Post-glacial rock weathering processes on a roche moutonn@e in the Riksgränsen area (68°N), northern Norway

Weathering processes responsible for landscape denudation in Arctic environments are poorly understood. Traditionally, gelifraction has been widely invoked as the dominant weathering process, but empirical support for this is frequently lacking. In Norwegian Lapland, post-glacial weathering has been recently attributed to predominantly biophysical processes, based on field measurements of landscape lowering undertaken by André (1995). The study reported here examined bedrock samples from one of André's sites for mineralogical and chemical transformations since post-glacial exposure. Backscatter scanning electron microscopy reveals extensive mineral grain dissolution and accompanying development of rock porosity. Wavelength dispersive spectroscopy shows these mineral alterations to be the result of the loss of major chemical constituents including Ca, Mg, K, Si, and Al. Chemical weathering is clearly a component of post-glacial landscape denudation in Norwegian Lapland, in addition to the important role of biophysical processes identified by André (1995). Cosmogenic dating of the sampled bedrock surface confirms that much of this weathering has occurred in the last 10,000 years.     

Mineralogical maturity in dunefields of North America, Africa and Australia

Studies of dunefields in central and western North America show that mineralogical maturity can provide new insights into the origin and evolution of aeolian sand bodies. Many of the world's great sand seas in Africa, Asia and Australia are quartz-dominated and thus can be considered to be mineralogically mature. The Algodones (California) and Parker (Arizona) dunes in the southwestern United States are also mature, but have inherited a high degree of mineralogical maturity from quartz-rich sedimentary rocks drained by the Colorado River. In Libya, sediments of the Zallaf sand sea, which are almost pure quartz, may have originated in a similar fashion. The Fort Morgan (Colorado) and Casper (Wyoming) dunefields in the central Great Plains of North America, and the Namib sand sea of southern Africa have an intermediate degree of mineralogical maturity because their sources are large rivers that drained both unweathered plutonic and metamorphic rocks and mature sedimentary rocks. Mojave Desert dunefields in the southwestern United States are quite immature because they are in basins adjacent to plutonic rocks that were their sources. Other dunefields in the Great Plains of North America (those in Nebraska and Texas) are more mature than any possible source sediments and therefore reflect mineralogical evolution over time. Such changes in composition can occur because of either of two opposing long-term states of the dunefield. In one state, dunes are stable for long periods of time and chemical weathering depletes feldspars and other weatherable minerals in the sediment body. In the other state, which is most likely for the Great Plains, abrasion and ballistic impacts deplete the carbonate minerals and feldspars because the dunes are active for longer periods than they are stable.     

Chemical weathering studies in relation to geomorphological research in southeastern Canada

Although chemical weathering provides fundamental information relevant to geomorphology, the subject has been overlooked during the 20th century in Canada. This paper provides an overview of the current state of Canadian research on chemical weathering in southeastern Canada and takes into account three spatial and temporal contexts: (1) the formation of bedrock morphology by chemical weathering, (2) occurrences, characteristics and age of saprolites and (3) contemporary chemical denudation rates. Long-term geomorphological evolution of southeastern Canadian landscapes shows that chemical weathering has played an important role. An example is taken from the Laurentide region of the Canadian Shield north of Montréal (Québec). The present topography resulted from the stripping of the former weathering mantle and from the probable subsequent modification of the weathering front, first by the action of hillslope processes and rivers and then by glaciers, before and during Plio-Pleistocene times. The present landscape reflects the timing of the formation of erosion surfaces, and of the stripping of the Paleozoic cover rocks and exposure of the Shield. Since the late seventies, several isolated occurrences of saprolite-soil profiles have been discovered in eastern Canada and prompted a renewal of the study of these materials about the Cenozoic evolution of these regions. One of the problems in this field of research is the dating of saprolites and their inclusion in a chronostratigraphic framework, along with the other Cenozoic surficial deposits and landforms. Because of the multiple factors involved in the development of secondary minerals in saprolites during the course of weathering, it is preferable to distinguish the dating of saprolites from the study of their mineralogical and geochemical evolution. Fortunately, several new techniques are becoming available for the absolute dating of surficial deposits and saprolites, including the use of cosmogenic radionuclides. Saprolites provide a strong potential field of research for our understanding of the geological evolution of eastern Canada during the Cenozoic. Contemporary weathering and erosion rates are fields of research that have gained increasing interest recently, since modeling landscape geochemical response can be applied to various environmental stress situations, such as acidification by rain and forest harvesting. Rock-type may be the main factor explaining the large differences between watersheds. In fact, variability of cation removal in the temperate zone is probably most closely related to flow-paths of water. Investigations, at different scales, from entire watersheds to slopes to individual pedons, highlight the problem. In the Catamaran Brook watershed (New Brunswick), water chemistry is explained by a mix of groundwater and soil solution from the horizons at the base of the floodplain soils. Geochemical mass-balances based on net outputs give little information on the weathering reactions of primary minerals, the weathering products or on the nature of the weathering processes that provide the dissolved load of streams. Mineralogic and petrographic analysis of selected soil pedons are necessary to determine weathering reactions and their role as sources or sinks for bases, silica, aluminum and iron in the various compartments through which water percolates before it reaches the stream.     

Ensuring the future of the Namib's biodiversity: Ecological restoration as a key management response to a mining boom

The Namib Desert is an ancient desert on the west coast of southern Africa. The Namib has unique endemic biodiversity and scenic landscapes, with a major part contained in the Namib Naukluft Park and the adjacent Dorob National Park, together forming a major tourism attraction in Namibia. There are currently large exploration and mining developments in the central Namib, fuelled by rising global demand for uranium. Mining contributes significantly to the Namibian GDP, but through destruction of habitats and ecological processes, may cause environmental degradation and loss of ecosystem services. Additionally, Namibia stands to lose a significant part of the biological diversity that makes it unique. These direct impacts are occurring in the context of regional climatic changes that are predicted to have their own severe impacts on biodiversity. A number of tools exist to counter these impacts, among which ecological restoration is an important one. Yet the extent of the damage to ecological processes and functions of the Namib, the interactions with climate change and the mechanisms through which the impacts will occur are still not well known. There is thus a crucial need for a better understanding of these arid ecosystems and their response to disturbance, to devise better restoration techniques, and to inform decision makers about management options. This paper analyses the extent of the threats to the central Namib's ecosystems and biodiversity due to mining, identifies critical knowledge gaps for restoration, defines policy needs, and proposes a broad strategy which is intended to be a framework for research, planning and management for sustainable use of this unique desert.     

Spectral properties, iron oxide content and provenance of Namib dune sands

This paper applies multispectral remote sensing techniques to map the Fe-oxide content over the entire Namib sand sea. Spectrometric analysis is applied to field samples to identify the reflectance properties of the dune sands which enable remotely sensed Fe-oxide mapping. The results indicate that the pattern of dune colour in the Namib sand sea arises from the mixing of at least two distinct sources of sand; a red component of high Fe-oxide content (present as a coating on the sand grains) which derives from the inland regions, particularly from major embayments into the Southern African escarpment; and a yellow coastal component of low Fe-oxide content which is brought into the area by northward-moving aeolian transport processes. These major provenances are separated by a mixing zone between 20 km and 90 km from the coast throughout the entire length of the sand sea. Previous workers have also recognised a third, fluvial, provenance, but the methodology applied here is not able to map this source as a distinct spectral component.     

Post-Palaeozoic evolution of weathered landsurfaces in Uganda by tectonically controlled deep weathering and stripping

A model for the evolution of weathered landsurfaces in Uganda is developed using available geotectonic, climatic, sedimentological and chronological data. The model demonstrates the pivotal role of tectonic uplift in inducing cycles of stripping, and tectonic quiescence for cycles of deep weathering. It is able to account for the development of key landforms, such as inselbergs and duricrust-capped plateaux, which previous hypotheses of landscape evolution that are based on climatic or eustatic controls are unable to explain. Development of the Ugandan landscape is traced back to the Permian. Following late Palaeozoic glaciation, a trend towards warmer and more humid climates through the Mesozoic enabled deep weathering of the Jurassic/mid-Cretaceous surface in Uganda during a period of prolonged tectonic quiescence. Uplift associated with the opening South Atlantic Ocean terminated this cycle and instigated a cycle of stripping between the mid-Cretaceous and early Miocene. Deep weathering on the succeeding Miocene to recent (African) surface has occurred from Miocene to present but has been interrupted in the areas adjacent to the western rift where development of a new drainage base level has prompted cycles of stripping in the Miocene and Pleistocene.     

Planation surfaces in Northern Ethiopia

Planation surfaces are an old-fashioned topic in geomorphology, but they are nevertheless important where they make up much of the landscape. Northern Ethiopia is largely a stepped topography, caused by differential erosion. Exhumation of old planation surfaces that were preserved under sedimentary or volcanic cover is an important process in landscape evolution. The oldest planation surface is of early Palaeozoic age (PS1); the second is Late Triassic (PS2); and the third is of Early Cretaceous age (PS3). The Oligocene Trap Volcanics buried a surface (PS4) of early Tertiary age, which is now widely exposed by erosion as a surface that, where flat enough, is an exhumed planation surface. The surfaces do not relate to the supposed Africa-wide pediplain sequence of King [King, L.C., 1975. Planation surfaces upon highlands. Z. Geomorph. NF 20 (2), 133–148.], either in mode of formation and age. Although the region is tropical, there is scarce evidence of deep weathering and few indications that the surfaces could be regarded as etchplains. These surfaces indicate that eastern Africa underwent long episodes of tectonic quiescence during which erosion processes were able to planate the surface at altitudes not too far from sea level. Only after the onset of rifting processes, uplift became active and transformed a vast lowland plain into the present Ethiopian highlands, largely exceeding 2500 m a.s.l. Some hypotheses and speculations on the genesis of these surfaces are considered here.     

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF LATE QUATERNARY PARAGLACIAL ROCK-SLOPE FAILURES ON SKIDDAW GROUP TERRAIN, LAKE DISTRICT, NORTHWEST ENGLAND

ABSTRACT. Eight relict rock-slope failures (RSFs) on Skiddaw Group terrain in the Lake District, northwest England, are described. Five of the failures are rockslides, one is a product of slope deformation, and two are compound features with evidence for sliding and deformation in different sectors. As none appears to have been overrun and modified by glacier ice it is concluded that they all post-date the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM ; c. 21 ± 3 cal. ka bp ). Slope stress readjustments resulting from glacial and deglacial influences are considered to have weakened the slopes, and application of the term paraglacial is appropriate. Permafrost aggradation and degradation, seismic activity and fluvial erosion are among processes that may have contributed to failure at certain sites. The failures are significant as potential debris sources during future ice advances, contributing to valley widening and cirque enlargement and, possibly, for acting as sites of cirque initiation. Previously, Skiddaw Group rocks have been regarded as homogeneous and of limited resistance to the weathering and erosion associated with Quaternary glacial, periglacial and fluvial processes. These characteristics and processes have been used to explain the steep smooth slopes and rounded hills that dominate Skiddaw Group terrain. Rock-slope failure has also helped shape this terrain and should be incorporated in future interpretations of landscape development.     

Deciphering a non-glacial/glacial landscape mosaic in the northern Swedish mountains

Relict surfaces contain information on past surface processes and long-term landscape evolution. A detailed investigation of relict non-glacial surfaces in a formerly glaciated mountain landscape of northern Sweden was completed, based on interpretation of colour infrared aerial photographs, analysis in a GIS, and fieldwork. Working backwards from landscape to process, surfaces were classified according to large- and small-scale morphologies that result from the operation of non-glacial processes, the degree of weathering, regolith characteristics, and the style of glacial modification. Surfaces were also compared in the GIS according to elevation, slope angle, and bedrock lithology. The study revealed five types of relict non-glacial surfaces but also two types of extensively weathered glacial surfaces that were transitional to relict non-glacial surfaces, illustrating spatially variable processes and rates of non-glacial and glacial landscape evolution. Rather than being static preglacial remnants, relict non-glacial surfaces are dynamic features that have continued to evolve during the Quaternary. The classification provides hypotheses for landscape evolution that can be field tested through, for example, terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide studies and geochemical analyses of fine matrix materials. The classification may be applicable to relict non-glacial surfaces in other formerly glaciated landscapes.     

景观演化特征指数及其应用

随着中国城市化建设的快速推进,城市蔓延式增长和生态空间持续性萎缩成为普遍的现象,以地表硬化为主要特征的城市景观格局变化得到广泛关注,而景观扩张指数(Landscape Expansion Index, LEI)是测度这一现象的重要工具。但在新型城镇化背景下,由于大城市空间结构调整优化以及城市绿化率的提高,硬化地景观的收缩与消亡已成为城市景观演变的另一重要形式,因此亟需新的有效手段来刻画城市发展的新特征。在此背景下,本文在LEI指数的基础上,提出景观演化特征指数(Landscape Evolution Characteristic Index, LECI),尝试综合描述城镇化过程中硬化地景观斑块扩张与收缩的动态特征;并基于邻域特征计算的景观演化特征指数,包括景观演化模式识别指数(Landscape Evolution Pattern Index, LEPI)和景观演化规模指数(Landscape Evolution Area Index, LEAI),协同分析两个或多个时相景观格局演变过程中的斑块新生与消亡。本文将LECI指数应用于武汉都市发展区1990-2010年期间的城市硬化地景观演变过程中,与基于最小包围盒的景观扩张指数(LEI)对比分析,结果表明：①LEPI能准确识别不同规模和形状斑块的空间扩张模式,LEAI能够较好反映斑块扩张强度并表征景观扩张方向;②LEPI能有效识别城市景观演变中消亡斑块的湮灭模式,研究区内硬化地景观消亡现象明显加剧,可能与政府加强城市内部改造及绿化建设有关;③LECI指数变化分析发现,武汉都市发展区研究期内的城市景观扩张强度有所放缓,飞地式和边缘式空间增长构成斑块演变的主体,城市硬化地景观扩张模式在空间上呈现明显的梯度分异规律,随距主城区的远近呈现填充式/包围式、边缘式/邻接式到飞地式/孤立式的演替。     

The Evolution of the Morphological Framework of the Central Namib Desert, Namibia, Since the Early Cretaceous

The Central Namib Desert in Namibia is a hyper-arid area which was greatly affected by tectonic changes in the Early Cretaceous, associated with the opening up of the South Atlantic Ocean, continental fragmentation of West Gondwanaland and the movement of a major mantle plume (the Tristan Plume). These events led to the formation of a range of subvolcanic complexes – the so-called Damaraland Complexes – and to the deposition of flood basalts – the Etendeka Lavas. The Damaraland Complexes include some striking inselberg features of great size, including Erongo, Brandberg and Spitzkoppe. The Great Escarpment, which bounds the Central Namib to landward, is of uncertain age, but it appears to have experienced a substantial degree of erosion by the Late Cretaceous. The feature is rather less well developed and persistent in the Central Namib than elsewhere in southern Africa. It is probable that the Namib has been dry for much of the last 130 Ma, and there is evidence for aridity in the early Cretaceous and in the mid-Tertiary.     

Landforms and landscape evolution in the Skardu,Shigar and Braldu Valleys,Central Karakoram

The Central Karakoram, which includes K2 in Pakistan, is one of the most rapidly rising areas on Earth and exhibits complex topography and extreme relief. Impressive valley fills and glacial landforms are present throughout the valleys. The dynamics of landscape evolution of the region are currently not well understood. Consequently, the landforms were mapped and assessed in the Skardu, Shigar, and Braldu valleys, to elucidate the spatio-temporal scale dependencies of surface processes active in the region. These valleys were examined using geomorphic field methods, remote sensing, geomorphometry, and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCNs) surface exposure dating. The glaciers in this region have oscillated considerably throughout the Late Quaternary, and four glacial stages have been recognized including at least six glacial advances. Surface processes readjusted after glacier retreat, and ubiquitous mass movements and catastrophic landsliding transported material from steep slopes to valley bottoms, while glaciofluvial meltwater and glacier outburst floods redistributed sediment down valley. Glacier geochronology and late Holocene ages of the outburst flood deposits indicate that landscape evolution has been dominated by glaciation and paraglaciation during the late Quaternary.     

Teaching about relict, no-analog landscapes

Only a few very young landforms are the result of currently operating geomorphic processes. Because the time scale for landscape evolution is much longer than the time scale for late Cenozoic climate changes, almost all landscapes are palimpsests, written over repeatedly by various combinations of climate-determined processes. Relict glacial and periglacial landforms are widely identified in mid-latitude regions that have been traditionally described as having been shaped by the “normal” processes of fluvial erosion. Less confidently, deeply weathered regolith and associated relict landforms in the middle and high latitudes are attributed to early Tertiary warmth. However, assemblages of geomorphic processes specific to certain climatic regions, like faunal and floral assemblages, cannot be translated across latitude, so in spite of the many books about the geomorphology of specific modern climate regions, there are few sources that discuss former warm high-latitude, or cold low-latitude, low-altitude geomorphic processes that have no modern analogs. Students and teachers alike who attempt to interpret landforms by extrapolating modern climatic conditions to other latitudinal zones will find their outlook broadened, and they become better prepared to consider the geomorphic impacts of global climate change.     

FLARED SLOPES REVISITED

Flared slopes are smooth concavities caused by subsurface moisture-generated weathering in the scarp-foot zone of hillslopes or boulders. They are well represented in granitic terrains but also developed in other massive materials such as limestone, sandstone, dacite, rhyolite, and basalt, as well as other plutonic rocks. Notches, cliff-foot caves, and swamp slots are congeners of flared slopes. Though a few bedrock flares are conceivably caused by nivation or by a combination of coastal processes, most are two-stage or etch forms. Appreciation of the origin of these forms has permitted their use in the identification and measurement of recent soil erosion and an explanation of natural bridges. Their mode of development is also germane to the origin of the host inselberg or bornhardt and, indeed, to general theories of landscape evolution. But certain discrepancies have been noted concerning the distribution and detailed morphology of flared slopes. Such anomalies are a result of structural factors (sensu lato), of variations in size of catchment and in degree of exposure, and of several protective factors. Notwithstanding, the original explanation of flared slopes stands, as do their wider implications. [Key words: flared slope, inselberg, soil erosion, weathering, fractures.]     

丹霞山陡坡上风化洞穴的基本特征及成因探讨

风化洞穴在全球不同气候区广泛发育,其形成过程和主控因素是地貌学研究的热点问题,但形成机制至今仍存在不少争议,尤其对丹霞地貌区风化洞穴的研究还较少。丹霞山是世界自然遗产地“中国丹霞”的典型代表,陡坡上发育形态和规模各异的风化洞穴,是丹霞地貌的重要景观要素,为认识亚热带湿润气候风化洞穴成因提供了良好的机会。文章以丹霞山砾岩和砂岩陡坡上的5处典型风化洞穴为研究对象,利用野外考察、形态测量、气象监测、样品显微观察及盐化学实验等方法,在已有研究的基础上进一步对湿润气候丹霞地貌区风化洞穴的特征和成因进行探讨。结果表明：1）在砾岩中发育的洞穴一般个体形态较大,洞穴具有较明显的向上和向内生长趋势;砂岩中发育的洞穴大多密集排列,形态较小,常具有蜂巢结构。2）岩石性质是洞穴发育的基本影响因素,在宏观尺度上决定了洞穴的发育位置和排列方式,也决定了不同岩性下发育的风化洞穴的形态特征。在微观尺度上,岩石含有较多长石、钙质胶结物等易溶矿物组分,在酸性雨水渗流过程中发生化学溶解,加上盐结晶作用导致岩石微观结构破坏,诱发洞穴初始形成。3）洞穴尺寸变大后,洞穴内适宜的微气候是洞穴演化的关键因素,为水和盐的聚集及盐风化提...     

地理环境因素对伊洛河流域森林景观的影响

地理环境因素是引起区域森林景观动态变化的主要原因。运用景观生态学的基本原理,借助于地理信息系统技术,分析了自1983年以来伊洛河流域洛宁县森林景观的动态变化。结果显示,森林景观类型总面积呈增加趋势,从1983年的960.34km²增加到1999年的1175.00km²。景观空间动态变化上,森林景观类型转化为非森林景观类型部分主要位于海拔500~1000m的低山区,海拔大于1000m的地区森林景观类型变化较小,而非森林景观类型转化为森林景观类型主要集中在海拔高度小于500m的塬陵区和川涧区。通过建立森林景观类型动态变化与相应高程、坡度、距离居民点中心的远近和与森林边缘距离之间的相互关系,分析了与上述地理环境因素之间的相关性,表明森林景观类型动态变化与上述地理环境因素之间有显著相关关系。     

Rock control on microweathering of bedrock surfaces in a periglacial environment

Microweathering of ice-smoothed bedrock surfaces was investigated in the Røldal area of Hardanger Plateau (60°), southern Norway. Postglacial rates of weathering were determined from surface lowering using quartz veins as reference surfaces. Weathering processes are inferred from assessment of weathering rind formation, surface hardness, and the preservation of small-scale glacial erosional features.Surface lowering rates for a range of metamorphic rocks vary from 0.05 to 2.20 mm ka^− 1 and are broadly comparable with those obtained from crystalline rocks in other periglacial environments. The mean rate of surface lowering at 0.55 mm ka^− 1 is low and demonstrates the relatively small impact of microweathering on postglacial landscape evolution. Variations in bedrock microweathering can be explained by lithological variation. Amphibolite and mica-rich bedrock surfaces experience greater denudation and weakening, least weathering rind formation, and abundant preservation of glacial striae, despite greater surface lowering. Conversely, quartz-rich bedrock surfaces are most resistant to denudation and weakening, but have greater weathering rind formation and fewer preserved striae. Postglacial microweathering is achieved primarily through granular disintegration involving detachment and removal of mineral grains and weakening from increased porosity. Granular decomposition is manifest in the formation of weathering rinds. Analysis of interactions between weathering indices indicates that rind accumulation is limited by microerosion.A conceptual model is proposed that illustrates the temporal interrelationships between in situ and erosional facets of microweathering in two contrasting mineral assemblages. The model proposes that cyclic processes of in situ disintegration, decomposition, and erosion are at work. The relative balance between these processes varies with lithology so that in more resistant quartz-rich rocks the net effect is minimal surface lowering and accumulation of weathering rind. In weaker, amphibolitic and micaceous rocks, the net effect is greater surface lowering and minimal accumulation of weathering rind. The results of the research demonstrate the important influence of rock properties, notably mineral composition, in postglacial microweathering of crystalline bedrock in a periglacial environment.     

Ecology and spatial patterns of large-scale vegetation units within the central Namib Desert

This article offers a review of published knowledge and a new state-of-the-art analysis regarding the floristic composition, the functional composition and the plant communities found in the central Namib Desert. At the same time, this paper contributes to the understanding of the relationship between the plant species composition of the central Namib Desert and the prevailing environmental gradients, with an emphasis on diversity and ecology in space and time. This article builds on three thematic foci. The first focus (1) lies on the present knowledge of the composition and the characteristics of the flora. A comprehensive floristic database has been compiled based on all available sources. A second focus (2) lies on the characterization and spatial distribution of the vegetation units. Therefore, we created a new vegetation classification based on a unique vegetation-plot database (http://www.givd.info/ID/AF-00-007) and additional data summing up to 2000 relevés, resulting in 21 large-scale vegetation classes. Using a supervised classification approach based on the vegetation classification, remote sensing and environmental data, we were able to produce a new vegetation map of the Central Namib. This was updated using expert knowledge, field visits and through manual preprocessing. With the third focus (3) we explore the spatial patterns of the previous foci and discuss their relation to environmental parameters and gradients.     

Climate controls on late Pleistocene landscape evolution of the Okhombe valley, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Hillslopes in central and western parts of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa are often mantled by colluvial sediments of the Masotcheni Formation. These sediments have accreted in response to several cycles of deposition, pedogenesis and incomplete erosion. Climatic controls on these cycles are incompletely known. Results from fieldwork, micromorphology, stable carbon isotope analysis and Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating of Masotcheni Formation sediments from Okhombe valley in the Drakensberg foothills are combined. Deposition in the area had at least 11 phases, starting before 42 ka and ending before 0.17 ka. The first six deposits (from before 42 ka to after 29 ka) resulted from the interplay between slope processes and fluvial redistribution under cold conditions. Solifluction was the most important slope process. No deposits have been found from the Last Glacial Maximum, arguably because this period was too dry. The last five deposits (from about 11 ka to before 0.17 ka) resulted from fluvial redistribution of upslope material and older deposits under increasing precipitation. Current extreme gully erosion in the Masotcheni Formation indicates a lack of available upslope material, leaving downslope deposits as the only sediment source for fluvial redistribution. This model for landscape response to climate change may be able to explain how climate controlled landscape processes in other Masotcheni Formation sites in KwaZulu-Natal. In the research area and elsewhere, this proposition may be tested with numerical landscape evolution models.     

Griffith Taylor and the SE Australian highlands: issues of data sources and testability in interpretations of long‐term drainage history and landscape evolution

Much of the current research on long‐term landscape evolution and drainage history in SE Australia is built in one way or another on the early work of Griffith Taylor. The controversy prompted by several attempts to incorporate Taylor's work in recent plate tectonics interpretations of the long‐term evolution of SE Australia highlights differences of opinion as to the appropriate methodologies for such investigations. These questions, including the issues of data sources in reconstructions of long‐term landscape history, testability of such reconstructions, and the relationship between the landscape history so reconstructed and larger‐scale, regional landscape histories, appear not to have been addressed in recent literature on geomorphological methodology. This literature notes the demise of critical rationalism and appears to espouse a strongly relativist viewpoint, which relies on the shared understanding among the discipline's practitioners as to what are appropriate data sources and tests for hypotheses of long‐term landscape evolution. This offers little hope for resolution of the current disputes about the evolution of the drainage systems of SE Australia, but puts the onus squarely on us, the practitioners, to develop shared understandings of the appropriate data sources and tests for our hypotheses and grand schemes of the type so favoured by Griffith Taylor.