GEOB 103:

Water and
Landscapes

Week 13

Outline

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of GEOB 103: Water and Landscapes

Landscape
Evolution

Week 13

Ch. 14. LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
OUTLINE
Week 13

Outline

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
Factors of Landscape Evolution

Models of Landscape Evolution

 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Factors of Landscape Evolution
Week 13

Outline Factors affecting landscape evolution (LSE)

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Factors of Landscape Evolution
Week 13

Outline

Factors of
Factors affecting landscape evolution (LSE)
Landscape
Evolution
1.Tectonics
Models of
2.Climate
Landscape 3.Topography
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Factors of Landscape Evolution
Week 13

Outline
Factors affecting landscape evolution (LSE)
Factors of
Landscape 4.Geology
Evolution
5.Biology
Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Factors of Landscape Evolution
Week 13

Outline Response time

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Models of Landscape Evolution
Week 13
Conceptual Models of LSE
Outline The Davis cycle
Factors of Uplift: youth, maturity, old age
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Models of Landscape Evolution
Week 13
Conceptual Models of LSE
Outline
Adding ideas about tectonic processes and isostatic
Factors of
Landscape
compensation leads us to: transient (non-equil. landscapes) and
Evolution steady state (equil. landscapes, where detail changes, but
Models of general characteristics are stable).
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Models of Landscape Evolution
Week 13
Mathematical Models
Outline process models: force balances Ñ movement of a flood wave,
Factors of distribution of landslides in an area
transport ”laws”: sediment transport rates ÐÑ key variables
Landscape
Evolution

Models of eg. diffusive transport

Landscape Qs  DS n (1)
Evolution
where diffusive transport rate (qs ), topographic slope (S), D is a
constant and n an exponent. Equilibrium landscapes dominated by
this relation are convex.
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Models of Landscape Evolution
Week 13
Mathematical Models
Outline
transport ”laws”
Factors of
Landscape eg. advective transport (flowing water)
Evolution

Models of
Qs  KAm S n (2)
Landscape
Evolution where advective transport rate (qs ), slope (S), drainage area (A),
K is a constant and m and n some exponents. Equilibrium
landscapes are concave.
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Models of Landscape Evolution
Week 13
Mathematical Models
Outline
transport ”laws”
Factors of
Landscape Diffusive processes fill in channels. Advective ones cut channels
Evolution into hillslopes
Models of Lanscapes reflect a competition between these two!
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Models of Landscape Evolution
Week 13
Mathematical Models
Outline transport ”laws”
Factors of Factors that cause K Ò, Ñ more dissected
Landscape
Evolution Factors Ñ D Ò Ñ less dissected
Models of If U Ò, advective qs increases faster than diffusive qs , so landscape
Landscape become more dissected
Evolution

Tellus - 3D Forward Stratigraphic & Geomorphological Model

 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Rates of Landscape Processes
Week 13
Hypsometry
Outline

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Rates of Landscape Processes
Week 13
Hypsometry
Outline

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Rates of Landscape Processes
Week 13

Outline

Factors of
Hypsometry
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Rates of Landscape Processes
Week 13
Hypsometry
Outline

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution
 GEOB 103:
Water and
Landscapes
Rates of Landscape Processes
Week 13
Hypsometry
Outline

Factors of
Landscape
Evolution

Models of
Landscape
Evolution

In young landscapes erosion is focussed over gullies, affecting

only a small part of the landscape.
In mature landscapes, erosion is distributed through out, and
rivers are linked to mountain tops by hillslopes.