European Geosciences Union
Division on Geomorphology
President: Daniel Parsons (gm@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Giulia Sofia
(giulia.sofia@uconn.edu)
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.
EGU CampFire - Landscapes Live - Virtual Webinar Series in Geomorphology
EGU are pioneering a new CampFire concept to bring together the geoscience community across the year inbetween our General Assemblies. We hope that this will meet the needs of the current pandemic but also help us in our transition to a greener future and ensure that our community better serve the needs of all scientists regardless of international mobility.
Landscapes Live is the Geomorphology Division's virtual webinar series focused on sharing exciting geomorphology research throughout the international scientific community.
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“Linking life and landscape: monitoring, mapping and modelling biogeomorphology” - Heather Viles (Oxford) - Thursday the 11th of Febuary 2021 at 4pm CET. You can register in advance for this Zoom meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsdumprDwjE9wk6sLpdz0BnYfOozT5-Xdm
The Landscapes Live online seminar series will then continue the following weeks with:
We are already planning additional talks later this spring. If you want to know more about this initiative, you can have a read here: https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/gm/2020/05/03/new-remote-geomorphology-seminar-series-landscapes-live-beginning-28-may-2020/
The Autum series of Webinars listed below have now conculded but can be viewed here: https://osur.univ-rennes1.fr/LandscapesLive/
“Appalachian pasts, Arctic futures: permafrost landscape dynamics” - Joanmarie del Vecchio (Penn State University) - Thursday the 5th of November 2020 at 4pm CET.
“Faulting and landscapes – a tribute to Patience Cowie” - Alex Whittaker & Mikael Attal (Imperial College London & University of Edinburgh) - Thursday the 12th of November 2020 at 4pm CET.
“Exploring the timing, triggering and spatial distribution of landslides along the Cascadia Subduction Zone” - Alison Duvall (University of Washington) - Thursday the 19th of November 2020 at 4pm CET.
“Estimating mass loss from pebble shape” - Gabor Domokos (Budapest University of Technology) - Thursday the 26th of November 2020 at 4PM CET.
EGU21 will be Virtual:
Due to the continuing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, and to protect our members as much as possible, sadly #EGU21 will not be held in Vienna again this year. Instead, today we announce the all new #vEGU21 : Gather Online! More info: https://egu.eu/4L1943/
EGU Geomorphology Division 2021 awardees:
We congratulate Jo Bullard, University of Loughborough for receiving the 2021 Ralph Alger Bagnold medal, and Louise Slater, University of Oxford for receiving the GM Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award. They will both receive their awards at the forthcoming General Assembly.
GM Division meeting 2020:
The slides of the GM Division meeting 2020 are online and can be downloaded here (4.2 MB).
Dan Parsons elected new GM Division president until 2022-23:
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 2021 Ralph Alger Bagnold Medal is awarded to Joanna E. Bullard for sustained innovative, perceptive, and productive studies of arid-land geomorphology, aeolian processes, and dust in the Earth system, alongside outstanding community leadership.
The 2021 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Louise J. Slater for recognition of outstanding contributions in the field at the interface of river geomorphology and hydrology; exploring the drivers of changing flood hazard and risk over time and space.
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.
This is a joint post, published together with the hydrological sciences division blog, the cryospheric sciences division blog, the geomorphology division blog, given the interdisciplinarity of the topic. – Floreana Miesen and Prof. Dr. Stuart Lane, University of Lausanne – In Switzerland, nothing is really remote, but some places are more so than others. Dense infrastructure networks typically provide convenient access to research sites in the Alps where it is difficult to feel far away from home. However, this is …
– Authors: The German Young Geomorphologists (Renee van Dongen, Jörn Profe, Steffi Tofelde, Janek Walk, Mario Kirchhoff, Julian Trappe, Johannes Buckel, Stefan Haselberger, Simon Meyer-Heintze) – COVID-19 Pandemic has changed the world this year. We as scientists are affected by this pandemic, but we can mostly work from home and most importantly, we can conduct our jobs. Nonetheless, certain things have changed for us. Many of us had to find new ways and formats to switch from classroom teaching to …
The Steepest Descent is a yearly one-day meeting taking place in Vienna, Austria, close to the EGU general assembly. Participants have the opportunity to see a few keynote talks by outstanding geomorphologists and to discuss their posters in a more informal and geomorphology-focused community than at the EGU. Despite its youth, the Steepest Descent Meeting seems to have lost its aura of a niche-event, and it may already be considered as a must for our community. In the team of …
In February The Loupe celebrates this month’s three successful missions to Mars, including the unique science and symbolism of the first Arab mission to the Red Planet. Because the data from this mission will be openly shared, it lets all scientists embark on an exciting journey to explore the secrets of our neighbouring planet’s atmosphere together. This issue features three EGU divisions: Geosciences Instrumentation and Data Systems (GI), Planetary and Solar System Sciences (PS), and Solar-Terrestrial Sciences (ST).
The Loupe also highlights everything you need to know about the vEGU21 scientific sessions, 5 key new initiatives the Union implemented in 2020, and two blogs with lighthearted tips for a greener EGU21 and some lessons you can take from this year’s virtual General Assembly to make your in-person conferences greener.
In addition to the latest Journal Watch and GeoRoundup of February EGU journal highlights, this issue also looks at what Union leaders hope they can achieve in the next few years and tackles the ‘rotten’ topic of how Europe should deal with its waste.