LONG-TERM

GEOMORPHOLOGY
LONG-TERM
GEOMORPHOLOGY

Is the study of landforms

that are of mostly pre-
Quaternary, Cenozoic,
Mesozoic or even Paleozoic
age.
TERMINOLOGIES ON LONG-
TERM GEOMORPHOLOGY

Surface Relict and Terms for

related preglacial stepped
terms landforms surfaces
 • Surface - Is a term that is very
versatile thus, it is widely used in

SURFAC geomorphological literature. It is

defined as the outermost boundary

E- •
of any material body.
Erosion Surface – refers to a

RELATE surface that is formed by removal

of materials. This term is used for

D TERMS plain surfaces that have been

eroded down to a base level. (Does
not include weathering and mass
wasting.)
 •
SURFAC
Denudation surface – is formed by
erosion processes but emphasizes
on weathering and mass wasting.
E- These surfaces can have a relief of
up to several hundred of meters.

RELATE • Etch surface – described as a flat

land surfaces that had been
D TERMS chemically weathered and
denudated as a result of land uplift.
 • Peneplain – a nearly featureless
surface with low relief and forms by
SURFAC downwearing of slopes to base
level after land uplift. Downwearing

E- occurs through constant valley

widening and slope decline. Since a

RELATE peneplain is a nearly featureless

surface it is hard to identify by
appearance thus, the genesis is
D TERMS important. (Occasional residual
hills called “monadnocks” can be
present)
 • Pediplain – A low relief surface at a
foot of an elevated feature (hill or a

SURFAC mountain) Residual hills called

“Inselbergs” are occasionally present.
It is formed by parallel slope retreat.
E- • Planation surface - are land surfaces
modelled by surface or near-surface
RELATE wear on a rock mass, where the
result of the wear is reasonably

D TERMS plane. This makes planation surface

a less specific term for a plain
surface that can be used in case the
genesis of the surface is unclear.
 • Palaeosurface – A surface of either
exogenic or endogenic origin that
SURFAC has prehistoric characteristics as a
result of its evolution, displays the

E- effects of surface alteration

resulting from a prolonged period

RELATE of weathering, erosion, or non-

deposition. Two criteria for
palaeosurface is the conflict of
D TERMS present climatic conditions and
development prior to a tectonic
event.
 • Exhumed Surface - any long-term

SURFAC geomorphology surface that has

been covered by, for example,
Paleozoic or Mesozoic rocks and
E- then successively been uncovered
or exhumed. Two geomorphological
RELATE relevance is that First, during the
time when a base level surface is

D TERMS covered, this surface will be

preserved and second a relative
age can be set to the surface.
RELICT AND
PREGLACIAL
LANDFORMS
• The term “relict landform”
from a non-glacial-
geomorphological
perspective.
• The term “relict landform”
from a glacial-
geomorphological
perspective.
• Preglacial landform
 THE TERM “RELICT LANDFORM” FROM A
NON-GLACIAL-GEOMORPHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE.

• A relict landform is a landform that was formed by

processes no longer operating today. Thus, relict landforms
are remnants of the past, when different climatic conditions
prevailed.
Examples: volcanic cones, abandoned strandlines, and fixed
sand dunes.
 THE TERM “RELICT LANDFORM” FROM A GLACIAL-
GEOMORPHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE.

• describe a relict landform, as surface that was ice-covered but not

modified, regardless of whether it is formed subaerially or glacially
from an older flow phase.
• Landforms can survive with little or no deformation under ice sheets
and ice caps if the ice is continuously frozen to the ground.
Example: inactive stone rivers from climates on the fringe of glaciers
 PREGLACIAL LANDFORM

• a landform that was formed prior to a specified glaciation.

• a preglacial landform neither has to be developed in a climate
different from todays, nor does it have to be preserved during
glaciation.
TERMS FOR STEPPED
SURFACE

Paleic Muddus
Surface Plains
 • Observed with shallow valleys

PALEIC
and a smooth undulating surface,
deeply incised by younger valleys.
• Paleic surface does not consist of

SURFACE
only one surface, but two.
• Is an erosion surface of gentle
slopes that exist in South
Norway.
MUDDUS
PLAINS
• Is a landscape type in
northern Sweden
characterized by its flat
topography dotted with
inselbergs.
CLASSIFICATION

Landforms
Landforms
defined by ancient
defined by
age and
genesis and
preservation to
appearance
the present.
LANDFORMS DEFINED BY GENESIS AND
APPEARANCE
LANDFORMS DEFINED
BY ANCIENT AGE AND
PRESERVATION TO
THE PRESENT
HOW
GEOMORPHOLOGY
INDICATE GLOBAL
CHANGE
HOW WEATHERING AND RIVERS, VALLEYS,
DERIVED SEDIMENTS AND DELTAS
GEOMORPHOL
OGY INDICATE
GLOBAL
CHANGE

MOUNTAINS CLIMATE
 WEATHERING AND
DERIVED SEDIMENTS
• A great deal of evidence is now available about weathering back to the
Cretaceous and beyond.
• In present-day streams around Canberra, Australia, for instance, the
bedload consists of pebbles of granite, schist, sandstone and quartz.
But ancient gravels in the same area, preserved on terraces, contain
only quartz. At the time the old gravels were laid down the whole
landscape was so deeply weathered that only quartz veins were
providing pebble-sized material to the streams. This suggests that at
that time deep weathering profiles covered the entire catchment.
RIVERS, VALLEYS,
AND DELTAS

• Landscape evolution can often

be traced through river
patterns, because many major
rivers and valleys have existed
on a time-scale comparable
with that of tectonics, deep
regolith formation, and
continental drift.
 MOUNTAINS
• Mountain building creates landforms directly, essentially by
vertical uplift, and in many areas, there appears to have been
considerable planation of the landscape before uplift.
• Uplift of a plain creates a plateau, and many mountains are
plateaus, or dissected remnants of plateaus.
• The age of uplift can sometimes be determined. Such as the
Swiss Alps of today were produced by strong uplift in the
Pleistocene, accompanied by strong glaciation.
 CLIMATE
• In the Cretaceous and early Tertiary, the climate on Earth was
warm and wet, with little regional variation. This was replaced by
a more vaned climate, with colder and drier areas, and in the
past 3 or 4 MYA the Earth grew so cold that ice ages occurred.
• One possibility is the changing positions of landmasses and
seas. Simple change in latitude might reasonably be thought to
be a basic feature in climatic change.
END OF
PRESENTATION