Applied Geomorphology In The Tropics

Contributed articles by geographers, geologists, and geomorphologists on applied geomorphology in honour of Prof. N.K.P. Sinha.

Although similar geomorphic processes take place in other regions, in the tropics these processes operate at different rates and with varying intensities. Tropical geomorphology therefore provides many new discoveries regarding geomorphic processes. This textbook describes both the humid and arid tropics. It provides thoroughly up-to-date concepts and relevant case studies, and emphasises the importance of geomorphology in the management and sustainable development of the tropical environment, including climate change scenarios. The text is supported by a large number of illustrations, including satellite images. Student exercises accompany each chapter. Tropical Geomorphology is an ideal textbook for any course on tropical geomorphology or the tropical environment, and is also invaluable as a reference text for researchers and environmental managers in the tropics.

Many advances have been made in our understanding of tropical geomorphology in recent decades, but the field remains relatively neglected. With current widespread concern about the damage to tropical ecosystems, it is time for a new study of geomorphology in the tropics. The author endeavours to provide a tropical perspective on geomorphology, rather than a compartmentalised "tropical" geomorphology. The importance of weathering and the materials of the weathered mantle in determining the outcome of erosional processes is emphasised. The impact of Quaternary climate changes in creating superficial forms and deposits is stressed as being fundamental in the tropics as in other parts of the world. Nevertheless, the tropical landscape exhibits forms and deposits that have evolved over long time-periods in the absence of frost and ice, justifying an evolutionary approach to the long-term development of landscape. The book is important to a broad spectrum of earth science interests including geotechnical and engineering studies, and soil science, as well as to students of geomorphology. People working in the tropics will encounter the processes and products of tropical denudation systems, and the fragile nature of many of the surface materials discussed in this volume demands a deeper understanding of their behaviour. No other book currently attempts this task and this study fills a serious gap in the literature of geomorphology.

Geomorphological research in the humid to seasonal tropics has primarily concentrated on the most characteristic landform assemblage of this zone, namely that of stepped, largely undissected etchplains, often dotted with inselbergs and cutting across ancient basement rocks. Although the author discusses extensively this subject, he puts particular emphasis on the differences of chemical weathering and land-forming processes on rocks of various lithology and structure. This contrast becomes most evident, when comparing the highly resistant quartzitic sediments often covering the basement rocks with the easily weathered volcanics, e.g. the Deccan traps of India. The book was first published in German in 1987. However, the present version is much more than a translation, encompassing a range of new ideas and findings in the field of tropical geomorphology. The number of maps and illustrations has also been increased.

Geomorphic processes in the tropics; The character and development of tropical terrain; Bibliography; Index.

The tropics provide the key to understanding much biological and Earth science. This is particularly true for the study of landforms, which in higher latitudes suffer great seasonal contrasts in process intensity and type, and which often in the past underwent the dramatic changes of glaciation and periglaciation. Yet studies in the tropics have shown that the legacy of past climate changes is much more dramatic than was formerly believed. This book, first published in 1985, brings together the variety of evidence about such environmental changes, over a variety of timescales, and sets it against the current knowledge of the nature of geomorphic processes in the tropics.