Upland Adjustment to Regional Drainage in Central Pennsylvania: An Application of Trend Surface Analysis

Abstract

The use of quantitative measurements in geography has increased rapidly throughout the 1960s, and will probably continue to accelerate. It is unfortunate that those with limited mathematical backgrounds have felt intimidated by this new methodology. Even more regrettable is the fact that few quantifiers have attempted to make their work more palatable to a wider audience. The method of trend surface analysis employed here to explore an old problem—peneplanation—has many other potential applications in geographic research. The author believes that no geographer should feel intimidated by mathematical symbolism. An attempt is made to “talk-through” the technique of spatial trend analysis—one of many measurement tools already or shortly available to geography teachers and high school students via remote terminals linked to university computing centers. In addition, the concepts of the Erosion Cycle and upland accordance are reviewed and evaluated in the light of new evidence trend surface analysis now makes possible.