Geomorphic and pedologic systems and ecosystems may sometimes experience mode shifts from dynamically unstable, divergent development to dynamically stable and convergent (or vice versa)(Phillips, 2014). Here I explore the idea of how this can occur in the evolution of soil, regolith, and weathering profiles.
Weathering profile, NSW, Australia
In a 2018 article, I analyzed the model below, based on epikarst soils.
From Phillips, 2018.
In a spatial adjacency graph (SAG) the graph nodes or vertices are nominal or categorical spatial entities—for example soil types, landform types, geological formations, or vegetation communities. Any two nodes are connected (i.e., there exists link between them) if they are spatially contiguous. Thus, if types A and B at least sometimes occur adjacent to each other, they are connected, and if they never occur spatially adjacent to each other, there is no edge connecting A, B. In the attached note I address a spatially explicit form of SAGs, based on raster representation of categorical spatial units. In particular, it presents a method for assessing the complexity of these spatial patterns.
Raster soil map of Essex County, Vermont. The colors indicate the raster soil types; these are overlaid with additional data. Source: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/geo/?cid=stelprdb1254424
It has been 21 months since I posted to this blog. Partly that can be attributed to laziness; partly to not having anything new to say (at least about Earth and environmental sciences and geography) that I did not have another outlet for. I'm not sure anyone really noticed the blog was gone, but now it is back.
Much of that no-blog time was spent writing a book, to be published by Elsevier, on landscape evolution. This will integrate geomorphological, pedological, ecological, and hydrological theories on the evolution of landscapes, ecosystems, and other Earth surface systems. It is grounded in an approach based on the inseparability of landform, soil, and ecosystem development, vs. the traditional semi-independent treatment of geomorphic, ecological, pedological, and hydrological phenomena. Key themes are the coevolution of biotic and abiotic components of the environment; selection whereby more efficient and/or durable structures, forms, & patterns are preferentially formed and preserved; and the interconnected role of laws, place factors, and history.
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In conversation with A&S Dean Mark Kornbluh, Karen Petrone, professor of history and director of the newly launched College of Arts & Science’s Cooperative for the Humanities and Social Sciences, along with Kristin Monroe, associate professor of anthropology, will discuss the state and value of the humanities and social sciences in a time of crisis and social change.
