Principles of Alluvial Fan Morphology (eBook)

Prof. Dan Bowman is Professor Emeritus at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Beer-Sheva, Israel and at the nearby Achva Academic College. Prior to his retirement in 2007, he worked as an active Lecturer and Professor at the Department of Geography and Environmental Development of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev for over 25 years. His courses included nearshore circulation, coastal morphology, alluvial fans, tectonic morphology and system approach. Prof. Dan Bowman has a B.A. and a M.A. in Geography as well as a Ph.D. in Geomorphology. He has co-authored over 65 scientific publications including peer-reviewed articles in international journals such as Environmental Monitoring and Assessment and Instructional Sciences, scientific reports, technical papers and chapters in collective volumes, conference proceedings a chapter (i.e. in the book Geomorphological Landscapes of the World). 

1        Definitions and Setting

2        Magnitude and Sourcing

2.1   Fan Sourcing

2.2   Dimensions

2.3   Megafans

3        Slope Gradients

3.1 Slopes and Profiles   

3.2 Controlling Factors

4 Fan Morphometry

4.1 Definitions

4.2   Fan Area vs Drainage Area

4.3  Fan Slope vs Drainage Area

5 Drainage

5.1 Fan Zonation

5.2 Fan Spread

5.3  Avulsion

5.4 Compensational Stacking

6 Flows

6.1 Water and  Hyperconcentrated Flows

6.2 Debris Flows

7 Aggradation

8 Fan Entrenchment

8.1    The Switch to Entrenchment  

8.2    Controls of Entrenchment

8.3   Erosional Morphology 

9 Textural and Facies Characteristics

9.1   Grain Size

9.2   Facies

10    Pedogenic Processes

10.1 Development of Reg Soils 

10.2 Calcretisation and Salt Weathering

10.3 Varnish and Soil Rubification

10.4 Desert Pavement

11    The Tectonic Control

11.1 Faulting of alluvial fan

11.2 Displaced fans

11.3 Subsidence and Stacking

11.4 Sinuosity of the mountain front

12    The Climatic Control

12.1 The Effect of Vegetation

12.2 Water/Sediment Discharge Ratio

12.3 The Paraglacial Impact

12.4 Humid and Arid Impacts

13     The Base Level Effect

14     Groundwater

14.1 Compartmentalization 

14.2 Contamination, Recharge and Tectonic Effects

14.3 Subsidence

15 Morphology of the Fan Surface

15.1 Fan Terraces

15.2 Surface Roughness and Smoothing

15.3 Geomorphological Data

16 Dating of Alluvial Fans

16.1 Absolute Dating

16.2 Relative Dating

16.3 Rates of Deposition and Erosion

17 The System Approach

17.1 Transitional Unstable Conditions

17.2 Feedbacks

17.3 Controls

17.4 Coupling

18 Natural Hazards

18.1 The Hazards

18.2 Hazard Mapping

18.3 Protective Devices

19 The Regional Approach - Alluvial Fans along the Dead Sea-Arava Rift Valley

19.1 Setting

19.2 Lake Lisan and the Dead Sea

19.3 The drop of Lake Lisan - Exposure of the Dead Sea Area

19.4 Fan Incision

19.5 The Lowering Base-Level Effect

19.6 The Arava Rift Valley