ESS 326 Geomorphology Name: ______________________

Lab 5: Climate and erosional signatures of the ndes

Due: Beginning of lab 6
!urpose:
The goal of this lab is to learn how erosional style and magnitude influences landscape form
under different climates, and to quantify these differences. We will be analyzing basins along
the length of the ndes and constructing hypsometric cur!es to in!estigate how topography is
affected by climate and erosion.
"ntrodu#tion:
"ypsometry is the frequency distribution of land area at different ele!ations. #or e$ample,
%arth&s hypsometry 'see figure( is bimodal, with the ma)ority of area at ele!ations of either
continental platforms or ocean basins.
To perform a hypsometric analysis on any gi!en basin, ele!ation 'often normalized ele!ation( is
plotted against percent area. The percent area will be the proportion of total basin area at each
ele!ation.
*eft: +a$imum 'dar, line( and mean 'grey
area( ele!ation in -. latitude bins. /ed circles
are ele!ations of modern snowline and blue
circles are lowest ele!ation of 0leistocene
glacier e$tent.
/ight: +ean annual precipitation, o!erlain on
shaded1relief map of western 2outh merica.
ndes Climate and Erosion:
The climate of the ndes e$hibits strong
!ariation across the mountain range and with
latitude 'see figure(. 3n the low1latitude northern
ndes, the %astern side of the range recei!es 45
m6yr of rainfall, while the 0acific side gets 78.5
m6yr. This relationship is re!ersed in the
temperate southern ndes 'south of 99. 2(. The
central ndes are in the subtropical belt of
deserts, and little precipitation falls on either side
of the range.
Question 1: Describe the relationship between
climate and erosion in each of the three areas:
What is the dominant type of erosion in each
area: What is the relati!e magnitude of each
type of erosion: "ow does the style and
magnitude of erosion !ary with ele!ation in each
region:
Question 2: Based on your thoughts about the
erosional regimes in each area, draw three
normalized cur!es showing your e$pectations of
each area&s hypsometry. #or each area, thin,
about how much of the land area you e$pect to
be at each ele!ation. "ow and why do the cur!es
!ary between climatic regions:
'nswer questions on separate sheets(
$ypsometri# nalysis of ndean %asins
To compare the landscapes of the three regions, we will do hypsometric analyses of si$ west1
draining basins in the ndes, two from each of the climatic regions 'see map on ne$t page(.
#ollow the instructions on the last page of this handout to create hypsometric cur!es using
rc;32 and %$cel.
Question 3: Describe in detail how the land area at different ele!ations !aries between the
hypsometric cur!es for the three areas. What do these differences mean in terms of the style and
magnitude of erosion in each region: Discuss how the cur!es
compare with the cur!es you s,etched based on e$pectations.
Question 4: /epeat the hypsometric analysis for 9 basins of your
choice, one in each climatic region and add the cur!es to your plot.
3s the hypsometric !ariance greater within indi!idual erosional
regimes or between different regimes: Discuss whether including
these additional basins on your graph suggests that this sort of
analysis is useful for characterizing the climatic1erosional history of
different regions. Turn in a copy of your plot with the lab.
Question 5: /ead the following paper, which can be downloaded
from the website:
+ontomery et al., 588-. <limate, tectonics, and the
morphology of the ndes
What are the ta,e home points of the paper: Describe how your
results compare with these authors& findings. 3n what ways do your
hypsometric analyses support or refute the paper&s conclusion:
Creating hypsometri# #ur&es using r#G"S and E'#el:
-. Obtain data: Download data from course website
'http:66gis.ess.washington.edu6grg6courses6ess9566inde$.html( and sa!e data in a new
folder: <:=Documents and 2ettings=geo1user=Documents=rc;32="ypsometry>*ab=.
2a!e all lab files in this folder.
5. Import data: ?pen rc;32 4 open the <atalog 'top right( 4 browse to data 4 drag data
into the Table of <ontents.
9. Setup data: +a,e sure watershed layer is abo!e the ndes D%+. /ight1clic, watersheds
4 properties 4 2ymbology Tab 4 2ymbol 4 change fill color to @no color&.
A. Select basins: /ight1clic, watersheds 4 ?pen ttribute Table 'this is a list of all the
basins in the shapefile( 4 clic, on the grey bo$ to the left of basin with #3D B A-A55 to
highlight that basin 4 close ttribute Table 4 right1clic, watersheds 4 Data 4 %$port
Data 4 name the file C#3D>Dbasin numberDE 4 change the file type to 2hapefile 4 sa!e
file 4 dd layer to pro)ect.
F. Clip DEM to basin shape: <lic, @2earch& 'top right( 4 search and clic, on: @e$tract by
mas,& 'see footnote if you encounter an error( 4 choose demcon as the @3nput raster& 4
choose clipped basin for @3nput raster or feature mas, data& 4 choose C#3D>Dbasin
numberD>D%+E for the @?utput raster&.
6. dd clipped DEM: 3f the clipped D%+ isn&t automatically added: <atalog 4 browse to
location of clipped D%+ 4 drag into the Table of <ontents.
G. E!port ele"ation data: ;o to the clipped D%+&s ttribute Table 4 right1clic, !alue and
choose 2ort scending 4 select all data points whose Halue 'ele!ation( is greater than -
m 4 Table ?ptions 'top left( 4 %$port 4 sa!e as a .t$t file with name: @#3D>Dbasin
numberD>data.t$t& 4 do not add layer.
I. #ormali$e data in E!cel:
a. ?pen file as a comma1separated file. The @H*J%>& column contains ele!ations,
while the @<?JKT>& column contains the number of grid points in the basin at
each ele!ation. Data should be in order of ascending ele!ation. Kame columns
D1#: <umulati!e rea, <umulati!e #raction of Total rea, and #raction of +a$
%le!ation.
b. 2et D5B<5, and for the rest of column D, ha!e each !alue be the sum of the
preceding D !alue and the cell of the same number in column < 'e.g.
D-5B<-5LD--(.
c. #or column %, use the equation: %nBDn6'+M'D:D(1+3K'D:D((1+3K'D:D(6
'+M'D:D(1+3K'D:D((, where n is the row number.
d. #or column #, use the equation: #nBBn6'+M'B:B(1+3K'B:B((1+3K'B:B(6
'+M'B:B(1+3K'B:B((, where n is the row number.
e. 0lot the @<umulati!e #raction of Total rea& on the $1a$is and @#raction of
+a$imum %le!ation& on the y1a$is. Jse the following plot as an e$ample of how
the data should loo, and the plot format:
N. %epeat: /epeat steps A1I for basin #3D numbers: GI8II, N5-F8, N5II6, -565IG, 5A-5N5.
2a!e the @<umulati!e #raction of Total rea& and @#raction of +a$imum %le!ation& data
for each basin in a new spreadsheet, and ma,e sure you ,now the basin associated with
each dataset.
-8. &lot: 0lot all 6 cur!es on the same graph' <olor the northern basins red, the central
basins yellow, and the southern basins blue.
#ootnote: to turn on the 2patial nalyst: <ustomize tab 4 e$tensions 4 turn on spatial analyst