Education, outreach, and ethics in geomorphology
Engaging the relational work of geomorphology
Professor Michele Koppes1, Professor Gary Brierley2, Dr. Marc Tadaki3, Dr. Clare Wilkinson4
1University Of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, 2University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, 3Cawthron Institute, Nelson, Aotearoa New Zealand, 4National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand
The discipline of geomorphology has relied traditionally on focused scientific methods to understand landscape change. Such knowledge production inevitably intervenes with ongoing struggles over place-based, situated environmental explanation, as well as perceived authority to govern the environment. As we face the complex challenges of the Anthropocene, including accelerated climate change, there is an urgent need to develop ethical frameworks for research and practice that are attentive to these relations, ensuring that geomorphology becomes a science that is radically responsible to the communities and landscapes in which we work.
This discussion session will explore how geomorphology can evolve to become more inclusive and attuned to social and cultural relations. We will discuss the importance of weaving our understanding of the histories and impacts of landscape change within these relations, with the aim of reimagining geomorphological practices that are rooted in relation with the land, and that prioritize community-identified needs.
We welcome contributions that address:
- Ethical considerations in collaborating with place-based knowledge holders, including Indigenous peoples
- Case studies of community-rooted approaches to scientific research on landscapes, water resources, and/or geohazards
- Strategies for framing research questions and methods around place-based understandings of environmental change
- Reflections on how geoscientists can better understand the contexts, histories, values, and priorities of the communities in whose lands they work
This session seeks to foster a community dialogue on how we create a more ethically-grounded geomorphology that respects diverse ways of knowing. By sharing experiences and best practices, we hope to contribute to the development of a more holistic and culturally sensitive approach to understanding and addressing landscape change in the Anthropocene.
Geoethics and Geomorphology
Dr Matthew Hughes1, Dr Silvia Peppoloni2, Dr Giuseppe Di Capua
1University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy
Geoethics consists of research and reflection on the values which underpin appropriate behaviours and practices, wherever human activities interact with the Earth system; geoethics also provides a framework for integrating the physical and social sciences and addressing societal issues including those with often-competing values over natural resources, development and landscapes. Geomorphologists work to address many of the environmental challenges of our time, challenges with significant societal implications, and geomorphological systems present abundant opportunities to explore convergences between pure and applied science, the practices of scientists, and how scientific understandings inform society. This session invites contributions that specifically address geoethical concepts and issues within geomorphology.
Geomorphology Education for Disaster Risk Management (DRM)
Ms Annika Froewis1, Mr Philipp Marr1, Mr Thomas Glade1
1University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
With natural hazards increasing in frequency, extent and complexity, professionals need cutting-edge geomorphology expertise to keep communities safe. This session provides a platform to exchange information about postgraduate Master's programmes that connect advanced geomorphological science with the practical demands of state-of-the-art Disaster Risk Management. Of particular interest is the exchange on the different needs of practitioners and stakeholders, as well as the responses of tertiary institutions within academic programmes.
In principle, postgraduate Master's programmes are designed to equip practitioners with essential skills in hazard assessment, climate adaptation, and multi-hazard risk evaluation. Guided by stakeholder input, the curriculum merges classroom theory with hands-on training, integrating fieldwork, scenario-based digital simulations, and case study analyses to build a holistic understanding of geomorphic hazards and the related risks. In this way, we intend to explore how geomorphology, with all its facets, can contribute to such academic programmes aiming to provide Master's degrees for experts and professionals in the field of DRM.
This session will examine foundational DRM concepts as well as educational innovations that translate geomorphology into actionable skills - from immersive field experiences to interactive training tools that enhance real-time decision-making capabilities. We invite contributions on diverse teaching methods that address the unique challenges of DRM education, including adaptive learning strategies, digital platforms, and in-situ hazard assessments. Additionally, contributions presenting existing postgraduate MSc programmes offered by different academic institutions are highly encouraged. Together, we aim to support the development of a resilient, informed workforce prepared to meet the evolving landscape of geomorphic systems and risks, and to improve the capacity of stakeholders to make informed, knowledge-based decisions.
Geomorphology for geoconservation: innovative approaches to geoheritage analysis
Professor Jasper Knight1, Professor Irene Bollati2, Dr Mark Williams3
1University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2University of Milan, Milan, Italy, 3University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Landscapes and related geomorphological dynamics are significant for their links to environmental, ecosystem services and georesources, and, as such, they have importance to human activities and cultures. This session will explore the nature of these interconnections and the ways in which landscape geological and geomorphological features and related dynamics can be assessed and monitored for geoconservation and sustainable promotion purposes. Contributions are invited to this session on the broad theme of geoheritage, geoconservation and sustainable promotion processes, innovative strategies and approaches, and possible impacts, based on examples from different geological and geomorphological contexts.
Heritage Geomorphology: a new branch of geomorphological studies? Concepts, methods and practices
Dr Lucie Kubalikova1, Dr. Paulo Pereira2, Dr. Fabien Hoblea3, Dr. Paola Coratza4, Dr. Marco Tulio Diniz5
1Institute of Geonics of The Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic, 2University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, 3Savoie University, Le Bourget du Lac, France, 4University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy, 5Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brasil
Geoheritage plays a key role in the understanding of the history of Earth and has a strict relationship with both the biological and the cultural heritage. The research on geoheritage has garnered significant interest and recognition within the scientific community over the past few decades. Geomorphological heritage is part of geoheritage, having specificities such as the aesthetics, the dynamics, and the imbrication of scales. These unique and distinctive characteristics have sustained significant interest over time from a conservation, tourism and educational perspective. Thus far, geomorphological heritage has been studied mainly within the field of cultural and social geomorphology. However, given the interdisciplinary character of geomorphological heritage, there is a need for the development of specific methods and approaches. A new branch of geomorphological studies, heritage geomorphology, can address this challenge. It can draw upon a range of techniques, including the complex characterization of geomorphological heritage, as well as methods of assessment of dynamics and risks to geomorphological heritage, its protection and management.
This session invites contributions that address conceptual approaches in heritage geomorphology, methods for assessing dynamics and risks associated with geomorphological heritage, and the practical implementation of these concepts and knowledge in the protection, conservation and management of geomorphological heritage. Contributions on methods for the quantitative assessment of geodiversity and the identification of ecosystem/geosystem services provided by landforms are also welcome.
The Scientific Nature of Geomorphology?
Dr Brendon Blue1, Dr Pauline Couper2
1Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, 2York St John University, York, United Kingdom
What is geomorphology today, almost thirty years after the publication of Rhoads and Thorn’s (1996) The Scientific Nature of Geomorphology? Published during a time of substantial debate over what geomorphology was and how it was, or should be, practised, Rhoads and Thorn’s landmark edited volume offered 18 thoughtful and provocative chapters capturing a discipline undergoing substantial change. Asserting geomorphology’s scientific status – was it in doubt? – its philosophical and methodological discussion articulated a 21st century identity for geomorphology.
Thirty years later, that identity is changing. Landscape change can be modelled, predicted and represented in ways that were previously unimaginable (Sofia 2020). Advances in remote sensing and geospatial technologies give rise to ‘big data’ geomorphology (Inkpen 2018). Earth System Science and cognate disciplines produce a new era of integration, interdependence and interdisciplinarity (Murray et al 2009; Granados Aguilar et al 2020). Meanwhile, applications including habitat restoration and hazard management demand place-based understandings that bring geomorphology into conversation with a wide range of cultural, community, political and institutional knowledge (Hikuroa et al 2018; García et al 2021). How landscapes are made knowable is itself an object of interest for Indigenous environmental scholarship, critical physical geography, queer and feminist work (Wölfle Hazard 2022), science and technology studies, political geology (Bobbette and Donovan 2021) and creative practice (Lantto 2020). Both geomorphology, and the perspectives available to investigate its nature, are evolving.
This session welcomes papers considering geomorphology’s purposes and contents, practices and representations, contexts and consequences, from a range of perspectives. Together we might ask: in what ways is geomorphology ‘scientific’, or not? What does the label do for the discipline and its audiences? What are its erasures, and what does it make more difficult? Does it matter?
