Conveners: Richard Dikau and Friedhelm von Blanckenburg
Session language: English
Topic:
The thin soil layer covering the Earth's surface provides a major environmental resource for our civilisation. Today, this layer is under enormous pressure caused by an increase in the intensity of agricultural practices, construction works, and global change. Over longer time scales, weathering and erosion of rocks controls global climate by constantly withdrawing atmospheric CO2 and by shaping the rise and destruction of mountains. The way we think about these processes currently undergoes a dramatic change due to our ability
- to measure (with high-resolution DEM's) topographic variables and archive changes in erosion and sedimentation patterns
- to determine (with cosmogenic nuclides and optical luminescence) ages and rates of landforms and landform change,
- to identify (with pollen, biomarkers, and stable isotopes) the role of vegetation covers, and
- to model these processes with advanced 3D geophysical-geomorphologic numeric approaches.
