Chapter 22 Applications in Geomorphology

Abstract

Publisher Summary Geomorphology may be defined as the science, which studies the nature and history of landforms, and the processes that created them. This chapter focuses on the uses of digital elevation models (DEMs) for geomorphological mapping that is, extraction of geological and geomorphological features out of DEMs. Basic concepts in geomorphology include the magnitude and frequency of processes, spatial scales of landforms and processes, temporal scales of adjustment, equilibrium and historical inheritance, relations between internal and external processes, and the sediment cascade. Most of these involve the use of geomorphometric measures, increasingly from DEMs. A major application of geomorphometry in geomorphological studies is the automated extraction of geological/hydrological features and landforms. Using a small case study, the chapter demonstrates various approaches to extraction of predefined, generic, and empirically defined landform objects. It has also shown that geomorphometry has gone beyond the experimental stage and produced many substantive results in geomorphology.