Page 65 - Fundamentals of Geomorphology

48 INTRODUCING LANDFORMS AND LANDSCAPES

the humid tropics. Third, Ollier questions the accepted FURTHER READING
chronology of mountain building, which sees Tibet, the
highlands of western North America, and the Andes Berner, E. K. and Berner, R. A. (1987) The Global Water
beginning to rise about 40 million years ago, favouring Cycle: Geochemistry and Environment. Englewood Cliffs,
instead rise over the last few million years. N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Old but still worth reading.

SUMMARY Berner, R. A. and Berner, E. K. (1995) Global Environ-
ment: Water and Geochemical Cycles. Upper Saddle River,
N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Three grand cycles of matter affect Earth surface A later incarnation of the previous book.
processes – the water cycle (evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, and runoff), the rock cycle (uplift, weath- Ruddiman, W. F. (ed.) (1997) Tectonic Uplift and
ering, erosion, deposition, and lithification), and the Climatic Change. New York: Plenum Press.
biogeochemical cycles. Denudation encompasses weath- A detailed account of the connections between tectonics,
ering and erosion. Erosive agents – ice, water, and wind – weathering, and climate.
pick up weathered debris, transport it, and deposit it. Westbroek, P. (1991) Life as a Geological Force: Dynam-
Climate partly determines denudation (weathering and ics of the Earth. New York: W. W. Norton.
erosion). In addition, geological and topographic fac- A leisurely and winning introduction to geological and
tors affect mechanical denudation. Climate, rock type, biogeochemical cycles from the perspective of Earth
topographic factors, and organisms influence chemical history.
denudation. Climate, topography, and plate tectonic
process interact in complex ways. Uplift changes cli-
mates, climatic changes may increase erosion, erosion
mayaffecttheflowofcrustalrocksandsoinfluenceuplift.
Erosion of mountains may affect the carbon dioxide
balance of the atmosphere and promote climatic change.

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1 To what extent are the Earth’s grand
‘cycles’ interconnected?
2 How important are substrates in
explaining land form?
3 Assess the relative importance of the
factors that influence denudation
rates.