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Timescales in geomorphology
360
Timescales in Geomorphology. R.A. Cullingford, D.A. Davidson and J. Lewin. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester--New York, N.Y., 1980, ix + 360 pp., UK £22.50. The attitudes of geomorphologists to time have had a considerable influence on the development of the discipline. W.M. Davis in his Cycle of Erosion made the development of landforms through time his central theme, and for English-speaking geomorphologists during the first half of the present century this was a pervasive model. After 1950, when the limitations of this model became apparent, the attention of geomorphologists was transferred largely to the study of process, and of time-independent aspects of the discipline. More recently, geomorphologists have turned again to re-examine the temporal dimension of their subject. This volume examines the ways in which the process of re-examination is developing, particularly in Britain. An introduction and 21 other papers are presented but only five of the papers deal with areas outside the U.K. The material is divided into three sections on the basis of the timespans examined. It is undoubtedly significant that 16 of the essays are in the first two sections of the volume, dealing with the last 10,000 years, which in terms of landform development is the very recent past. In the first Section five of the eight papers describe studies of present-day process and examine the problems of extrapolation from contemporary erosion rates to longer spans of time, problems due largely to the variability of the contemporary record. Section II is exclusively concerned with details of the Holocene and Late Glacial stratigraphic record in a wide range of depositional environments, including caves, lakes, rivers, landslips, moorland and estuaries. Section III comprises five papers dealing with the whole period prior to the last 10,000 years, and unlike Sections I and II it lacks an obvious recurrent theme. In addition to the clear emphasis on the contemporary, Late and Post Glacial timespans, and on the British evidence, certain emphases are also apparent in terms of dating procedures. Sixteen of the papers present the results of radioisotopic studies or discuss the techniques. In five cases ~4C results are linked to studies of pollen. Moreover in the Introduction and in the more general essays that introduce each Section, stress is laid on the great potential of radioisotopic methods. The only other dating technique to receive extended attention is, perhaps rather surprisingly, lichenometry. The inferential approach that characterised many geomorphological studies in the past is modestly represented in the volume, and it is no doubt significant again that this approach figures most prominently in Section III, dealing with the timespan of long-term landform development. Thus although this volume confirms the renewed interest of geomorphologists in time, that interest in no way represents a renaissance of the concepts embodied in the Cycle of Erosion. Instead it represents the growth of new areas of geomorphological investigation, firstly into the time-dependent aspects of contemporary process; secondly into the detailed reconstruction of past geomorphological environments; and thirdly into the application to geomorphological problems of increasingly refined dating techniques.
361
The volume as a whole affords a useful general view of the balance of interests among geomorphologists, particularly British geomorphologists, and it illustrates one of the main avenues along which the discipline is now developing. CHRISTOPHER P. GREEN (London)
Moor- und T o r ~ u n d e . K. GSttlich (Editor). E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (N~igele & Obermiller G.m.b.H.), Stuttgart, 1980, 2nd ed., 338 pp., 96 figs., 59 photos, 30 tabs. This handbook comes out in a 2nd edition after six years, it is written by 16 co-authors and is edited by Prof. Dr. GSttlich. The new second edition has 70 pages (with 16 figures and 8 tables) more than the first edition. The chairman of the German Peat Society and vice-president of the International Peat Society, Prof. Dr. G. L~ttig, wrote the foreword for this handbook. It gives an overview of the whole branch of peat and peatland science and practice. The main chapters are: (1) Definition of terms; (2) Peatlands of the Earth, especially in Europe; (3) Peat evolution and archeology; (4) Peat substance; (4.1) Peat development process; (4.2) Chemistry of peat; (4.3) Physics of peat; (4.4) Peatland hydrology; (4.5) Microclimate of peatland; (5) Use of peat and peatlands; (5.1) Agriculture and forestry; (5.2) Peat cutting and utilization; (5.3) Peat in medical practice; and (5.4) Peatland in nature conservation. The German authors, who are experts in their particular branch, give for each chapter a short bibliography, mostly from the F.R.G. and other European countries. All kinds of uses of peat have a long history in Europe; therefore this book gives valuable hints, suggestions and experiences about such uses for other parts of the world. Working in peatland always means hydrological problems because these organic deposits contain large amounts of water. For hydrologists, the chapters 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 are of special interest. Examples are given of water balances of both natural and cultivated peatlands and about discharges from such lands. R. EGGELSMANN (Bremen)
Timescales in Geomorphology. R.A. Cullingford, D.A. Davidson and J. Lewin. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester--New York, N.Y., 1980, ix + 360 pp., UK £22.50. The attitudes of geomorphologists to time have had a considerable influence on the development of the discipline. W.M. Davis in his Cycle of Erosion made the development of landforms through time his central theme, and for English-speaking geomorphologists during the first half of the present century this was a pervasive model. After 1950, when the limitations of this model became apparent, the attention of geomorphologists was transferred largely to the study of process, and of time-independent aspects of the discipline. More recently, geomorphologists have turned again to re-examine the temporal dimension of their subject. This volume examines the ways in which the process of re-examination is developing, particularly in Britain. An introduction and 21 other papers are presented but only five of the papers deal with areas outside the U.K. The material is divided into three sections on the basis of the timespans examined. It is undoubtedly significant that 16 of the essays are in the first two sections of the volume, dealing with the last 10,000 years, which in terms of landform development is the very recent past. In the first Section five of the eight papers describe studies of present-day process and examine the problems of extrapolation from contemporary erosion rates to longer spans of time, problems due largely to the variability of the contemporary record. Section II is exclusively concerned with details of the Holocene and Late Glacial stratigraphic record in a wide range of depositional environments, including caves, lakes, rivers, landslips, moorland and estuaries. Section III comprises five papers dealing with the whole period prior to the last 10,000 years, and unlike Sections I and II it lacks an obvious recurrent theme. In addition to the clear emphasis on the contemporary, Late and Post Glacial timespans, and on the British evidence, certain emphases are also apparent in terms of dating procedures. Sixteen of the papers present the results of radioisotopic studies or discuss the techniques. In five cases ~4C results are linked to studies of pollen. Moreover in the Introduction and in the more general essays that introduce each Section, stress is laid on the great potential of radioisotopic methods. The only other dating technique to receive extended attention is, perhaps rather surprisingly, lichenometry. The inferential approach that characterised many geomorphological studies in the past is modestly represented in the volume, and it is no doubt significant again that this approach figures most prominently in Section III, dealing with the timespan of long-term landform development. Thus although this volume confirms the renewed interest of geomorphologists in time, that interest in no way represents a renaissance of the concepts embodied in the Cycle of Erosion. Instead it represents the growth of new areas of geomorphological investigation, firstly into the time-dependent aspects of contemporary process; secondly into the detailed reconstruction of past geomorphological environments; and thirdly into the application to geomorphological problems of increasingly refined dating techniques.
361
The volume as a whole affords a useful general view of the balance of interests among geomorphologists, particularly British geomorphologists, and it illustrates one of the main avenues along which the discipline is now developing. CHRISTOPHER P. GREEN (London)
Moor- und T o r ~ u n d e . K. GSttlich (Editor). E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (N~igele & Obermiller G.m.b.H.), Stuttgart, 1980, 2nd ed., 338 pp., 96 figs., 59 photos, 30 tabs. This handbook comes out in a 2nd edition after six years, it is written by 16 co-authors and is edited by Prof. Dr. GSttlich. The new second edition has 70 pages (with 16 figures and 8 tables) more than the first edition. The chairman of the German Peat Society and vice-president of the International Peat Society, Prof. Dr. G. L~ttig, wrote the foreword for this handbook. It gives an overview of the whole branch of peat and peatland science and practice. The main chapters are: (1) Definition of terms; (2) Peatlands of the Earth, especially in Europe; (3) Peat evolution and archeology; (4) Peat substance; (4.1) Peat development process; (4.2) Chemistry of peat; (4.3) Physics of peat; (4.4) Peatland hydrology; (4.5) Microclimate of peatland; (5) Use of peat and peatlands; (5.1) Agriculture and forestry; (5.2) Peat cutting and utilization; (5.3) Peat in medical practice; and (5.4) Peatland in nature conservation. The German authors, who are experts in their particular branch, give for each chapter a short bibliography, mostly from the F.R.G. and other European countries. All kinds of uses of peat have a long history in Europe; therefore this book gives valuable hints, suggestions and experiences about such uses for other parts of the world. Working in peatland always means hydrological problems because these organic deposits contain large amounts of water. For hydrologists, the chapters 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 are of special interest. Examples are given of water balances of both natural and cultivated peatlands and about discharges from such lands. R. EGGELSMANN (Bremen)