Lindley Hanson's List: Geomorphology Exercises

Map interpretation is of two types: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative map interpretation stresses the overall aspect of a map: are the slopes gentle or steep, is the climate moist or arid, does there appear to be strong structural control or not? These questions and others can be answered best through experience, through comparison of the map at hand with many other examples, and through the recognition of anomalous features which serve to differentiate the map at hand from those other examples.

Quantitative interpretation, on the other hand, answers different questions. What are the slope angles? What is the density of perennial streams? To what degree is there a preferred orientation to features on the map? Although these questions are similar, they differ by the introduction of a measurable quantity - length, volume, frequency - to the analysis.

Neither qualitative nor quantitative analysis alone is sufficient for the understanding of topography. Both can enhance your understanding of the resisting bedrock and its structures, the processes of erosion and their deposits, and the effect of time in the evolution of a landscape. The following pages review and introduce techniques for numerical analysis of topography. Following this introduction there is a series of exercises incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, and applying them to varied landscapes.

Water Erosion Prediction Project

The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model is a process-based, distributed parameter, continuous simulation, erosion prediction model for use on personal computers running Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/Vista. The current model version (v2008.907) available for download is applicable to hillslope erosion processes (sheet and rill erosion), as well as simulation of the hydrologic and erosion processes on small watersheds. Included in the download package is the WEPP model (version 2008.907), WEPP Windows interface (December 2008), CLIGEN climate generators (versions 4.3 and 5.3), documentation and example data.