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Walther Penck (30 August 1888 – 29 September 1923) was a geologist [1] and geomorphologist [1] known for his theories on landscape evolution. Penck is noted for criticizing key elements of the Davisian cycle of erosion, concluding that the process of uplift and denudation occur simultaneously, at gradual and continuous rates. [2]
During the evolution of these slopes steeper initial slopes are calculated to result in the formation of numerous tors during the course of the lowering and broadening of the convex area. The presence of numerous tors would thus indicate that the original landscape was steeper and not flatter than present-day landscape. [14]
A landscape evolution model is a physically-based numerical model that simulates changing terrain over the course of time. The change in, or evolution of, terrain, can be due to: glacial or fluvial erosion, sediment transport and deposition, regolith production, the slow movement of material on hillslopes, more intermittent events such as rockfalls, debris flows, landslides, and other surface ...
First, the model provided a framework to study areas and epochs in Earth history where erosion is the dominant process. Second, the model fitted well into the grand evolutionary thought that had emerged in the 19th century with Darwin's evolution theory. [21] Lastly, some popularity can be attributed to Davis's lucid writing style.
An early popular geomorphic model was the geographical cycle or cycle of erosion model of broad-scale landscape evolution developed by William Morris Davis between 1884 and 1899. [11] It was an elaboration of the uniformitarianism theory that had first been proposed by James Hutton (1726–1797). [ 24 ]
Another was Walther Penck, who devised a more complex theory that denudation and uplift occurred at the same time, and that landscape formation is based on the ratio between denudation and uplift rates. His theory proposed geomorphology is based on endogenous and exogenous processes. [18]
When Davis retired from Harvard in 1911, the study of landscape evolution was nearly monopolized by his theories. It was characteristic of Davis to react violently and disdainfully to criticism, particularly to the German criticism in the 1920s headed by Walther Penck ; it was also his characteristic to choose to attack the most vulnerable ...
The foundation of climatic geomorphology in Germany lies according to Hanna Bremer in Albrecht Penck, Siegfried Passarge and Alfred Hettner's preference of field observations over theory. [20] Likely it was Büdel, a student of Brückner and Penck, [ 20 ] who coined the term "climatic geomorphology". [ 19 ]