Anthropic geomorphology and anthropogenic geomorphology: defining the human dimension

Keywords: Human-induced change, anthropogenic geomorphology, anthropic geomorphology, scientific disciplines
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 19

Abstract

This presentation proposes a fundamental distinction between anthropogenic and anthropic geomorphology. Most geomorphic studies of the interface between human and natural systems have been concerned with either human impacts on geomorphic systems or hazards that geomorphic systems pose to humans. Studies of human impacts can be referred to as anthropogenic geomorphology insofar as they concentrate on landforms and processes created or altered by humans; i.e., genesis of geomorphic features. Studies of geomorphic hazards are largely concerned with how natural processes, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, pose risks to society, so they do not fit comfortably under the rubric of ‘anthropogenic.’ Yet, both fields are clearly concerned with the human dimensions of geomorphology and should be recognized together as an important growing subfield within geomorphology. We propose that these and allied geomorphic subfields that emphasize human activities or behavior be referred to as anthropic geomorphology (aka anthropogeomorphology), of which anthropogenic geomorphology and geomorphic hazards are subsets. While this is largely a semantic proposal, it clarifies commonalties across subfields, e.g., coastal, aeolian, fluvial, or tectonic geomorphology. Geomorphologists of many specialties study the interface between humans and geomorphic systems and this specialization should not be confined to compartmentalized branches of geomorphology. This emerging field should be recognized as an essential element of future research that can address such issues as the effectiveness of humans as agents of geomorphic change, implications of change, remediating harmful changes, landform sensitivity to human alteration, modeling anthropogeomorphic change, and geomorphic hazards.