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Introduction to Geomorphology

Article · January 2000

DOI: 10.1029/00EO00343

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Dorothy Merritts
Franklin and Marshall College
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country would be a better place if more of
our citizens became involved in the political
process. And that includes scientists and
engineers," he said.
Good added,"The recommendations we
make in this report could just as easily be in ref­
erence to all other presidential appointments."
BOOK REVIEW
Introduction to
Geomorphology
PAGE 463
FRANK AHNERT
Arnold, London, 352 pp., ISBN 0-340-
69259-6,1998, $31.
Geomorphologists have an insiders' joke
that I'll share here, as Eos garners a particular­
ly appropriate audience: "There are as many
geomorphologists who think that they're
doing geophysics as there are geophysicists
who think that they're doing geomorphology,
but neither group is doing it very well."
The allegation misrepresents the truth, of
course, but it does reflect upon a trend that
grew throughout the 20th century. For several
decades, scientists with diverse training have
investigated the interactions between endo­
genic (crustal movements and volcanism)
and exogenic (weathering, denudation, and
sediment transport) processes. Despite the
claim of the preceding allegation, their work
has led to a better understanding of landform
development.
Nevertheless, the nature of progress in the
field of topographic studies is somewhat like
that of a spiral with an ever-larger radius. As
the field widens its reach, it draws in partici­
pants from throughout the geologic community;
hence, geomorphologists and geophysicists
mix not only at meetings, but also in research
teams. Certain individuals have contributed
significantly to accelerations in understand­
ing along this imaginary spiral of geomorphic
knowledge, including the author of Introduc­
tion to Geomorphology.
The spiral itself began some 200 years ago,
as early geologists contemplated, for example,
drainage networks in which all parts seem to
be intimately connected (that is, Playfair's
Law). After the immensely powerful concep­
tual work of G. K. Gilbert and William Morris
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Eos,Vol. 81, No. 40, October 3, 2000
The report follows up on several earlier studies,
including the National Academies' 1992 study
"Science and Technology Leadership in Ameri­
can Government: Ensuring the Best Presidential
Appointments." While Good acknowledged that
those reports had little impact on changing the
appointment process, she held out hope that the
Davis at the beginning of the 20th century,
American geomorphology became increasingly
quantitative and empirical. At the time, the
rest of geology was embracing the plate tec­
tonic revolution, and most geologic
disciplines were retooling in response. Some
geomorphologists felt, however, that their own
field was missing out in the excitement.
Frank Ahnert is a German geomorphologist
who took advantage of another ongoing revo­
lution, one in technology, to extend the works
of Gilbert and Davis, among others. In so
doing, he was able to pluck from the fruits of
the plate tectonic revolution. In classic pio­
neer fashion, Ahnert recognized something
that others were not to fully grasp for several
decades: the value of computers in simulating
geologic processes and modeling landforms.
Ahnert used early computers to explore fun­
damental concepts that relate basic mechan­
ics to processes of weathering and erosion
and to simulate the evolution of particular
landforms. While addressing broad questions
such as What is the relation between relief
and denudation?, Ahnert demonstrated that
exercises in modeling help us learn about the
processes that generate landforms. One of
the most dynamic trends in process geomor­
phology today is identical in focus, and Ahn­
ert 's many papers are perhaps better read
now than ever before. He fortunately
published, and indeed continues to publish,
his results widely in many journals and in
multiple languages.
Ahnert's particular view of the science of
landforms is now available in textbook form
at an introductory level. The central theme of
the book mirrors that of his half-century of
computer and field research: the functional
relationship among form, material, and
process. Using a systems approach and draw­
ing upon a wide range of examples from
around the world, Ahnert links empirical
results to theoretical models of landform
development.
new report could make a difference. "If you do
nothing,"she said,"it surely won't change."
For further information, visit the Web site:
http://www.nationalacademies.org/
presidentialappointments.
Randy Showstack, Staff Writer
The scope of the text is comprehensive,
beginning with six introductory chapters that
lay the groundwork for systems theory, the
nature of endogenic and exogenic processes,
and the types of geologic materials subject to
these processes. From there, Ahnert delves
more deeply into weathering and denudation
with substantially more lengthy chapter cover­
age. A subsequent, very brief chapter on hills-
lope form precedes nine chapters on fluvial
systems that include the typical range of topics
covered in other geomorphology texts: stream
erosion, channel geometry and bedforms, chan­
nel patterns, long stream profiles, river terraces,
stream networks, alluvial fans, and deltas.
The next five chapters treat the other topics
we have come to expect in any geomorphology
text, including peneplains and pediments,
structurally controlled landforms, karst
features, glacial processes and landforms, and
coastal processes and landforms. The final
two chapters are short, touching briefly on
applied geomorphology and the history of
the field of geomorphology itself.
The modular, topical approach of the text and
its accessible writing style make the book quite
suitable for students who are new to Earth
sciences. Numerous maps and diagrams, as well
as a large number of excellent black-and-white
photographs, add much visual interest.
The book has one prominent weakness,
however, in that the modular, comprehensive
approach is almost encyclopedic. A litany of
topics is presented, many of them only briefly,
but with far more detail and bold-faced words
than one would expect an introductory- level
student to know, let alone be exposed to (for
example, trachyte, phonolite, ortho-gneiss,
rankers, rendzinas, pseudogley vauclusian
spring, endorheic stream-resonant words, but
hardly appropriate here). Oddly, despite the
preponderance of superfluous words, the
book has no glossary, which is a must for an
introductory audience.
Reviewer
Dorothy Merritts
Professor of Geosciences
Franklin and Marshall College
Lancaster, Penn., USA