Arid and Semi-Arid Geomorphology

Based on four decades of research by Professor Andrew Goudie, this volume provides a state-of-the-art synthesis of our understanding of desert geomorphology. It presents a truly international perspective, with examples from all over the world. Extensively referenced and illustrated, it covers such topics as the importance of past climatic changes, the variability of different desert environments, rock breakdown, wind erosion and dust storm generation, sand dunes, fluvial and slope forms and processes, the role of the applied geomorphologist in desert development and conservation, and the Earth as an analogue for other planetary bodies. This book is destined to become the classic volume on arid and semi-arid geomorphology for advanced students and researchers in physical geography, geomorphology, Earth science, sedimentology, environmental science and archaeology.

1. Introduction; 2. Rock weathering and desert surfaces; 3. Aeolian geomorphology; 4. Dunes; 5. Rivers and slopes; 6. Applied geomorphology in deserts: hazards, resources and the future; 7. Regional variety.

Andrew S. Goudie is Director of the China Centre at the University of Oxford and is an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College and St Cross College, Oxford. Goudie was Professor of Geography and a Fellow of Hertford College from 1984 to 2003. A distinguished physical geographer, he was the recipient of a Royal Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1991, a DSc from Oxford in 2002, the Prize of the Royal Belgian Academy in 2002, the Geological Society of America's Farouk El-Baz Prize for desert research in 2007, and the David Linton Award of the British Society for Geomorphology in 2009. From 2005 to 2009 he was President of the International Association of Geomorphologists and he has also been President of the Geographical Association, President of Section E of the British Association, and Chairman of the British Geomorphological Research Group. He is also a former delegate of Oxford University Press and a former pro-vice chancellor, and was Master of St Cross College, Oxford from 2003 to 2011. He has authored, co-authored or edited more than thirty books on physical geography, including The SAGE Handbook of Geomorphology (2011), Landscapes and Geomorphology: A Very Short Introduction (2012), The Oxford Companion to Global Change (2009), the Encyclopedia of Geomorphology (2004) and The Nature of the Environment (2001).