Book contents
- Essentials of Geomorphology
- Reviews
- Essentials of Geomorphology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction to Geomorphology
- 2 History and Foundations of Geomorphology
- 3 Dating Methods in Geomorphology
- 4 Climate Change Throughout Earth History
- 5 Geomorphology’s Resisting Framework: Minerals, Rocks, and Biota
- 6 Tectonics and Mountain Building
- 7 Landforms on Volcanic and Plutonic Rocks
- 8 Landforms on Horizontal and Weakly Dipping Rocks
- 9 Landforms Developed on Folded Rocks
- 10 Landforms on Faulted Rocks
- 11 Weathering
- 12 Karst and Landforms of Dissolution
- 13 Soils and Paleosols
- 14 Mass Movements and Slope Processes
- 15 Surface Water, Drainage Basins, and Sediment Transport
- 16 Landforms of Fluvial Erosion and Deposition
- 17 Coastal Processes and Landforms
- 18 Glacial Systems
- 19 Glacial Sediments and Landforms
- 20 Periglacial Processes and Landforms
- 21 Eolian Processes, Deposits, Landforms, and Systems
- 22 Biogeomorphology
- 23 Planetary Geomorphology
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
3 - Dating Methods in Geomorphology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 November 2025
Book contents
- Essentials of Geomorphology
- Reviews
- Essentials of Geomorphology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction to Geomorphology
- 2 History and Foundations of Geomorphology
- 3 Dating Methods in Geomorphology
- 4 Climate Change Throughout Earth History
- 5 Geomorphology’s Resisting Framework: Minerals, Rocks, and Biota
- 6 Tectonics and Mountain Building
- 7 Landforms on Volcanic and Plutonic Rocks
- 8 Landforms on Horizontal and Weakly Dipping Rocks
- 9 Landforms Developed on Folded Rocks
- 10 Landforms on Faulted Rocks
- 11 Weathering
- 12 Karst and Landforms of Dissolution
- 13 Soils and Paleosols
- 14 Mass Movements and Slope Processes
- 15 Surface Water, Drainage Basins, and Sediment Transport
- 16 Landforms of Fluvial Erosion and Deposition
- 17 Coastal Processes and Landforms
- 18 Glacial Systems
- 19 Glacial Sediments and Landforms
- 20 Periglacial Processes and Landforms
- 21 Eolian Processes, Deposits, Landforms, and Systems
- 22 Biogeomorphology
- 23 Planetary Geomorphology
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- References
Summary
How old is the Grand Canyon? When did the glaciers last retreat from this area? How long does it take to form an inch of topsoil? When did the earthquake occur that formed these rock scarps? These are the questions that geomorphologists ponder. This chapter will outline the tools and approaches we use to answer such questions.
Establishing how old a landform might be, that is, when it formed, has always occupied the mindset of geomorphologists. If we know how OLD a landform is, then we can begin to understand how it is evolving, how fast it might be changing, and how it formed in the first place. Fortunately, various dating principles and techniques now exist to address these issues. These techniques require the ability to measure change in a system or a landform over time, with the (usual) goal of establishing the age of a sediment package or a landform.
Keywords
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- Essentials of Geomorphology , pp. 23 - 49Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Further Reading
Benedict, J. B. 2009. A review of lichenometric dating and its applications to archaeology. Am. Antiquity 74:143–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brookes, I. A. 1982. Dating methods of Pleistocene deposits and their problems: VIII. Weathering. Geosci. Can. 9:188–199.Google Scholar
Colman, S. M., Pierce, K. L., and Birkeland, P. W. 1987. Suggested terminology for Quaternary dating methods. Quat. Res. 28:314–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorn, R. I. 2009. The rock varnish revolution: new insights from microlaminations and the contributions of Tanzhuo Liu. Geography Compass 3:1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowe, D. J. 2011. Tephrochronology and its application: a review. Quat. Geochronol. 6:107–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oguchi, C. T. 2013. Weathering rinds: formation processes and weathering rates. In: Shroder, J. F. (ed.) Treatise on Geomorphology, Vol. 4. Academic Press. pp. 98–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olsson, I. U. 2009. Radiocarbon dating history: early days, questions, and problems met. Radiocarbon 51:1–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preusser, F., Degering, D., Fuchs, M., Hilgers, A., Kadereit, A., Klasen, N., Krbetschek, M., Richter, D., and Spencer, J. Q. G. 2008. Luminescence dating: basics, methods and applications. Quat. Sci. J. 57:95–149.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R. J. and Thompson, M. L.. 2015. Soils: Genesis and Geomorphology. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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