Category Archives: geomorphology

Scenic Saturday: Ropy pahoehoe on a biogenic beach

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

In this inaugural Scenic Saturday post, I offer up very happy volcano/landscape nerd enjoying the stunning geologic scenery on Isabella, Galápagos Islands, July 2011. I was there as a participant in the Chapman Conference on the Galápagos as a Laboratory … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geomorphology, hydrology, photos, volcanoes

Simulating river processes…ooh shiny, stream table!

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

I’ve got a shiny new Emriver Em2 river processes simulator (i.e., stream table), thanks to departmental equipment funds and enthusiastic colleagues. I’ve been on sabbatical this semester and away from campus, so I haven’t had a chance to play with … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geomorphology, public science, science education

Flooding around the world

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

Based on information from The Flood Observatory and other news sources, here are some tidbits about on-going and recent flood events around the world. Every one of these floods is having significant local and regional impacts, even if they don’t … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, geomorphology, hydrology

Edible debris flow

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

Steep hillslopes with loose sediment are at risk from debris flows triggered by heavy rain or rapid snowmelt. As water is added to the hillslope, surface runoff or positive pore water pressure catastrophically destabilizes a portion of the slope. I decided to undertake my own research and investigate the possibilities for an edible analog for debris flows. Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geohazards, geomorphology

Flooding on the flanks of Mt. Hood

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Anne Jefferson

It’s the middle of January. You’ve traveled to Oregon’s majestic Mount Hood for a weekend of skiing the snow- and glacier-covered slopes. On Saturday morning when you begin to head up the mountain from Portland, it’s warm and raining. “No … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geomorphology, hydrology

Ten million feet upon the stair

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Chris Rowan

During my time in Edinburgh, I lived in an apartment in a nice old tenement building: several floors of individual flats, all connected by an internal communal staircase. The building is at least a century old, and because this was … Continue reading →

Categories: deep time, environment, geomorphology

The flat of the land

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Chris Rowan

Just as there are many ways that a landscape can end up being pointy, there are several ways that it can end up being flat. Continue reading →

Categories: geology, geomorphology

The Driftless Area: Fewer glaciers but more topography than the rest of Minnesota

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Anne Jefferson

Tucked into the corner where Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa meet there’s a special area with a Quaternary history that sets it apart from the rest of the northern United States. At the Last Glacial Maximum, the Des Moines lobe lay … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, geomorphology, outcrops, Pleistocene

What do you mean by “hydrogeomorphic processes”? (Some thoughts following my GSA session on the topic.)

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Anne Jefferson

Geomorphologists increasingly recognize that the way water is delivered to and moves through a hillslope, river, or landscape affects surficial processes and geomorphic form. Hydrogeologists recognize that geomorphology drives the spatial and temporal distribution of shallow groundwater. But both groups … Continue reading →

Categories: by Anne, conferences, geomorphology, hydrology

All quiet on the Alpine Fault?

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Chris Rowan

The Alpine fault has not ruptured since European settlement in the 1840s. Paleoseismology tells us that this is the longest it has gone in a millenium without generating a magnitude 8+ earthquake. Continue reading →

Categories: earthquakes, geohazards, geology, geomorphology, tectonics