GEO 347 CLIMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY
Instructions:
Answer FOUR (4) questions for full credit. Answers must be typed, diagrams properly labeled, and any equations and their terms defined. Hand written text answers will not be graded. Hand drawn figures and equations are acceptable, provided they are scanned and inserted into your document.
So that your answers are concise and you don’t spend an inappropriate amount of time on this assignment, each typed answer must fit within the confines of two (2) pages (8 ½ x 11 inches, one-inch margins, single-spaced text, Times-Roman 12 point), including equations, diagrams, and references cited (see below). A completed work will be at most eight (8) pages in length. Diagrams are to be numbered with an explanatory caption and cited in the body of your text.
Please upload your completed work in PDF format.
Aids allowed: It should be possible to answer all questions using the lecture notes and course text. You are welcome to use other sources if they are published and can be cited. In any case you must provide your own, unique answers in your own words. There is to be no direct quoting of any amount of text from any source. Cite all references you use besides than the lecture notes and the textbook. You don’t have to cite our lecture notes or textbook.
Climatic Geomorphology Questions
(10 points each for a total of 40 points):
1) Two major mechanisms of surface runoff are infiltration excess overland flow (Horton type) and saturation excess overland flow (Dunne type). Describe with the aid of diagrams the processes involved in the generation of runoff from each mechanism. Suggest how one might predict which mechanism is most important in a given location. Explain how it can be difficult to reconstruct the mechanism that was dominant during the formation of a now fully developed and stabilized channel network.
2) The sedimentary record in rocks and surface deposits of unconsolidated materials can provide clues about past fluvial environments in which the materials were carried and deposited. Describe the sorts of clues one would look for and what these clues would indicate in terms of the climate in which the materials were deposited. Use diagrams where appropriate.
3) The interactions between forest or woodland ecosystems and fluvial processes are important in both humid and semi-arid climates. Discuss, with reference to examples that we have used in class, how these interactions are expressed both in terms of immediate and long-term response to flood events. Give at least one example both humid and semi-arid climates.
4) Planners for Raccoon City have asked you to provide expert knowledge on alluvial fans. The City has been expanding rapidly onto its adjacent alluvial fan, and the planners would like to know the advantages and disadvantages of continuing this trend. Prepare your briefing using case studies of other cities that have grown on their respective alluvial fans. Include descriptions of typical morphological and hydraulic properties of alluvial fans. Your report should be scientific in nature, build logically from facts, and contain no editorial commentary (i.e., no opinion).
5) Humans have populated regions in which the fluvial geomorphic settings pose hazards for construction and engineering projects. Discuss the extent to which the potential hazards are due to intrinsic versus extrinsic thresholds. Build your discussion around case studies spanning (1) humid and (2) semi-arid fluvial landscapes and processes. Compare and contrast the different systems you have identified.
6) What are “megafloods” and how do they compare hydraulically to “normal” channel development processes? Explain how these events proceed using diagrams and/or equations as deemed appropriate. How do such events compare to modern sporadic events such as dam breaches or Jökulhlaups?
à Did you remember to label diagrams and formulae?