Derek McDougall

Glacial geomorphology of the Tweedsmuir Hills, Central Southern Uplands, Scotland

The Quaternary glacial history of the Tweedsmuir Hills, Central Southern Uplands, Scotland, has received little attention since the 1980s, with earlier studies focussing on single lines of geomorphic evidence in isolated valleys. This study presents the first systematic glacial geomorphological assessment of the region, covering approximately 300 km2 with the map designed to be presented at A0. Mapping from remotely sensed imagery and field investigation reveal a large number of moraines and meltwater channels, both within valleys and occasionally extending to the plateau, alongside a range of peri- and para-glacial features, including solifluction lobes, alluvial fans, debris cones, river terraces and rock slope failures. Aspects of the mapped geomorphology are consistent with plateau icefield landsystems mapped elsewhere in Britain and this will hopefully form the basis for palaeoglaciological reconstructions which will improve our understanding of the extent and dynamics of former ice masses in the region.

Landforms of High Mountains

I teach mountain geomorphology to university students, so I was delighted to be asked to review this book. It is described by the publisher as an image atlas and reference book that comprehensively explains the geomorphological forms of high mountains. The latter is quite an ambitious claim, especially given that the book is only 158 pages long. However, the authors’ tone is more measured, and they make clear in their preface that the book does not seek to be comprehensive or to replace any conventional textbook. In terms of readership, they state that it is written in a way that makes it accessible to anyone interested in the landforms and landscapes of high mountains, from the layperson through to students and teachers of earth sciences. Aiming to satisfy such a range of readers is not a trivial undertaking, so I looked forward to seeing how well they succeeded in this objective and, more to the point, whether I would be able to use this book with my students. It is worth starting off by considering the authors’ use of the term “high mountain”; it appears in the title, some chapter headings, and throughout the book, so it is clearly important to them. But what does it mean? Anyone looking for a clear definition will be disappointed. The authors rightly note the difficulties in defining such terms, which of necessity are arbitrary and rarely work in all situations, but they nevertheless go on to propose that “high mountains ... are characterized by high relief energy and in particular by spatially confined changes in environment with altitude, ie a clear climate-related stair-step progression of environment” (p 8). However, it soon becomes clear in practice what the authors mean by “high mountains”: most examples in the book are drawn from the European Alps. The book, which is slightly under A4 size, has 11 chapters. Topics covered include mountain building, mountain weather and climate, tectonic landforms, volcanoes, weathering, slope failures, snow, mountain glaciers, mountain rivers, and the impact of humans on the landscape. Inevitably, some of these topics receive more attention than others: for example, 3 chapters and around 45 pages are devoted to glaciers. Although this emphasis works well for me, others may take a different view. It is important to remember, though, that this is not a textbook; the treatment of topics reflects the authors’ field experiences and specifically the opportunities—and limitations—presented by their photo collections. One of the defining features of the book is the extensive use of photos, most of which are the authors’ own. It is clear why the publisher describes this book as an “image atlas”; the book is richly illustrated, with plenty of good photos. However, some of these could have been reproduced at larger sizes; the default size (approximately 12.538.5 cm) is slightly small for my liking. Most photos come with helpful captions that add to the information given in the main text. In some places, though, photos have been used instead of diagrams, and this has not always been successful. In the section on plate tectonics and mountain building (in the introductory chapter), for example, a photo of Mount Everest has been used to illustrate the collision between the Indian and the Eurasian plates. There is no accompanying diagram to assist readers in visualizing and understanding the plate boundary processes and their associated morphological expressions. There are no such diagrams for the plate boundary types. This is a pity, because the text on plate tectonics and mountain building is otherwise clearly written and pitched at an appropriate level for students new to the topic. The paucity of diagrams is a recurring theme throughout the book (there are just 9 in total), making it more difficult for those new to the subject to properly understand the terms and concepts; not everything can be illustrated by photos. It is not possible here to review the text chapter by chapter, but some general observations are possible. On the whole, I enjoyed reading the book. The level at which it is written makes it broadly suitable for university students who are new to the subject (notwithstanding the diagram issues), but those intending to use the book in this way should be aware that no citations are provided within the text, which makes it difficult to pursue topics in more depth. This is not a particular problem; some introductory academic texts eschew in-text citations, ostensibly for clarity, but I am less keen on this approach because it makes it more difficult for students to learn about good academic practice. I have two main issues with the text. First, there are inconsistencies in the clarity of the writing. While I more or less understood all of the text, some chapters are more clearly written and easier to follow than others. I found myself rereading sentences to determine their meaning a little more often that I would have expected. This is compounded by the second issue: some of the terminology used is nonstandard. I noticed this particularly in the chapters on glaciers, an area of interest for me, where examples include detersion (for polishing and abrasion), detraction (quarrying or plucking), exaration (the quarrying of larger fragments, I think), nutrient zone MountainMedia Mountain Research and Development (MRD) An international, peer-reviewed open access journal published by the International Mountain Society (IMS) www.mrd-journal.org