European Geosciences Union
Division on Geomorphology
President: Daniel Parsons (gm@egu.eu)
Deputy President: vacant
Geomorphology is the scientific study of land-surface features and the dynamic processes that shape them. Besides focusing on the diverse physical landscapes of the Earth, geomorphologists also study surfaces of other planets. Understanding landform history and dynamics, and predicting future changes through a combination of field observations, physical experiments, and numerical modelling is at the heart of geomorphology. The division brings together research on processes that build topography trough e.g. the effects of tectonic forces as well as processes that modify the terrain such as weathering, erosion through running water, waves, glacial ice, wind and gravitational forces. Division members also study the impact of humans on geomorphological processes and investigate how geomorphological knowledge can be applied to solve problems of relevance to societies.
The slides of the GM Division meeting 2020 are online and can be downloaded here (4.2 MB) .
The current pandemic has highlighted the difficulties of keeping up-to-date with new developments in our field when travel is not possible. However, as we work to transition to a greener future and make our community better serve the needs of all scientists regardless of international mobility, it is important to find ways to share current research remotely. Landscapes Live is a new remote seminar series focused on sharing exciting geomorphology research throughout the international scientific community.
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The EGU General Assembly 2021 will bring together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists, especially early career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience. We aim to organize the EGU General Assembly 2021 as a hybrid on site and virtual meeting; see the provisional format for more details. The EGU is looking forward to cordially welcoming you at its General Assembly. See here - https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2021/provisionalprogramme - where you can suggest a session, comment on other sessions or suggest additional convenors in an open and transparent way.
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We congratulate Tom Coulthard, University of Hull for receiving the 2020 Ralph Alger Bagnold medal, and Georgie Bennett, University of Exeter for receiving the GM Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award. They will both receive their awards at the General Assembly in May.
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Dan Parsons has been duly elected for a second term as Divison President. His nomination for President can be found here. See also his candidate interview on the the GM blog.
The 2020 Ralph Alger Bagnold Medal is awarded to Thomas J. Coulthard for establishing landscape evolution modelling as a robust approach to geomorphological investigation, changing how geomorphology is studied and communicated, and promoting open research.
The 2020 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Georgina Bennett for careful field measurements and aligned earth observation; Georgina’s innovative approaches have unlocked new understanding of key controls on landslide mechanics and resultant landscape evolution.
The 2019 Ralph Alger Bagnold Medal is awarded to David L. Egholm for shaping our thinking about glacial landscape evolution by effectively addressing many topical, big-picture problems through the judicious use of numerical models.
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Elena Serra Late-glacial to Holocene sediment dynamics in high Alpine regions – Insights from multimethodological approach on aeolian deposits (Sanetsch Pass, Switzerland)
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Marco Tangi CASCADE : a toolbox for network-scale sediment connectivity assessment
The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Yvonne Smit Prediction of beach surface moisture with ModFlow modeled groundwater fluctuations for the purpose of aeolian sand transport
The 2019 Arne Richter Award for Outstanding Early Career Scientists is awarded to Giulia Sofia for developing cutting-edge techniques for understanding geomorphic processes and land-use history with high-resolution topographic data, and quantifying human impact on the landscape.
The current pandemic has highlighted the difficulties of keeping up-to-date with new developments in our field when travel is not possible. However, as we work to transition to a greener future and make our community better serve the needs of all scientists regardless of international mobility, it is important to find ways to share current research remotely. Landscapes Live is a new remote seminar series focused on sharing exciting geomorphology research throughout the international scientific community. The remote format allows …
Thursday 30 July marks the centennial of the birth of Marie Tharp, a pioneering geologist and cartographer whose groundbreaking scientific contributions played a key role in the eventual acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics. Tharp is best known for her detailed seafloor maps that revealed a wealth of previously unknown features, including seamounts, trenches, transform faults, and most notably, the mid-ocean ridge system.
Tharp’s story is all the more compelling due to the adversity she overcame during her career—much of it related to her gender. Because Tharp didn’t always receive credit for her work, her contributions were initially overlooked. Fortunately, Hali Felt, the author of Tharp’s biography, and others have helped correct the record. “Marie wouldn’t have chosen to experience the gender discrimination that told her the humanities were a “better fit” and forced her to work in an office rather than the field,” says Felt in a recent EGU blog, “but the result was that she found her calling closer to home, and mapped 70 percent of the Earth’s surface in the process.”
This month, EGU is celebrating Tharp’s achievements, and those of all women geoscientists, through a series of posts, including one by the Tectonics and Structural Geology Division that revisits her legacy and its importance for laying the foundations of modern geology. EGU also spoke with six researchers working in the fields of ocean science, tectonics, and mapping to ask them what Marie Tharp’s work means to them personally, as well as to the future of ocean science and tectonic research. “Her life story is a burning, guiding light for me,” says marine geographer Dawn Wright.
We hope these articles will inspire all EGU members to help one another overcome whatever adversity we face. Tharp “succeeded in building a career that she loved, and was proud of,” says structural geologist Lucia Perez Diaz. “As a woman in science, I can’t imagine a better dream to work towards.”