Tectonic geomorphology is the study of the interplay between tectonic and surface processes that shape the landscape in regions of active deformation and at time scales ranging from days to millions of years. Using Badlands, we will make a quantitative assessment of the impact of these tectonic forces on landscape and drainage evolution. We will also look at how climate, and in particular the spatial pattern of precipitation, is affecting the topographic and tectonic evolution of mountain belts through erosion.

• Preamble
• Lectures
• Labs

_{Unidirectional moisture flux and mountain-belt evolution (from Dietrich & Perron 2006)}

Tectonic processes govern the dynamic nature of Earth’s crust and shape the global distribution of continents, ocean basins, and landforms. Setting the template on which climate and erosion interact, tectonics elevates rocks above sea level where weathering prepares the ground for wind, rain, and rivers to erode and sculpt landscapes.
It is no coincidence that many of our planet’s major surface features coincide with the boundaries of tectonic plates, where uplift, deformation, and erosion are focused. The imprint of tectonics on geomorphology is apparent not only in the size, extent, and location of mountain ranges, but in the localized steepness of river profiles, the character of mountain slopes, and in the form of river networks that flow along regional joint patterns or are offset across faults.

The fluvial dissection of the landscape consists of valleys and their included channel ways organized into a system of connection known as a drainage network. Drainage networks display many types of quantitative regularity that are useful in analyzing both the fluvial systems and the terrains that they dissect (Howard, 1967). Drainage basins are the principal hydrologic unit considered in fluvial geomorphology. A drainage basin is the source for water and sediment that moves from higher elevation through the river system to lower elevations as they reshape the channel forms.
In the first part of the lecture we will look at the different components of a drainage basin. Then we will describe the dominant types of processes present on hillslopes where both gravity and running water are active. We will discuss the physical principles underlying mass movements and slope stability.

In this module we will focus on the main equations developed in landscape evolution models (LEMs). These models are quantitative tools used to simulate Earth surface processes and the evolution of the land surface. LEMs can be used to deduce whether hypotheses about landscape evolution are likely to be valid, by making quantitative predictions about their development.

LEMs are ultimately driven by a set of mathematical equations - the geomorphic transport functions, often termed 'laws' (Tucker and Hancock, 2010). These laws may be derived from physical first principles, empirical evidence, or sometimes a combination of both. When implemented in a model, these laws are applied to a series of discretised cells or nodes representing the landscape.
A wide range of fluvial incision processes can be simulated with these models, including both detachment- and transport-limited erosion models, sediment transport, and a range of hydrological and rainfall-runoff generation routines. Recent development of modules has extended.