmental
controls (such as climate), and k is the Lyapunov
exponent (all terms in Eq. (1) are vector quantities).
This expression is based on a depiction of a weath-
ering system as an n-component nonlinear dynamical
system where each of the n components x i (i=1, 2, . . .,
n) at least potentially affects and is affected by each of
the other x i ’s. The Lyapunov exponents determine the
extent to which variations in initial conditions are
damped over time (stability and convergent evolution)
or exaggerated over finite time (instability, determin-
istic chaos, and divergent evolution). An analagous
equation of identical form can be written for the
effects of small perturbations. The mathematical
details are provided in numerous mathematics and
systems theory textbooks (for example, Cesari, 1971;
Thompson and Stewart, 1986; Wiggins, 1990; Zas-
lavsky et al., 1991; Logofet, 1993) and in earth
science contexts by Turcotte (1997) and Phillips
(1999, Chap. 2).
257
Scheidegger (1983) used an equation of the form of
Eq. (1) as the formal expression of his instability
principle. Models of this type have been developed for
(among other things) soil organic matter and carbon
dynamics (Parton et al., 1987; Ryzhova, 1996),
weathering profiles (Phillips, 2001), hillslope evolu-
tion (Trofimov and Moskovkin, 1984; Phillips, 1993),
and geological carbon and sulfur cycles (Kump and
Garrels, 1986).
The sign of k can be determined from the Routh-
Hurwitz criteria. Stability requires that all k be
negative. The real parts of the complex eigenvalues
of the characteristic equation, which are the same as
the Lyapunov exponents, are all negative if and only if:
(i) F i b0, for all i and
(ii) successive Hurwitz determinants are positive.
Only alternative determinates have to be tested,
and the second condition for n=3 or n=4 is
F1 F2 þ F3 N0
F i are the roots of the characteristic equation,
written in terms of feedback, as demonstrated by
Puccia and Levins (1985). Feedback at level k ( F k )
signifies the mutual influences of system compo-
nents on each other for all loops with k compo-
nents. Only disjunct loops—sequences of one or
more a ij with no common component i or j—are
included.
X
Fk ¼ ð  1Þmþ1 Z ðm; k Þ ð2Þ
Z(m,k) is the product of m disjunct loops with k
components. F 0=1 by convention. The character-
istic equation is
F0 kn þ F1 kn1 þ F2 kn2 þ . . . þ Fn1 k þ Fn ¼ 0
ð3Þ
The signs of the F i can typically be determined
even if only the qualitative relationships between
system components (positive, negative, or zero) are
known. This has the advantage of allowing analysis of
highly generalized models.
The implications of dynamical instability in weath-
ering are profound. Anything other than perfect
isotropy in geochemical composition and structure,
for example, would lead to divergent evolution in
258 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
weathering intensity and in the formation of weath-
ering-related features. Miniscule variations in mois-
ture storages and fluxes would likewise be magnified.
In an unstable weathering system, negligibly small
variations in or disturbances of composition, structure,
microtopography, moisture regime, or biogeochemis-
try in apparently homogeneous rocks or landscapes
would be sufficient to result in highly variable
topography, regoliths, and landforms, even if there
were no significant stochastic forcings or measurable
variations in other environmental controls.
Previous work has suggested the presence of
dynamical instability in weathering, solute dynamics,
regolith evolution, and soil formation in various
situations and at various scales (Barrett, 2001; Kem-
pel-Eggenberger, 1993; Ibañez et al., 1990; Ibañez,
1994; Liebens and Schaetzl, 1997; Nahon, 1991a,b;
Ortoleva, 1994; Phillips, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000,
2001). I do not claim that weathering systems are all,
and always, unstable, merely that instability is possible
and, in some cases, likely. Because weathering is a
fundamental component of landscape evolution, this
points to a notion that inherent instabilities in weath-
ering may be responsible for, or at least manifested in,
geomorphic variability in general.
For each of the four scales treated here, a formal
argument based on qualitative analysis of the system
in question is presented, followed by a consideration
of published field evidence. The system analysis is
based on efforts to capture the essential relationships
rather than specific process mechanisms. For example,
a model link may reflect changes in weathering rates
associated with changes in regolith thickness. Several
different processes or mechanisms may be involved in
this relationship, but the model attempts only to
capture the essential behavior—that is, does weath-
ering increase or decrease as regolith thickness
increases? In this sense, the models are phenomeno-
logical rather than mechanistic. A hierarchical, holis-
tic approach to geologic modeling is advocated by
Werner (1999; see also Kellerts, 1993), as a comple-
ment or alternative to (rather than a replacement for)
modeling based on process mechanics.
1.1.1. A note on weathering rates
Weathering is the in-place breakdown of geologic
material. Weathering rates are defined generally and
vaguely in this paper as the rate at which parent
material is converted to weathering products and
residuals. While this definition is adequate for the task
here, the consideration of weathering rates in specific
problems and the measurement of weathering rates
advocated later in this paper are more problematic,
even if technical problems are discounted. On geo-
logical and pedological timescales, weathering rates
would be expressed with the same units used to
measure or estimate rates of erosion, deposition,
denudation, etc. Thus, the loss of intact rock or parent
material or the gain of regolith or soil would be
expressed in units of mass or volume per unit area per
unit time, or in length units per unit time. In most cases
these rates are averages that amount to virtual velocities
(quantity divided by time) of change. For instance, the
formation of 1 m of regolith in 10,000 years is taken to
represent a mean rate of 0.1 mm year1. Though it is
typically recognized that the processes commonly
decelerate or accelerate over time, vary in response to
climate and other forcings, and encompass episodes of
both rapid change and minimal activity, in historical
studies resolution is often inadequate to produce more
than an average or virtual rate.
These historical, geological assessments differ
significantly from the measurements of (for example)
solute loads, which in turn differ from measurements
of chemical kinetics. Analagous comments would
apply to physical weathering, where geological
measurements might be both quantitatively and
conceptually different from assessments of physical
fracturing and disintegration. In this paper, the
historical/geological concept of weathering rates is
used, but it should be recognized that this is not the
only relevant concept and that this concept is
inherently problematic.
2. Local scale weathering systems
2.1. Theory
Variations in weathering rates and features may
arise because of feedbacks that greatly exaggerate
small initial variations. Several authors have shown
that chemical weathering may be characterized by self-
reinforcing feedbacks independent of any external
influences (Torrent and Nettleton, 1978; Nahon,
1991a; Ortoleva, 1994; Pope et al., 1995; Viles, 2001).
 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
The weathering process itself tends to reinforce
minor variations in the weathering intensity or
resistance, at least in the earlier stages of weathering
(Torrent and Nettleton, 1978; Nahon, 1991b; Twidale,
1991, 1993; Selby, 1993; Pope et al., 1995; Taylor
and Blum, 1995; Viles, 2001). As a localized zone
weathers more rapidly than surrounding areas, pos-
itive feedbacks may further enhance the weathering
contrast. Multiple mechanisms may contribute to this
positive feedback, but the most common is increased
susceptibility to moisture flux and storage, as charac-
terized by hydraulic conductivity, permeability, and/or
porosity (Nahon, 1991b; Pope et al., 1995; Turking-
ton, 1998; Viles, 2001). Contrasts in weathering may
increase until weatherable minerals are depleted in the
more highly weathered zones, slowing the weathering
rate and reducing the variability of weathering until
there is a convergence of weathering rates and the
degree of weathering. This illustrates the idea that
dynamical instability does not imply infinite or
indefinite divergence. Complexity cannot increase
indefinitely; inherent limits or external disturbances
eventually reset the clock.
The dynamical instability of local scale weathering
systems can be formally demonstrated. Consider the
interaction between five system components (Fig. 1):
(i) weathering susceptibility (for example solubility
and the supply of weatherable minerals);
Fig. 1. Weathering system interactions at the local, regolith scale.
Key system components are shown, along with the links between
them. Positive links indicate a change in a component results in a
change in the same direction (increase or decrease) in the receiving
component, and negative links indicate a change in the opposite
direction. For example, an increase in the degree of weathering
leads to an increase in porosity and permeability, and to a decrease
in weathering susceptibility. See text for explanation. Redrawn from
Phillips (2001).
259
(ii) the degree of weathering (ranging from fresh
parent material to highly weathered regolith with
negligible remaining weatherable minerals);
(iii) weathering rate;
(iv) moisture supply or availability; and
(v) moisture penetration (as indicated by perme-
ability or other indicator).
As this model has been previously described and
analyzed (Phillips, 2001), it will be only briefly
reviewed here. Many links are intuitively apparent:
greater weathering susceptibility and moisture result
in higher weathering rates; higher permeability leads
to more moisture; and more rapid weathering results
in a greater degree of weathering. These relationships
are all positive and operate in reverse as well (i.e.,
lower moisture leads to slower weathering, etc.).
Permeability is a positive function of the degree of
weathering, from creation of voids and porosity, and
weathering susceptibility declines as the degree of
weathering increases (a negative link), from the
depletion of weatherable minerals. The model also
reflects that weathering may be self-limiting (or
limited independently of the other system compo-
nents) because of the dependence on climatic and
biological controls and geochemical kinetics.
Fig. 1 was translated into an interaction matrix.
The components are as in the numbered list above and
matrix entries or cells a ij indicate the positive,
negative, or zero link of the ith component to the
jth component. Entry a 43, for instance, represents the
influence of moisture supply on the weathering rate.
The characteristic equation is
k5  a11 k4 þ ða43 Þða32 Þð  a21 Þk3 þ a25 a54 a43 a32 k2
¼0 ð4Þ
The k’s are the complex eigenvalues, the real parts
of which are equal to the system’s Lyapunov
exponents. The system is stable if and only if all
coefficients of the equation are negative (the first
Routh-Hurwitz criterion). It can be seen that at least
one is positive, and from the missing terms, two
others are clearly zero. Because a necessary condition
for stability is violated, the analysis shows that the
model is inherently unstable.
Dynamical instability (or deterministic chaos)
means that minor variations or the effects of small
260 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
disturbances tend to grow disproportionately large
and/or to persist over much longer timescales. In a
weathering profile, this effect leads to divergent
evolution; whereby initially similar points in the
profile become, on average, increasingly dissimilar
over time. Spatial complexity in weathering profile
development may develop with no external changes in
factors controlling weathering or regolith develop-
ment. No variations in the parent material, other than
something short of perfect isotropy, are necessary for
the development of spatial variability.
2.2. Supporting evidence
While this analysis shows that complexity may
arise from the dynamics of the weathering system
where parent material is anything other than perfectly
uniform, inheritance of variability from parent mate-
rial is not precluded. A need exists to distinguish
between predominantly acquired vs. inherited com-
plexity. Because weathering modifies the parent
material, one cannot directly test for initial variation.
Variability in deeper, unweathered parent material can
be tested in some cases, however (although one can
never be certain how similar this is to the already
modified material). Various forms of geological and
pedological evidence can also be employed to indicate
in some cases whether initial variations are simply
being preserved as opposed to being magnified in
regolith materials.
Karst depressions are perhaps a canonical example
of the unstable growth of small perturbations, both
with respect to weathering and generally (Scheideg-
ger, 1983). Minor variations in weathering resistance,
small fractures, or features which collect moisture
become preferentially enlarged to form dolines and
other karst depressions (White, 1988). Rock weath-
ering depressions in general are characterized by
progressive enlargement of microrelief features or
zones of reduced weathering resistance, in some cases
on sites that appear uniform. Weathering pits, pans,
caverns, rills, and tafoni are characterized by self-
reinforcing development associated with the creation
and finite enhancement of microenvironments that
accelerate weathering (Selby, 1993, pp. 158–163).
The mere existence of weathering depressions in rock
might often be taken as evidence of unstable growth
of small initial variations, but difficulties arise in
many cases in discerning the nature of the original
surface. This limitation can be overcome by studies of
the development of weathering cavities on cultural
features such as tombstones, building stones, and
megaliths, where depressions or flutes are known to
have become more exaggerated on previously flat,
smooth surfaces (Viles, 1993; Lageat et al., 1994;
Smith et al., 1994; Smith, 1996; Turkington, 1998;
Viles and Moses, 1998; Moses, 2000).
Microclimatic measurements in tafoni and caver-
nous weathering features in Nevada indicate that
conditions created in the shadow zones accelerate
weathering processes. Cavernous weathering, once a
minor perturbation or variation allows it to be
initiated, is a process of unstable growth (Turkington,
1998). Experimental observations show that surface
and subsurface stone environments are affected by
cavern morphology. Surface retreat to a shadow zone
concentrates thermal stress and moisture cycling in a
thin surface layer, accentuating effects of weathering
processes (Turkington et al., 2002).
Twidale (1991, 1993) has presented landscape
interpretations based on variations in weathering
susceptibility being reinforced over time to create
etch landforms dominated by differential weathering
at the bedrock weathering front. These variations may
be expressed in increasing relief amplitudes. The high
relief of Precambrian charnockites of southern India
and Sri Lanka has been attributed to vertical block
faulting, for instance; but Gunnell and Louchet (2000)
found a lack of compelling evidence to support that
interpretation. As an alternative, they present evi-
dence that divergent weathering—amplification of
minor initial variations in weathering susceptibi-
lity—explains the observed topography (Gunnell
and Louchet, 2000). In the Virginia Piedmont, Stolt
et al. (1993) found that particle size and composition
in the C horizon were more variable than in the parent
rock and attributed this to differential weathering rates
and/or the subsequent magnification of slight varia-
tions in parent rock properties. Phillips (2001) applied
the state probability function to a complex weathering
profile in east Texas to determine that the vertical
complexity was dominantly acquired during weath-
ering rather than inherited from the glauconitic parent
material.
Stability and convergent evolution may occur in
the very long run, as all available weatherable material
 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
is modified and variations are erased. In some cases,
even at a local scale, the finite growth and broader-
scale order of instabilities may result in pattern
formation. For instance, aeolian and fluvial bed forms
often result from dynamical instabilities in relation-
ships between flows, beds, and sediment transport.
These localized instabilities are manifested at a
broader scale as bed forms with remarkable regular-
ities in size, shape, and spacing. The regularities of
some weathering features such as rillenkarren (solu-
tional grooves in karst) may suggest phenomenolog-
ically similar dynamics.
3. Hillslope scale: allocation of weathering products
Once weathered debris is produced, three things
may happen to it: the debris may remain in situ as
regolith material, or be removed. Removal may be in
solid form via erosion and mass wasting, or in
dissolved form via ground or surface water flow.
Biological uptake is neglected here, but would
generally result in material that either remains in the
regolith or is removed as above or via harvesting.
These fates are not independent. First, they are in
some senses competitive—that is, given a certain
weathering rate or debris mass, the more that is
removed, the less there is available for regolith. Solid
removal is generally dependent on regolith formation,
whereas solutional removal may occur from regolith
or directly from chemical rock weathering. The rate of
weathering and quantity of weathered debris are not
independent of removal mechanisms and regolith
formation. These are the key relationships at the
hillslope scale.
The relationships among these components are
shown in Fig. 2. The production of weathered material
is self-limiting because of limits imposed by chemical
kinetics and because of the depletion of weatherable
minerals. The amount of weathered debris has a direct
relationship with regolith thickness, which in turn has
a negative influence on rock weathering. The latter is
due to a reduction in weathering at the weathering
front as the latter is increasingly isolated from air,
water, and climate fluctuations under a thickening
regolith. Note that in the early phases of regolith
development this relationship may be reversed, as
incipient debris and soil accumulations retain moisture
261
Fig. 2. Weathering system interactions at the hillslope scale. Key
system components are shown, along with the links between them.
Positive links indicate a change in a component results in a change in
the same direction (increase or decrease) in the receiving component,
and negative links indicate a change in the opposite direction.
in contact with the weathering front (Ahnert, 1976;
Anderson, 2002). Erosion and mass wasting removal
is promoted by a thicker regolith (and inhibited by a
thinner one) via the supply (or lack thereof) of
transportable debris. Erosion, of course, has an inverse
effect on regolith thickness. Removal by erosion and
mass wasting results in new exposures of weatherable
material and tends to increase the rate at which
weathered debris is produced, other things being
equal. This operates independently of the regolith in
some cases, such as bedrock stream channel erosion
or dry forms of mass wasting, when debris is removed
before regoliths can be formed. The general principle,
however, is similar—exposed bedrock, or rock with a
threshold regolith cover, weathers most rapidly and
buried rock least rapidly.
Chemical weathering rates are directly linked to
solute loss. Solute losses, resulting in the removal of
soluble and less resistant minerals and elements,
have a negative relationship with production rates of
weathered debris—that is, while solute loss clearly
contributes to rock breakdown, mass balance con-
siderations show that mass loss in dissolved form is
unavailable for in situ weathered debris. Solid and
solutional losses are indirectly rather than directly
linked to each other, as those relationships are
mediated by regolith formation and weathering
rates.
262 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
The relationships described above are framed in the
context of domination by chemical weathering. Where
physical weathering is prevalent, the self-limiting
effects of weathering are absent. Physical weathering
may be constrained by the degree of regolith cover
and/or by erosional removal.
The interaction matrix is shown in Table 1. In this
model F 1, F 2, and F 4 are all negative, but
F3 ¼ ½a13 a32 a21   ½ð a23 Þa32 ð a11 Þ
Eq. (5) will only be negative if
½ð a23 Þa32 ð a11 ÞN½a13 a32 a21 
This implies that the pairwise relationship
between regolith thickness and solid removal (ero-
sion) plus the self-limiting feedback of weathering is
stronger than the longer loop connecting weathering,
regolith thickness, and erosion. This would hold in
situations where regolith is not stripped. The
inequality is unlikely to hold over geologically
longer timescales where effects of erosional removal
on weathering rates are significant. The inequality
may also be interpreted in the context of weath-
ering- and transport-limited systems (Carson and
Kirkby, 1972). In a weathering-limited system,
direct relationships between regolith production
and erosional removal dominate, regolith is removed
quickly, and weathering rates are not strongly
influenced by regolith thickness. In a transport-
limited system, however, weathered materials accu-
mulate and weathering rates are influenced by
regolith thickness. Note that changing the sign of
a 31 (effects of regolith thickness on production of
weathered debris) has no effect on F 1, F 3, or F 4. F 2
would have a higher probability of being positive if
a 31N0.
Table 1
Interaction matrix for Fig. 2a
WD Solid RM
Weathered debris a 11 0 a 13
Solid removal a 21 0 a 23
Regolith mass a 31 a 32 0 0
Solute removal a 41 0 0
a
Matrix entries represent the positive, negative, or negligible
influence of the row component (left) on the column component
(top).
The second Routh-Hurwitz criterion in this case is
that
F1 F2 þ Fe N0 ð7Þ
Given that F 3 will be positive or weakly negative,
this is likely to be met. Stability is therefore
contingent on F 2. Over time periods where a regolith
cover is maintained, in the absence of major stripping
episodes, and where denudation is primarily transport-
ð5Þ
limited, stability is likely. Over longer spans or
conditions where regolith stripping may occur, or
where denudation is weathering-limited, dynamical
ð6Þ
instability prevails.
Previous numerical modeling studies of the rela-
tionship between weathering, regolith thickness,
slope, and erosional removal are consistent with this
model (Minasny and McBratney, 1999; Phillips,
1993), and Allison (1994) noted that chaos in
hillslope evolution occurs when removal rates are
high relative to weathering rates. The simulation
model of hillslope regolith thickness of Phillips
(1993) showed that unstable, chaotic behavior is more
likely when the strength of the feedback relationship
between regolith thickness and bedrock weathering
rate is strongest. More telling still, when the same
model was reformulated so that weathered debris was
not immediately available for removal (that is, a
weathering-limited system where debris produced in
one time increment could not be removed until the
next model increment), the chaotic system became
stable (Phillips, 1995)!
3.1. Supporting evidence
The occurrence of bedrock outcrops has long
been considered evidence of rapid denudation, as
expressed by Penck (1924), who wrote that brenewal
of exposure is a function of the intensity of
denudationQ (p. 62). Thick regolith covers as an
indicator of stability and thin covers as evidence of
rapid denudation are not widely challenged, at least
Solute
as a general proposition. However, it is difficult to
a 14 assess the extent to which the relationship between
0
regolith thickness and erosion is attributable to the
0 system characteristics described here, or to ebbs and
pulses of externally driven denudation.
Rates of weathering, soil formation, and solute loss
on granite in Rhodesia were calculated by Owens and
 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
Watson (1979) using geochemical methods. Their
work confirmed the relationship between weathering
rates, soil/saprolite thickness, and solute production
described in the instability model above. They also
noted a reduction in weathering rates as soil mantles
thicken and an inverse relationship between weath-
ering rates and soil thickness.
Cosmogenic nuclide studies in SE Australia show
soil production rates decreasing a steep, inverse
exponential function of soil depth, with maximum
soil production (i.e., weathering) rates under zero soil
depth (Braun et al., 2001; Heimsath et al., 2000; 2001).
This work not only supports a key link in the model but
is suggestive of the instability implied by the model
when regolith stripping occurs. Because weathering
and soil production are at a maximum when stripping
occurs (zero soil depth), a new regolith system tends to
be developed rather than the persistence of the stripped
surface. In general, the nuclide-based studies show
relationships between weathering, bedrock incision,
and average erosion that are not consistent with a
steady-state notion of landscape evolution (Heimsath
et al., 2001). Other studies (e.g., Anderson, 2002) have
found maximum weathering rates under a relatively
thin (several centimeters) threshold regolith cover.
That is, up to some threshold, regolith thickness is
directly related to weathering because of the tendency
of bare rock to shed water rapidly (and presumably
also to limited biotic activity). Once this threshold is
crossed, weathering rates decline with increasing
regolith thickness as described above. Ahnert (1976)
has long used this approach in his hillslope and
landscape evolution models.
Riebe et al. (2001) examined rock-to-soil enrich-
ment of insoluble elements and cosmogenic nuclide-
based estimates of physical erosion in 22 mountainous
granitic catchments to explore a mass balance relating
soil (regolith) production, denudation, physical ero-
sion, and weathering rates. The results confirmed tight
coupling between erosion and weathering rates and
demonstrated that the interrelationships between
erosion and weathering are significantly more impor-
tant in determining weathering, erosion, and denuda-
tion rates than any climatic effects. These findings are
consistent with instability of the mass balance over
landscape evolution timescales, rather than stable
convergence toward a climatically controlled steady
state.
263
The model presented here also implies that regolith
stripping over historical or contemporary timescales
would lead to instability. Spatially, this prediction
would be manifested as a complex spatial pattern of
bedrock and regolith-covered surfaces and/or in
increasing divergence over time in any initial varia-
tions of disturbance effects. A pattern of this type is
reported from the Negev Desert by Yair (1990), where
the mosaic of bedrock outcrops and soil cover leads to
an increasing divergence of regolith thickness. Runoff
from rock areas concentrates water, infiltration, and
leaching in soil-covered areas and leads to salinity
concentrations, resulting in an increasingly organized
pattern of bedrock outcrops and regolith covers (Yair,
1990). Tonkin and Basher (1990) found that in some
regions of the Southern Alps, New Zealand, soil
patterns and stratigraphy indicate continuous insta-
bility and a complex spatial pattern of soil develop-
ment and bedrock outcrops. Initial erosion of the soil
mantle is from bedrock hollows, and the further
instability propagates from there.
Pavich’s (1989) study of regoliths in the Appala-
chian Piedmont showed production of soils and
saprolites that considerably exceed the rate of
removal, resulting in regolith residence times of 1 to
5 Ma. Further, the interaction of weathering, solid
removal via erosion, solute loss, and the compaction
of saprolite into soil lead to the appearance of a
planation surface of accordant summits or bpeneplainQ
(Pavich, 1989). This observation supports the notion
that a transport-limited mass balance system that
maintains a regolith cover is dynamically stable.
4. Landscape units: denudation and weathering
Over timescales sufficient to significantly modify
topography at the level of landscape units (such as
larger drainage basins, mountains, or plateaus),
straightforward feedbacks between weathering and
denudation occur. If we broaden the concept of
weathering to include all processes that make debris
available for transport, the implication is that denu-
dation cannot occur without some weathering. Most
erosion and mass wasting involves removal of regolith
produced by weathering. However, even mass wasting
of boulders and joint blocks requires weathering to
loosen the rock mass. Solutional denudation of rock
264 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
surfaces is essentially a direct link from chemical
weathering to denudation. Fluvial erosion in bedrock
streams requires that in-stream weathering processes
loosen clasts or blocks (Holmes, 1965; Hancock et al.,
1998; Howard, 1998; Tinkler and Parish, 1998;
Tinkler and Wohl, 1998; Wohl, 1998; Whipple et al.,
2000). Glacial crushing and plucking is a precursor to
transport of any material not already loosened by
(other) weathering processes. Denudation rates are
thus contingent on weathering rates, whether mediated
by regolith formation or via direct removal of solutes
or clasts.
A positive link also connects denudation to weath-
ering. Because weathering rates are most rapid with a
thin regolith cover or exposed rock (see previous
Section), in the absence of regolith removal weath-
ering rates will decline to a minimum. Regular
denudational removal keeps the weathering front at
or near the surface and promotes weathering. The
weathering–erosion relationship is shown in Fig. 3.
Negative self-effects are shown for both compo-
nents because denudation and weathering are limited
by base level, climate controls, and other factors
independent of denudation and weathering. In this
model, F 1 is negative; but F 2 can be negative only if
the self-limiting effects are stronger than the mutual
reinforcement of denudation and weathering (see
Section 1.1). Because the latter operates continuously
but the self-limitations operate only in certain circum-
stances (as base levels or limiting slope gradients are
approached, for instance, or when weatherable min-
erals are depleted), the relationship would be gen-
erally unstable. The instability implies that once
initiated, weathering and denudation is likely to be
progressively exaggerated and that progressive diver-
gence is likely between locations or landscape
elements experiencing little weathering and denuda-
Fig. 3. Weathering system interactions at the scale of landscape
units. Key system components are shown, along with the links
between them. Positive links indicate a change in a component
results in a change in the same direction (increase or decrease) in the
receiving component, and negative links indicate a change in the
opposite direction.
tion and those experiencing accelerated mass removal,
until base levels, limiting slope angles, or other factors
begin limiting divergence.
4.1. Supporting evidence
The landscape unit model is perhaps the most
straightforward to illustrate empirically by consider-
ing the erosional dissection of a plateau (see Ollier
and Pain, 2000, Chap. 2). In such a case, where an
initial land surface can be reconstructed or inferred, a
denudational mass balance is possible by accounting
for net volume removals and for mass loss associated
with the formation of regoliths and sedimentary
deposits. The total mass removed from the landscape
(M r) is equal to the volume of rock completely
removed (R) multiplied by the mean density of the
rock (q r), and accounting for the densities and
volumes of alluvial and colluvial deposits (D) and
of the regolith (S):
Mr ¼ Rðqr Þ þ Dðqr  qd Þ þ S ðqr  qs Þ ð8Þ
Because mass removal can occur only after
weathering has occurred, the increase in relief and
progressive divergence of elevations seen in dis-
sected plateaus could not occur without mutual
reinforcement of weathering and erosion. Relief-
reducing, convergent downwasting can occur only
when base levels limit dissection. As but one of
many real-world examples of dissection at the edge
of a plateau, a portion of the Pottsville escarpment
of Kentucky’s Cumberland Plateau is shown in
Fig. 4. Relief increases in the initial stages of
dissection, until streams have cut to the local base
level. Then downwasting gradually reduces relief.
This is shown in Fig. 4, where the contrast between
points A, B, and C represents a younger-to-older
time sequence.
The mutual reinforcement of weathering and
denudational removal is also implicit in the brenewal
of exposureQ concept of Penck (1924) and in the
inverse relationships (at least once a threshold has
been achieved) between weathered mantle thickness
and rock weathering rates cited earlier (Owens and
Watson, 1979; Heimsath et al., 2000; 2001; Braun et
al., 2001; Riebe et al., 2001). Harbor’s (1997) work on
landscape evolution at the margin of the North
American basin and range is based on positive
 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272 265

Fig. 4. A shaded digital elevation map of a section of the Pottsville escarpment, Kentucky, representing the dissected edge of the Cumberland
Plateau. County names are shown in larger typeface; U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000 quadrangle names in smaller type. Point A is an example
of the strongly dissected edge of the plateau; B of the eroded plateau remnant; and C of a strongly eroded section in the Red River valley. These
represent developmental stages.

feedback between incision, slope retreat, drainage
basin expansion, and discharge.
5. Landscape evolution: weathering and isostasy
At the broadest spatial and temporal scales, we
may consider the relationship between denudational
unloading (or depositional loading), elevation, and
isostatic response. In a weathering-limited system,
R=W and D and S must approach zero, where W is
weathered mass. In a transport-limited system,
R=WDS, and D=WRS. The bgeological cycle
of rock changeQ presented by Holmes (1965, pp. 192–
194) and propagated henceforth as the brock cycleQ in
geology and geography textbooks clearly places
weathering in a key position, and the initial phases
of, the external or surface portions of the cycle. The
rock cycle concept make the point that weathering
plays the key role in the relationships between
denudation and isostasy. The interaction between
denudation, elevation, and isostatic response has
recently been discussed in detail elsewhere (Phillips,
2002), so it will be treated only briefly here. The
interactions are shown in Fig. 5 and Table 2.
Erosional denudation reduces elevation, and dep-
osition or aggradation increases elevation. Elevation
itself provides a feedback to erosion and deposition,
via the effects on potential gravitational energy, relief,
and slope. Whereas slope and relief are generally (but
not always) positively related to elevation, potential
energy is always a positive function of elevation.
Thus, erosion is promoted by greater elevation, and
deposition is encouraged by lower elevation. The
relationship between isostatic uplift or subsidence and
elevation are indirect, with any feedback effects
operating through denudation and aggradation. Addi-
tional complexity is due to the isostatic responses to
erosional unloading and depositional loading (Ahnert,
1984; Morisawa, 1975; Pitman and Golovchenko,
1991). In addition, geomorphic processes such as
erosion and deposition may be self-limiting independ-
ently of their relationships with isostasy.
The characteristic equation of the system (see
Table 2) is
 k5 þ ½ð a11 Þ þ ð a22 Þk4
þ ½ð a13 a31 Þ þ ð a32 a23 Þ  ð a11 Þð a22 Þk3
þ ½fa14 a43 a31 g þ fð a35 Þa53 a31 g
þ fa25 a53 ð a32 Þg þ fð a24 Þa43 ð a32 Þg
 fð a22 Þð a13 Þa31 g  fð a11 Þa23 ð a32 Þgk2
þ ½  fð a24 Þa43 ð a32 Þð a11 Þg
 fa14 a43 a31 ð a22 Þg  fð a15 Þa53 a31 ð a22 Þgk
¼0 ð9Þ
266 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272

Fig. 5. Interactions at the landscape scale. Key system components are shown, along with the links between them. Positive links indicate a
change in a component results in a change in the same direction (increase or decrease) in the receiving component, and negative links indicate a
change in the opposite direction. Redrawn from Phillips (2002).

In this case, F 1 and F 2 are negative. F 3 and F 4 5.1. Supporting evidence

are conditional (as is the second Routh-Hurwitz
criterion), depending on the relative strengths of Most recent models of landscape evolution
specific links or chains of links in the system. attempting to incorporate both denudation and uplift
However, regardless of these, F 5=0, thus violating apply a central role to isostatic responses to erosion
the Routh-Hurwitz criteria. The system is therefore and sedimentation. In some cases, these models have
asymptotically unstable (see Phillips, 2002, for some empirical verification, thus providing some
further details). general field evidence supporting complex interac-
The implications of the instability are profound. tions among denudation (or deposition), elevation (or
The result implies that no particular mode of land- relief), and isostatic response (Ahnert, 1970, 1984;
scape evolution—whether relief-increasing dissection, Bishop and Brown, 1992; Lambeck and Stephenson,
downwasting, or any of a number of other possibil- 1986; Pinet and Sourian, 1988; Zhou and Stüne, 1994;
ities—is likely to persist when subjected to perturba- Gunnell, 1998). Sorkhabi et al. (1996) found, based
tions influencing isostasy, topography, or erosion/ on fission-track and argon dating, that a major tectonic
deposition. Such perturbations would include climate uplift shortly before 2.4 Ma in the Indian Himalayas
and biotic changes, kinematic tectonics, and sea level induced a major denudation pulse, which in turn
change. provided a positive feedback to the uplift.
Direct support (or refutation) for the notion that no
particular mode of topographic evolution will persist
or be restored in the face of variations in climate, sea
Table 2 level, tectonic forcings, or other environmental
Interaction matrix for Fig. 5a
changes (as opposed to support for the fundamental
Er Dep El IU IS phenomenology of the model in Fig. 5) is difficult to
Erosion a 11 0 a 13 a 14 a 15 come by. The earth science community has not
Deposition 0 a 32 a 23 a 24 a 25 mobilized a search for evidence of any particular
Elevation a 31 a 32 0 0 0
Isostatic uplift 0 0 a 43 0 0
mode of development other than peneplanation.
Isostatic subsidence 0 0 a 53 0 0 Gournellos (1997) identified 16 states of landscape
a
Matrix entries represent the positive, negative, or negligible
evolution, and Phillips (2002) listed 18 possible
influence of the row component (left) on the column component combinations of relative rates and combinations of
(top). erosion, deposition, uplift, and stasis of initially higher
 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
and lower points in a landscape. One particular mode
of evolution—fluvial downwasting to a peneplain—
has been extensively tested in an exhaustive global
search for peneplains. The fact that no convincing,
generally accepted example of a contemporary pene-
plain has been found (Davis, 1922; King, 1953; Ritter,
1988; Twidale and Campbell, 1995), and relatively
few examples of erosion surfaces cut to contemporary
base levels even proposed as peneplains, is consistent
with the model implication that downwasting cannot
persist in the face of environmental change. Note that
the term peneplain is sometimes used loosely to apply
to any relatively low-relief planation surface, regard-
less of origin, and that many examples of planation
surfaces can indeed be found. Phillips (2002) dis-
cusses other indirect evidence in support of the model.
Note also that Willett and Brandon (2002), even
though they are arguing for various aspects of steady
state in mountain-building, admitted that true topo-
graphic steady states probably do not exist.
6. Weathering, stability, and scale
Table 3 summarizes the analyses in the previous
sections. The models at the regolith, landscape unit,
and landscape scales are likely to be unstable under
most circumstances. The model at the hillslope scale
may be stable or unstable. While the interactions
among weathering rates, resistance, and moisture at
the regolith scale are unstable under any likely
scenario, there exist circumstances under which the
unstable growth of minor initial variations in weath-
ering intensity or resistance are irrelevant. Over long
Table 3
Summary of the weathering system stability models
Regolith
Key relationships weathering rates,
moisture, resistance
General stability properties unstable
Conditions for stability none
Scale or circumstances highly weathered
of stability mantles where all initial
variations have been
erased
267
timescales and where weathering is well advanced,
eventually all available parent material is converted to
advanced weathering products, weathering rates
decline and converge, and variations in the degree
of weathering are erased (Phillips, 2001). At the
hillslope scale, the system is stable when denudation
is erosion- or transport- rather than weathering-limited
and where renewal of exposure via regolith stripping
does not occur. Over longer timescales, hillslopes are
more likely to experience episodes of erosional
stripping, and ultimately denudation must be weath-
ering limited. Thus, a clear relationship exists between
temporal scale and stability.
At the level of landscape units, the stability model
is based entirely on mutual reinforcements of weath-
ering and erosion. While this should generally lead to
instability, the model would be stable where other
external controls of both weathering and erosion rates
are stronger than the weathering–erosion feedbacks.
This principle is similar to the hillslope-scale model in
that there may be stability if weathering–erosion
feedbacks are weak and instability if these feedbacks
are strong. The implication is that stability occurs
where external controls (for example climate) are so
strong relative to weathering–erosion feedbacks that
the latter are overwhelmed. At the broadest landscape
scale, the inclusion of isostatic responses is what
destabilizes erosion–topography–uplift relationships,
as witnessed by the fact that models that do not
include isostatic responses tend toward steady-state
equilibria (Willett and Brandon, 2002). Thus, circum-
stances exist where the system may be stable, when
erosional loading or depositional unloading is too
localized to elicit commensurate isostatic response (as
Hillslope Landscape unit Landscape
mass balance; allocation weathering/denudation denudation, topography,
of weathering products mutual adjustments isostasy
stable or unstable unstable unstable
regolith cover self or external limits on none
maintained; denudation denudation and weathering
transport limited dominate rates
erosionbweathering; weathering and loading or unloading
no major regolith denudation largely insufficient to trigger
stripping independent isostatic response; shorther
time scales where isostasy is
irrelevant
268 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
isostasy is a landscape-scale phenomenon), or over
shorter temporal scales where isostasy is too slow to
be relevant.
The consideration of circumstances under which
weathering systems may be stable leads to Fig. 6,
which is proposed as an admittedly crude step toward
addressing Viles’ (2001) challenge to conceptualize
and operationalize scale issues in weathering by
directly linking spatiotemporal scale with the like-
lihood of stability or instability. As previously noted
(Phillips, 1999, 2001), (in)stability is directly related
to the fundamental issue of whether landform and
landscape evolution are convergent or divergent. The
framework of Fig. 6 can also be seen as an approach
to determining when Scheidegger’s (1983) instability
principle is operative.
Essentially, instability and divergent evolution are
prevalent at local spatial scales at all but the longest
timescales. Stability at intermediate spatial scales is
contingent on whether weathering–erosion feedbacks
are strong or weak, with stability being more likely at
shorter and less likely at longer timescales. At the
broadest spatial scales, instability is likely, although
stability may be observed at intermediate temporal
scales if weathering–erosion feedbacks are weak.
The most obvious weakness in Fig. 6 is the lack of
specificity of spatial and temporal scales in the axes of
the figure. In areal units, the local scale is on the order
of 10 m2 or less. The intermediate scales would be
Fig. 6. Relationships of stability and instability in weathering systems with spatial and temporal scale. For each combination of long, medium, or
short temporal and spatial scale, the stability of the weathering system is indicated.
perhaps 102 to 107 m2, and the landscape scale N106
m2 (often much greater). The short temporal scale
could extend from the tempo of process mechanics up
to perhaps 106 years, while the long timescale implies
periods N106 years. The intermediate timescale could
span something on the order of 103 to N106 years. It
may be preferable to define scales operationally, as
suggested in Table 4. As always, scale problems in
geomorphology require some knowledge of rates,
durations, and frequencies of processes and responses.
Without such information, which is by nature prob-
lem- and environment-specific, more detailed specifi-
cations are difficult.
In the Pottsville escarpment area of Kentucky, for
instance, local scale instability over short and inter-
mediate timescales is observed in the form of weath-
ering cavities at a variety of scales, from honeycomb
weathering to the formation of the well-known rock
arches and natural bridges of the region. At very long
timescales, eventual convergence, in the form of
erasure of the weathering variations, occurs as soils
form and regolith covers are removed. In this region,
weathering and erosion feedbacks are strong, as
evidenced by thin soil/regolith covers, weathering-
controlled landforms, and karst features on limestone
outcrops. Instability at all temporal scales is man-
ifested as a complex mosaic of soils of varying depth
classes and rock outcrops and as divergent (relief-
increasing) topographic evolution. At the broadest
 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
Table 4
Description of spatial and temporal scales in weathering systems
(see Fig. 6)
Local spatial scale Single weathering profile, soil pedon or
(regolith scale) polypedon, rock face, or rock mass
Intermediate spatial Hillslope, low-order drainage basin,
scales (hillslope, lithologic or morpho-stratigraphic unit,
landscape unit soil mapping unit or complex,
scales) sedimentary compartment
Landscape scale Aggregations of two or more
intermediate-scale units
Short timescale Development of weathering features
Intermediate timescale Hillslope and drainage basin evolution,
regolith evolution, pedogenesis
Long timescale Episodes and cycles of uplift and erosion
scale, topographic divergence is evident as the
Cumberland Plateau is dissected. This particular mode
of topographic evolution is limited not only by
denudational consumption of the plateau, but isostatic
responses to the erosion and deposition of large
amounts of sediment would also be expected.
7. Discussion and conclusions
The instability principle holds for numerous geo-
morphic systems or processes. The unstable growth of
any geomorphic phenomenon is finite. Geomorphic
instability is thus inherently limited by scale and, at
certain spatiotemporal scales, any given instability
phenomenon may be absent or irrelevant (Scheideg-
ger, 1983; Phillips, 1999). Because instabilities occur
at a range of spatiotemporal scales from the micro-
scopic and instantaneous to planetary and geological,
stability and instability are emergent properties that
come and go as scales and resolutions are changed.
With respect to weathering and its relationship to
landform and landscape evolution, certain ranges of
spatiotemporal scale can be identified where either
stability or instability is likely. At other scales,
stability will be contingent on a specific relationship;
e.g., the strength of feedbacks between weathering
and erosion.
Weathering systems at the local/regolith, landscape
unit, and landscape scales as defined here are likely to
be unstable under most circumstances. At the hillslope
scale and under certain circumstances at intermediate
spatial scales more generally, stability is possible if
weathering–erosion feedbacks are weak compared to
269
external controls on weathering and erosion rates,
while instability is likely if the feedbacks are strong.
At certain broad scales or in certain situations,
stability may be assumed (Table 3; Fig. 6). The
distinction between external controls and intrinsic
system components, of course, varies with scale.
The relative importance of intrinsic dynamics
represented by feedbacks within the weathering
system, and external controls is critical. The latter
are largely captured in the self-effect loops, which
represent not only self-limiting properties, but exter-
nal factors such as climate which may limit the
component in question. The stability that may occur
when external controls are strong (rapid) compared to
internal feedbacks suggests a landscape and weath-
ering system that adapts relatively gradually to
variations in boundary conditions and external forc-
ings. The instability that is more likely when internal
feedbacks are stronger indicates that, at some time
scales, bequilibriumQ adjustments to external factors
may not be evident.
Determining the tendency of geomorphic systems
to be stable or unstable is crucial. Stable systems or
modes are associated with convergent evolution. In
these cases, it is reasonable to search for and focus
on the stable forms and functional relationships
toward which the system is converging. One
example is at intermediate spatiotemporal scales
with relatively weak weathering/erosion feedbacks.
Recognizing that local instabilities will result in
instability-related local variations in weathering
features and soils, in these cases a characteristic
weathering profile or soil can reasonably be
identified (see, for example, Phillips, 1997).
Instability indicates divergent behavior and the
need to address the progressive exaggeration of initial
variations and the persistence and growth of pertur-
bations. At local spatial and short temporal scales, for
instance, weathering studies must focus on the
processes by which minor variations lead to the
initiation of weathering features and the unstable
growth of these features (see, for example, Turking-
ton, 1998; Viles, 2001).
The claim was made at the outset that this paper
would occupy a middle ground between meta-
explanation and idiographic interpretation. Alhough
the weathering system instability framework is redo-
lent of meta-explanation, the argument is at least
270 J.D. Phillips / Geomorphology 67 (2005) 255–272
based on an effort to capture the essential phenomen-
ology, as opposed to a more general invocation of an
instability principle in geomorphology or appeals to
general tendencies toward energy or entropy optima,
self-organization, steady-state, etc.
Recognition of the fundamental instability in many
weathering systems and problems allows the resolu-
tion of some specific landscape evolution problems, as
has already been demonstrated (e.g., Twidale, 1991,
1993; Kempel-Eggenberger, 1993; Phillips, 1999,
2001; Gunnell and Louchet, 2000; Viles, 2001). An
explicit consideration of stability in the context of
spatial and temporal scales has the potential to lead to
significant advances in the study of weathering (Viles,
2001). Key issues to be addressed in future work are
more detailed specifications of spatial and temporal
scales and of the rates, durations, and frequencies of
weathering and related processes, forms, and relation-
ships. While these issues must, by necessity, be
addressed in the context of specific problems and
environments, the accumulation of such information
will allow future syntheses to be more detailed and
specific than this one.
Acknowledgements
Conversations, commentaries, and critical reviews
of earlier versions of this paper by Alice Turkington,
Heather Viles, Josh Roerer, Milan Pavich, Arun
Heimsath, Eugene Rankey, and several anonymous
referees are gratefully acknowledged. None of the
above are to be blamed for any silliness herein.
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