Geology and Geomorphology Engineering
AL-Albayt UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Engineering
Surveying Engineering Department
Dr. Hussein Harahsheh
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Chapter 7
Geomorphology
Lecture 15
Dr. Hussein Harahsheh Geology and Geomorphology Engineering – Al Albayt University
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Fundamentals of Geomorphology
Definitions:
• Geomorphology is the study, analysis and understanding of
landforms and landscapes, including systematic description,
classification, origin, development, history of planetary
surfaces, and the processes that change them.
– Landscapes are surfaces composed of an assemblage of subjectively
defined components.
– Landform is an element of landscape that can be observed in its entity,
and has consistence of form or regular change of form.
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Quaternary: Geological Period of 1.8 ma
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GEOMORPHIC PROCESSES
Terrestrial Processes Extra-terrestrial Processes
Exogenetic Processes Endogenetic Processes
i. Weathering i. Faulting and Folding
ii. Erosion/Degradation ii. Volcanism
iii. Transportation iii. Earthquake
iv. Deposition/Aggradation iv. Landslide
v. Mass movement v. Diastrophism
vi. Metamorphism
Denudation
•Physical Weathering
•Chemical Weathering
•Biological Weathering
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Types of Geomorphic Processes
❑ Geomorphic Processes
A. Terrestrial processes
B. Extra-terrestrial processes, e.g. fall of meteorite
(mass/rock from outer space).
Terrestrial processes
1. Exogenetic / Exogenous Processes
2. Endogenetic / Endogenous Processes
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Extra-terrestrial processes,
e.g. fall of meteorite
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Types of Geomorphic Processes
(Cont…)
Exogenetic/Exogenous Processes
Outer geomorphological processes = exogenetic processes (solar
radiation, wind, temperature changes, water) create relief
sculptures, surface features.
Exogenetic Processes
Endogenetic Processes
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Types of Geomorphic Processes
Endogenetic Processes
(Cont…)
Inner geomorphological processes = endogenetic processes
(earthquakes, volcanoes, folding and faulting) create rough
features of the Earth´s relief. e.g. oceanic basins, mountain
ranges, oceanic ridges and trenches, rift valleys, folds, faults
Exogenetic
and volcanoes, etc. Processes
Endogenetic
Processes
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Basic difference between the two process
• Processes that are caused by forces from within the
Earth are endogenous processes.
• By contrast, exogenous processes come from forces
on or above the Earth's surface.
Endogenic Processes Exogenic Processes
Originate in the interior of the earth. Originate on the surface of the earth.
Causes sudden or rapid movements Causes slow movements.
Eg: Earthquake, faulting, diastrophism Eg: Erosional and Depositional
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Types of Exogenetic / Exogenous Processes
i. Weathering
ii. Erosion/ Degradation
iii. Transportation
iv. Deposition/Aggradation
v. Mass movement
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Weathering
• The weathering is a process by which the rocks on the surface
of the earth is broken mechanically into pieces due to snow or
frost, the variation of temperature and pressure or due to
chemical (dissolution) action on the materials.
• Even the rocks are dislodged by the animals. But the rocks
weathered this way, are not transported elsewhere.
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Erosion
• Erosion and transportation are accomplished together.
• The process by which the rocks of the earth’s crust are eroded by the river, wind,
glacier, ocean currents etc. are transported elsewhere is known as erosion.
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Degradation
• Degradation is the lowering of a bottomland surface through
the process of erosion;
• Conceptually it is the opposite of the vertical component of
aggradation and is most frequently applied to sediment
removed from a channel bed or other low-lying parts of a
stream channel.
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Denudation
• It means to make the things exposed.
• The processes by which the rocks on the earth’s surface are broken
into pieces through the application of external physical forces and
the debris are transported elsewhere is known as denudation.
• This denudation work is performed through three processes such as
weathering, erosion and transportation.
• Denudation= Weathering + Erosion + Transportation
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Deposition
Deposition is the constructive process of accumulation into beds
or irregular masses of loose sediment or other rock material by
any natural agent;
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Aggradation
• Aggradation is the raising or elevating of a bottomland surface
through the process of alluvial deposition;
• Conceptually it is the vertical component of accretion and is
most frequently applied to sediment deposition on a channel
bed, bar or other near-channel surfaces, flood plain, or, less
often, low-lying alluvial terrace.
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Sedimentation
• Sedimentation is the process by which sediment is mechanically
deposited from suspension within a fluid, generally water, or ice,
thereby accumulating as layers of sediment that are segregated
owing to differences in size, shape, and composition of the
sediment particles.
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Mass movement/Mass Wasting
• Mass movement is any downslope transfer, through
gravitational and generally water-facilitated (viscous) processes, of
near-surface soil and rock material;
• Rates of mass movement range from very slow creep to
nearly instantaneous slope failure.
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GEOMORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES
Terrestrial Processes Extra-terrestrial Processes
Exogenetic Processes Endogenetic Processes
i. Weathering i. Faulting and Folding
ii. Erosion/Degradation ii. Volcanism
iii. Transportation iii. Earthquake
iv. Deposition/Aggradation iv. Landslide
v. Mass movement v. Diastrophism
vi. Metamorphism
Denudation
•Physical Weathering
•Chemical Weathering
•Biological Weathering
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Faulting
• Fault is a planar or gently curved fracture in the rocks of the earth’s
crust, where compressional or tensional forces cause relative
displacement of the rocks on the opposite sides of the fracture.
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Folding
• Fold is an undulation or waves in the stratified rocks of the earth’s
crust.
• A fold occurs when one or a mass of originally flat and planar
surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result
of permanent deformation.
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Volcanism
• Volcanism is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma)
onto the surface of the earth, where lava and volcanic gases erupt
through a break in the surface called a vent.
• Eruption of the volcanoes or the magma is the main sources of
igneous rocks on the surface of the earth.
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Earthquake
• An earthquake is a vibration or oscillation of the surface of the earth
caused by sudden release of enormous pressure.
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Landslide
• A landslide, also known as a landslip, which includes a wide range of
ground movements, such as rock fall, deep failure of slopes and
shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and
onshore environments.
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Diastrophism- Tectonism
➢ Diastrophism is also called large-scale tectonism: deformation of
earth’s crust by natural processes, which leads to the formation of
continents and ocean basins, mountain systems, plateaus, rift
valleys, and other features by mechanisms such as plate
movement, volcanic loading, or folding.
➢ Internal forces active here
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Metamorphism
• Metamorphism is the change in rock structure, minerals or
geologic structure.
• It is a process of change in the physical structure of rock as a
result of long-term heat, pressure and introduction of chemically
active fluids, especially a change that increases the rock's
hardness and crystalline structure.
• The change occurs primarily due to heat, pressure, and the
introduction of chemically active fluids.
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Geomorphological Processes at a glance
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Scales of landscape analysis
1. Spatial Dimensions: it is a roughness parameter, which shows the geometric
shapes of landscapes.
2. Time scales for Landform:
1. The larger the landform, the more durable it will be.
2. Smaller landforms can be both created and destroyed more rapidly than
larger ones.
3. The rates of geomorphic processes are inversely proportional to the size of
the affected area: The rate of any processes, as defined by the total change
per unit of time, high rate appears progressively shorter intervals of time.
3. Size of terrestrial relief features: Constructional and destructional
processes shape landscape landform units of a particular size.
A progressive Classification of Terrestrial Geomorphological Features by Scale was
established. Table 1-1.
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A Hierarchical Classification of Terrestrial Geomorphological Features by Scale
Approximate
Approximate Time Scales
Order Characteristic Units (with examples)
Spatial of Persistence
Scale (km2) (years)
1 107 Continents, ocean basins 108-109
2 106 Physiographic provinces, shields, depositional plains 108
Medium-scale tectonic units (sedimentary basins, mountain
3 104 107-108
massifs, domal uplifts)
Smaller tectonic units (fault blocks, volcanoes, troughs,
4 102 107
sedimentary subbasins, individual mountain zones)
Large-scale erosional/depositional units (deltas, major valleys,
5 10-102 106
piedmonts)
Medium-scale erosional/depositional units or landforms
6 10-1-10 105-106
(floodplains, alluvial fans, moraines, smaller valleys and canyons)
Small-scale erosional/depositional units or landforms (ridges,
7 10-2 104-105
terraces, sand dunes)
Larger geomorphic process units (hillslopes, sections of stream
8 10-4 103
channels)
Medium-scale geomorphic process units (pools and riffles, river
9 10-6 102
bars, solution pits)
Microscale geomorphic process units (fluvial and eolian ripples
10 10-8 -
glacial striations)
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The shape of the Earth
Oblate, slightly falttened, spheroid with minor bumps and hollows.
The equivalent reference surface of gravity equipotential, which
coincides with the earth’s mean sea level and its extension beneath
the land, is called geoid.
Continents and Ocean Basins
-continental crust forms 41% of Earth surface, only 29% of earth’s
area is above sea level.
- average altitude 823m above sea level, with the submerged area it is
only 108m.
- Average depth of oceans is about 3700m. Mostly formed by abyssal
basins, which cover 30% of earth’s surface.
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Geomorphic (Physiographic) Provinces
• Province is defined as a geomorphic entity that has resulted from as
set of processes or succession of processes acting on a specific
structure for a certain period of time or to a certain stage of
completion.
Geologic–physiographic
provinces of Jordan. The map
shows the Wadi Araba- Dead
Sea–Jordan Rift Valley, Northern
Highlands East of the Rift,
Southern Basement Complex and
Paleozoic Sandstone Area,
Azraq– Wadi Sirhan Depression,
Basalt Plateau, the Northeast
Jordan Limestone Area and the
Central Jordan Limestone Area
(after Bender, 1975).
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Geomorphic (Physiographic) Provinces
Continents are broadly subdivided into cratonic (stable) massifs or shields,
epicontinental seas (huge seas), platforms (thin, nearly flat-lying strata), and orogenic
belts (mountains formation) of several ages.
• Oceans relief includes
midocean ridges, abyssal
plains, and island arcs.
• The relief features
commonly identified as
geomorphic provinces seem
to be about optimal size for
regional geomorphology.
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Morphotectonic and morphostructure Regions
These regions or landscapes are defined primarily by their tectonic or structural
unity,
ignoring their erosional modification through time.
• Morphostructures regions: units of the landscape called morphostructures as
terrain types generated by a combination of tectonic activity and climate. Various
morphostructures are produced by alternating periods of uplift (with resulting
segmentation) and stabilization (yielding planation surfaces)
• Morphotectonic regions are defined by the distribution, intensity, and type of
deformation of the earth’s crust by tectonic processes, example building
mountain by folding.
• Scenery: Scenery is the assemblage of landforms
These include orders 5 through 9 of Table 1-1.
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landforms
The landforms that are found on the surface of the Earth can be grouped into 4 categories:
(1) Structural Landforms: landforms that are created by massive earth movements due
to Plate tectonics. This includes landforms with some of the following geomorphic
features: fold mountains, rift valleys, and volcanoes.
(2) Weathering Landforms: landforms that are created by the physical or chemical
decomposition of rock through weathering. Weathering produces landforms where rocks
and sediments are decomposed and disintegrated. This includes landforms with some of
the following geomorphic features: karst, patterned ground, and soil profiles.
(3) Erosional Landforms: landforms formed from the removal of weathered and eroded
surface materials by wind, water, glaciers, and gravity. This includes landforms with some
of the following geomorphic features: river valleys, glacial valleys, and coastal cliffs,
sand dunes.
(4) Depositional Landforms: landforms formed from the deposition of weathered and
eroded surface materials. On occasion, these deposits can be compressed, altered by
pressure, heat and chemical processes to become sedimentary rocks. This includes
landforms with some of the following geomorphic features: beaches, deltas, flood plains,
and glacial moraines.
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karst
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