All abstracts for the conference will be indexed on the ProQuest hosted American Geological Institute database GeoRef. THe database contains over 3 million entries, is accessible worldwide, and will provide an academic logevity of the abstracts well past the conference end. For more information on the database see http://www.csa.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/factsheets/georef-set-c.php

Geomorphologically, two very different styles of landscape dominate the southern hemisphere. Fragments of the former supercontinent Gondwana - Southern Africa, South America, Australia, and Antarctica – include very ancient, tectonically stable, very slowly eroding landscapes under a range of climates, from arid through humid to polar. In contrast, very high rates of uplift and erosion characterize the landscapes of tectonically active island groups such as Indonesia, New Guinea and New Zealand.

The geomorphologic contrast between these landmasses raises challenging questions concerning large-scale landscape evolution, such as whether topography evolves or remains in dynamic steady state. Long-term interactions between tectonics, continental drift and climate come into play, and questions also remain about inheritance of Gondwanic landscape elements. Analysis of landscape history calls upon a wide range of techniques: surface and regolith dating, thermochronology, analysis of derived sediments, as well as classical geomorphologic methods.

Contributors to this session are invited to examine issues of large-scale landscape evolution in Gondwanic fragments and younger terrains of the Southern Hemisphere, including geomorphologic imprints of past climates. Case studies of specific landscapes that illuminate the theme are most welcome.

Principles from fluvial geomorphology have underpinned a transformation in river management practices in many parts of the world. We invite paper and poster presentations that demonstrate the application of geomorphic research on river systems. Contributions are particularly encouraged on topics that highlight river responses to human disturbance, the use of geomorphology as a biophysical template for management applications, and river conservation/rehabilitation initiatives.  It is hoped that the session will include a blend of contributions on field-based, modeling and theoretical/conceptual themes.

Modern drylands occupy around a third of the earth’s land surface. Though sometimes portrayed as barren and lifeless, they are home to many people and support grazing, agriculture, tourism and resource industries across the globe. Land management issues (including sustainable use, water allocation, and effective rehabilitation) are hampered by insufficient knowledge of their geomorphic processes. Drylands of the past have been major contributors to the sedimentary record, including the iconic Old Red Sandstone sequences and economically valuable hydrocarbon provinces. Greater understanding of the diversity of present-day drylands geomorphology will improve interpretations of the geological past.

Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are invited. The session will be open for all topics relating to drylands geomorphology,  but will focus on themes:

• The diversity of modern drylands environments
• Landforms and their responses to Quaternary climate changes and human impacts
• Geomorphic processes, and what differentiates the drylands from other places
• Interactions between various geomorphological processes in drylands
• New methods in studying landscapes in drylands

A special issue of an international journal will be considered to publish the papers presented in this session.

Regolith and soils are increasingly emerging as the critical link in studies of surface and subsurface processes in geomorphology, in linking rock weathering to landscape evolution, and in tieing together biological, geochemical, and geophysical processes. This session is intended to bring together soil geomorphologists, pedologists, and weathering specialists to explore new frontiers in linking weathering, regolith formation, pedogenesis, and landscape evolution. Of particular interest are new and emerging conceptual models in soil geomorphology, feedback between weathering and regolith development, and the role of biota, topography, climate, and hydrology in regolith formation and pedogenesis. Studies on the applications of new dating and flux measurement technologies are also welcome, as are studies utilizing paleosols in the study of landscape evolution. Abstracts for paper and poster sessions are welcome.

Wildfire can lead to considerable geomorphological and environmental change, both directly by weathering bedrock surfaces and changing soil structure and properties, and indirectly through the effects of changes to the soil and vegetation on hydrological and geomorphological processes. Thus, for example, investigations of accelerated hillslope erosion and post-fire debris flow have been at the forefront of fire impact research in recent years. A recent surge in these and related areas of fire research highlights the challenges faced by researchers and land managers in predicting and addressing the on-site and off-site effects of fires. This surge has accompanied a trend of increased fire activity with particularly destructive fires in many parts of the world, which is likely to continue with climate change for the foreseeable future. Notwithstanding this need to focus on contemporary fire impacts, fires have influenced landscape development in various ways over many millions of years as a recurring agent in most environments that produce sufficient biomass to sustain a burn.

This session will be divided into two parts: Session I, which is invitational, and Session II, which solicits research papers in the usual way.

Session I (Invitational) is an introductory session to which contributions will be by invitation only. Members of the IAG Working Group on the Geomorphic Implications of Global Environmental Change who include geomorphologists from Austria, Canada, England, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Russia, Scotland, United States and Wales, will present their findings in this session

All members of the Working Group have been engaged in a four year research collaboration and have produced a book, entitled “21st. Century Landscapes” to be published by Cambridge University Press. The group argues that the phenomenon of global environmental change is much more than just climate change; it includes a consideration of four direct drivers, namely relief, hydroclimate and runoff, sea level and land use. The effects of these drivers are not in question, but their relative importance is a matter of ongoing research and whether their effects are good or bad is a judgment call. In attempting to assess the effects of global environmental change on geomorphology, the spotlight is necessarily on landforms, landform assemblages and landscapes sensu lato, thereby implying ‘intermediate’ temporal and spatial scales. Topics to be discussed include: the role of geomorphology in global environmental change research; mountain geomorphology, fluvial geomorphology, coastal geomorphology, coral reef geomorphology, tropical rainforest landscapes, savanna landscapes, desert landscapes, Mediterranean landscapes, temperate forest and range landscapes, tundra and permafrost dominated taiga landscapes and ice sheet and ice cap landscapes.

Session II (Open call) complements the reports in Session I and will include additional research contributions to the overall theme of Geomorphology and Global Environmental Change. Papers are invited which address one or more of the direct drivers of global environmental change, which have something to say about landform, landform assemblage or landscape change and which focus their time scale within the boundaries of decades to centuries. Theoretical, modeling, experimental and field work-based research contributions from any of the world’s major biomes or azonal environments are all welcome.

Variation in the degree to which components of geomorphic landscapes are connected or disconnected introduces a dynamic element into the behaviour of many biophysical fluxes. Dis/connectivity is related to spatial configuration and topological relationships, while the difference in the frequency/magnitude spectra of coupled processes (e.g. hillslope-channel, cliff-beach) results in temporal fluctuation in connectivity. Dis/connectivity has implications not only for morphological development but also for closing historical to geological timescale sediment budgets, for understanding many ecological phenomena that are intimately tied to water and sediment fluxes, and for probabilistic estimates of hazard. We invite contributions that explore the implications of dis/connectivity within sediment cascades for various phenomena and at a range of spatial and temporal scales.

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is a rapidly growing spatial data acquisition technique that has been adapted by geomorphologists to capture high-resolution temporal and spatial data sets. The ability to collect precise and accurate centimeter to millimeter scale topographic data and to conduct repeat surveys provides geomorphologist with unprecedented insights into geomorphic complexity, fine-scale change detection, and automated geomorphic feature extraction. This session is designed to bring together geomorphic researchers from all aspects of geomorphology to present scientific findings, methodological approaches, or conceptual applications of TLS. The goal of the session is to promote interaction among TLS-users in geomorphology and any interested individuals are invited to attend a break-out session that consist of a broad discussion of future directions and needs of TLS within geomorphology.

Landscapes evolve as a result of complex interactions of both exogenic and endogenic processes. Understanding the dimensions over which these processes operate, their relative contribution over time in sculpting the landscape, and their interaction, is important in light of potential feedbacks between tectonic activity, climate, and structural inheritance.

The last decade has seen a remarkable increase in the capabilities and applications of various isotopic and atomic geochronological techniques to provide quantitative constraints on the evolution of Earth’s surface at a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, for example, in-situ cosmogenic nuclides, low temperature thermochronometry and trapped-charge dating.

We actively encourage contributions from those using isotopic and other new analytical techniques to constrain both the timing and rates at which surface processes operate to provide insight into how landscapes evolve through time. Applications to the study of basin-wide sediment inventories, tectonic versus climatic regimes of surface modification, glacial erosion and ice sheet volumes, to name but a few, are welcome.  We particularly encourage presentations that integrate data sets from various chronometers, cover new developments and test methodologies.

Quantitative landscape modelling is growing rapidly in sophistication.  It is capitalizing upon new geophysical and geochemical techniques to measure landscape process at scale; and new remote sensing data that provide either improved inputs or independent model evaluation.  The models are building upon the process geomorphology of recent decades allowing hypothesis testing of landscape forming processes, against a range of theoretical approaches.  Models are incorporating a wider range of biophysical process including vegetation dynamics.  This is at a time of unprecedented interest in predicting the response of landscapes to climate change and other anthropogenic drivers.

This session will focus on quantitative predictions of landscape dynamics.  We welcome papers that focus on:

•    new approaches to landscape modelling;
•    improved process representations;
•    hypothesis testing using landscape models;
•    model evaluation against independent data; and
•    improved model parameterization.

The goal of this session is to explore recent advances in coastal geomorphology and management. With climate change, sea level rise, and an ever growing population in coastal regions, pressure on our coasts is increasing with each passing decade. Advances in technology allow us to measure and model coastal processes in ways not possible even a decade ago. We welcome papers on a wide range of coastal topics including: coastal hydrodynamics and sediment transport, salt marsh and mudflat dynamics, sandy barrier system dynamics and evolution, coral reef geomorphology, rocky coast evolution, geomorphological modelling of coastal systems, etc. Papers that relate coastal process and coastal management are also welcome along with associated topics such as remote sensing in coastal areas.

Both oral papers and posters are welcome in this session. It is expected that approximately half of the papers accepted will be presented as posters.

With about 80 percent of the World’s shoreline considered rocky, it is surprising that rock coasts have  received relatively little attention compared to other types of coasts. Fortunately, and in the last 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in interest in rock coasts amongst coastal scientists.  Rock coasts present interesting questions and classic geomorphological problems such as equifinality, inheritance and uncertainty about the role of magnitude and frequency of formative processes.  In addition the complexity of rock coasts evolution is further enhanced because of the wide variety of geological and lithological factors that influence processes, morphologies and rates of development.

In this session many of these geomorphological problems will be examined and we invite contributions on all aspects of rock coast geomorphology.  Papers dealing with processes, rates of development, theoretical issues, management, techniques and modeling are welcome.

This session is convened with the intention of filling some of the gaps in our understanding of the role of hillslope processes, particularly mass movement, in geomorphic systems.  While sediment yield is often treated as a function of stream power, in many situations, it is controlled by the episodic supply of hillslope material. Issues to be addressed might include frequency-magnitude of landslides, hillslope process sediment budgets, connectivity, work versus formative events.
In addition, the onset and intensity of phases of mass movement activity vary through time, often in response to changes in climate, human activity, and tectonics.
 We invite contributions on any aspects of hillslope processes, mass movement and landslide. In particular, we encourage contributions that might highlight the significance of these processes to the geomorphic system as a whole.

Increasingly, geomorphic evolution is influenced by human action. Landforms are produced directly by various activities (construction, excavation, hydrological projects, farming etc.) and indirectly, accelerating natural processes (soil erosion and sedimentation, channel evolution, mass movements and others). The impacts of mining, industry, settlement expansion, transportation, agriculture and even warfare, tourism and sports activities can be decisive in geomorphic evolution. Large-scale restoration measures are often needed to reverse unfavourable tendencies in landscape transformation and to ensure landscape functioning. 

Present world landscapes reflect past geomorphological processes and landforms. In particular, Quaternary landscape evolution plays a key role in the explanation of the present day topography and it influences the function of modern geosystems. Furthermore, Quaternary landscape formation and its impact on active geomorphic systems are increasingly targets of integrated interdisciplinary studies as it forms an important basis for many socially relevant issues.

The evolution of paleosurfaces is controlled by a complex network of external and internal influences. They represent a zone of exchange between soil/parent rock, the ecosystem, and the atmosphere. Terrestrial archives give evidence of topographical and ecological changes at different time scales, reflecting paleoenvironmental fluctuations at a local, regional and global scale. Considering that recently a number of efficient dating methods are available, continental soil-sedimentary sequences can provide valuable data for the reconstruction of paleotopography and paleoenvironment.
Within this session we intend to present actual studies on landscape evolution and chronostratigraphy during the Quaternary.

Presentations should be focused on Quaternary sediments, geomorphological processes and forms on spatial and temporal scales and the relevance for modern landscapes and geosystems.

Modern glacial and periglacial processes in mid and low latitude alpine environments provide contemporary analogues that are crucial for us to be able to accurately reconstruct geomorphological processes and the climatic forcings that occurred during the Quaternary (i.e., retreat of the ice sheets and alpine glaciers, melting of permafrost). This session will bring together researchers in the fields of contemporary glacial and periglacial processes and paleo-cold region reconstruction to highlight and discuss recent advances, outstanding research questions and application of state-of-the-art approaches to understanding the role of these processes in landscape evolution and global change.

We invite contributions in any area of glacial or periglacial geomorphology, preferably with a Southern Hemisphere focus. Contributions that highlight the interaction between these two components of the cryosphere and/or the use of modern landforms to reconstruct past environmental conditions are especially welcome.

Karst landscapes present unique issues in land management as substantial populations across the globe inhabit these areas and face significant issues in land degradation and water utilization. On longer time scales, karst processes are unique in geomorphological studies because the subsurface is a repository of past geomorphological and palaeoclimatic information.

We invite contributions in any area of cave and karst geomorphology. Oral and poster sessions are planned.

The geoarchaeological approach has now become widely accepted in archaeological programmes. It is generally acknowledged that it is necessary to take the landscape and environmental dynamics into account to reconstitute a complete history of societies and to study the interaction between humans and their environment. Geomorphology plays an important role in the geoarchaeological approach, and has greatly benefitted from its collaboration with archaeology over the past decades. The session is open to any geoarchaeological study, but will be particularly focussed on highlighting the impact of geomorphology in the field of geoarchaeology.

Volcanic processes are inherently complex and diverse resulting in extreme variations in morphology and the volcanoes effect on the surrounding environment. Volcanoes resulting from either a single event or longer lasting volcanic processes have the ability to alter their surrounding environment. In addition, volcanic activity is considered to be significant factor in climate change both locally and globally. These changes can alter human social evolution, and therefore volcanism can play an important role in human communities on the daily basis. This multidisciplinary session calls for papers dealing with every aspect of volcanism, both physical and social geographically.

Classical studies in geomorphology, such as morphological evolution and geochronology of volcanic reliefs, as well as morphotectonics, morphometry, have demonstrated to be vitally important in understanding many aspects of volcanic processes. The use of new techniques (morphometry, DEM, fractal, regoliths and soils analyses) to date volcanic landforms have proven to be powerful tools to the understanding of volcanic impact in landscape evolution, and short- and long-term erosion of volcanoes and/or their environment. Geoarchaeology and social study methods, including the collection of oral traditions, illustrate the affect volcanism has on human societies. The evolution of sub-oceanic and oceanic volcanoes, and their morphological evolution and submarine sedimentation, are considered to be new trends in volcanic geomorphology research. Detailed studies of eruptive history from sedimentology, physical volcanology geochronology, and geochemistry have also led to the development of realistic, probabilistic models for future eruption activity. Erosion on volcanic slopes and in watersheds has also recently acquired extensive research interest. Quantitative sediment budget and erosion rates in watersheds on active volcanoes have helped refine short term erosion processes. Repeated patterns in volcanic flank instability, mass flows (debris avalanches, debris flows, and mudflows) and resulting natural hazards such as tsunamis may be controlled by external factors. These volcanic events greatly impact the natural and human environment. Interaction of the hydrosphere (glacier, subsurface and surface water) and volcanic activity resulting in phreatomagmatism is considered to be highly hazardous phenomena and generate unique depositional record and volcanic landforms. Hazard-mapping methods and advanced hazard and risk assessment in populated areas on and around active volcanoes have significant social geography aspects and therefore those researches are also welcome in this session.
The session will focus and call contributions centred around four major aspects:
1. The geomorphic evolution of volcanic edifices from monogenetic volcanoes, strato-volcanoes, calderas and large igneous province.,
2. Methods used to understand the behaviour of explosive volcacanism and the emplacement of pyroclastic deposits and volcanic mass flow deposits.
3. Understanding volcanic hazards from research based on physical volcanology and geoarchaeology.,
4. Methods used for assessing volcanic hazards and risks including social studies.

This session is supported by the Commission on Volcanogenic Sediments (CVS) of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth Interior (IAVCEI)

A four-day pre-conference field trip "Volcanic, coastal, karst, river and lake landscapes of Western Victoria, including geomorphosites of the UNESCO Kanawinka Global Geopark" will be led by Bernie Joyce (ebj@unimelb.edu.au).

Various systems of landforms and their generative processes can best be understood in a full planetary context.  This session will consider the forms and processes for cosmogenic (impact-generated), endogenic (tectonic and volcanic), and exogenic (aeolian, hillslope/mass movement, fluvial, coastal/lacustrine, glacial and periglacial) landscapes of the solid-surface objects in the solar system, including those features of Earth that serve as the analogues for understanding their extraterrestrial counterparts.  Relatively recent planetary mission discoveries include volcanic, tectonic, and aeolian landscapes on Venus; aeolian, fluvial, hillslope/mass movement, lacustrine, coastal, glacial and periglacial landscapes on Mars; active volcanism on Io; aeolian, lacustrine,  and fluvial-dendritic landscapes on Titan: and cosmogenic landscapes on these and many more.  All of these phenomena provide the opportunity to extend the methodology of geomorphological inquiry to make it a science of Earth-like planets, both in this solar system and in those currently being discovered.

The fluvial session is typically one of the largest at the international geomorphology conference. This is simply because flowing water drives so much of the form of the landscape. We are not proposing any special focus for the fluvial sessions at this conference, as we simply want to encourage as many fluvial geomorphologists as possible to get together at this premiere scientific event.  We do ask that you submit abstracts that (a) are concerned with the geomorphic consequences of flowing water, and (b) will be of interest to our international audience. Now, we realize that many fluvial geomorphologists could be in a quandary.  You will be scanning across the conference sessions, and you will find many sessions that relate to fluvial processes (e.g. sediment budgets, river management, landscape processes, etc.). We would encourage you to support these specialist sessions if you can.  But if they are full, or your research does not fit easily into a specialist session, please join us in the fluvial sessions! There will likely be a few fluvial sessions, and we will organise the talks and posters into themes when we get them.

Biogeomorphology addresses the two-way interface between ecological and geomorphic systems.  There is increasing recognition that nearly all earth surface processes involve biogenic feedbacks in some form or another.  Within the last few decades there have been many diverse contributions to research in this area, covering topics such as large woody debris and vegetation in fluvial systems, biological soil crusts, and tree fall and animal bioturbation influences on hillslope processes.  Increasingly, there is a need for a forum at which researchers tackling very different aspects of biogeomorphology can come together and learn from other research traditions and directions.  This session will provide such a forum. We encourage oral and poster contributions to this session on research covering all aspects of biogeomorphology, and would like to attract a diversity of empirical, theoretical and integrative studies. 

Investigations of aeolian processes and geomorphology across all scales of interest are currently benefiting from major innovations in technology and interdisciplinarity in approach. A proliferation of large-scale research stimulated by interest on the impacts of aeolian dust dynamics on climate change and geochemical cycling has been matched by advances in our understanding of turbulent airflow on grain transport. Recent advances in modeling aeolian processes and landforms provide new insights into aeolian systems but also suggest fruitful research pathways in combination with empirical studies for better understanding environmental change and its implications. In this session we invite papers on all aspects of aeolian research investigating the modeling or measurement of aeolian processes and landforms and also studies of dust generation, transport and deposition.

Geomorphosites are landforms and landscapes important for Earth and climate history knowledge. They may also have other additional values (ecological, cultural, aesthetic, economic) and may be considered as part of the cultural heritage. Geotourism is a branch of tourism aimed at the promotion of the geological and geomorphological heritage of an area, in close relationship with other types of heritage (cultural, ecological, archaeological, etc.). It participates to the development of new forms of "soft tourism" and "green tourism" and has developed especially in parallel with the creation of geoparks. This session concludes the works of the Working group "Geomorphosites: research, protection and education". The aim of the session will be focused on the contribution of geomorphology and geomorphosite studies to the development of geotourism and geoparks. Participants are encouraged to submit abstracts especially on the following topics: geodiversity assessment, geomorphological heritage assessment and inventories, mapping issues concerning geomorphosites and geotourism, geomorphosites and cultural heritage, education on geoheritage, tourist promotion of geomorphosites, geomorphology within geoparks and natural parks. (Note that mere presentations of geoparks or geotourism projects should be avoided.) Presentations are particularly welcome on geomorphosites and geotourism in Australia and New Zealand, the Pacific region, and Asia. Conference excursions will demonstrate many of these themes, including volcanic, karst and coastal geomorphosites in Australia's first geopark.

Climate change affects all Earth surface systems but with the arguably greatest impact in high-latitude and high-altitude cold environments. In these areas, climate change shapes earth surface processes not just by altering vegetation cover and human activities but also through its impact on frost penetration and duration within the ground surface layers.

All of these factors influence patterns of erosion, transport and deposition of sediments and related fluxes (e.g., nutrients, solutes, carbon). It is a challenge to develop a better understanding of how these factors combine to affect sedimentary transfer processes and sediment budgets. Our baseline knowledge on the erosion, sedimentary transfer and depositional processes operating within Holocene and present-day climates and as landscape systems evolved and under given vegetation covers, forms our basis for predicting the consequences of predicted future climate change and related vegetation cover changes. However, much of this information is limited in terms of spatial and temporal coverage and needs to be extended and consolidated. Only when we have these reliable models response to landscape and climate change we will have fuller understanding of probable future changes to these regions.

Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are invited. The Session will include a section particularly focussed on high-latitude and high-altitude cold environments but it is open for oral and poster contributions on sediment budget studies from all different climates.

This session/theme is convened by the International Geographical Union's Commission on Land Degradation and Desertification - which had its origins in the International Association of Geomorphologists. Papers for this session should focus on the ambiguity of the role of land degradation as both a cause and a consequence of global change in a broad sense. The question is to adapt to and prevent or avoid the adverse consequences of global change (although the title of the session only includes adaptation). A related topic may link to the questions of risk and resilience or vulnerability of landscapes and land use systems to land degradation, which is in turn linked to global change. Papers on other aspects of geomorphology and land degradation will also be most welcome.

Geomorphological maps are one of most useful end-products of investigations made by geomorphologists in the field, documenting landscape morphological components, their spatial organisation and the processes acting upon it. Geomorphological maps have an increasing application within industry and government bodies by a wide range of professionals (such as engineers, urban planners, soil and forest scientists, agronomists, and land conservationists) dealing with the management of land and its modifications.

Advances in laboratory techniques, numerical modelling and digital surveying (including map production) have led to a great enhancement in geomorphological investigation. In particular the digital analysis of remotely sensed data, widespread application of GIS and digital terrain analysis, combined with increased computing power, have collectively lead to the integration of classical field surveys with digital techniques. Recent developments in data dissemination and visualization have led to widespread uptake of scientific data by non geomorphological experts. Such maps can be considered as a meeting point at which geomorphologists, geologists and other professionals share their different knowledge of land and plan together a sustainable use of the environment.

This session invites papers dealing with applications and techniques for applied geomorphological mapping, terrain evaluation, land-system mapping, and morphological mapping. Particular attention will be given to the following aspects:

1. Case studies of applications of geomorphological mapping in the industrial/conservation/development sectors;

2. Integration of ‘traditional’ field observation with digital data collection, analysis, presentation, and dissemination in applied geomorphological maps;

3. Legend systems for applied geomorphological mapping;

4. Impact of applied geomorphological mapping in the decision making processes

The session is open to anyone -from academia, public agencies, and the private sector- involved in applied geomorphological mapping. Special attention will be given to the applications of geomorphological maps in multi-disciplinary projects and studies.

Over the past two decades GLOCOPH (Global Continental Palaeohydrology) has a played a key role in fostering research into global Quaternary hydrological change, especially the Late Quaternary, while more recently FLAG (Fluvial Archives Group) has encouraged the compilation of stratigraphic evidence from Late Cenozoic alluvial sequences worldwide. Both groups have compiled numerous edited volumes of papers on their respective themes. Following the success of end-on sessions from these two groups at INQUA in Cairns in 2007, it is proposed to run a similar format at the IAG whereby those with interests in one or other fields can present papers of interest to both. While the focus of such work started with an emphasis on Holocene and Late Pleistocene evidence, advances in geochronology have meant that the work of both groups are now able to extend back in time to include the Late Tertiary.  Papers are invited that present new geomorphic, sedimentological, palaeoecological and geochronological evidence from fluvial, lacustrine, aeolian, swamp, groundwater and hill-slope situations, or that collate and summarise existing evidence, for climate and associated hydrological changes at different temporal resolutions. Papers that attempt to predict future climate and hydrological changes on the basis of evidence for past changes are also encouraged.

The Tropical Geomorphology session focuses on the role that geomorphologists can play in establishing the sensitivity of low latitude geomorphic systems to environmental change and human impact. Many regions within the Tropics are undergoing rapid development with widespread land cover transformation, urbanization and intervention in fluvial systems. Geomorphology can contribute to the recognition and articulation of environmental hazards, the management of extractive industries and the formulation of sustainable resource management. For example, TRaCK is an interdisciplinary research programme to support river and coastal management in northern Australia. Fundamental to sustainable use of tropical rivers is the science knowledge to characterize fluvial landscapes and evolution and to determine the sources, stocks and flows of water, carbon, sediment and nutrients. Papers (for oral or poster presentation) are invited on all aspects of tropical geomorphology with particular emphasis on:

• Applied tropical geomorphology for hazard mitigation and sustainable resource use
• Characterization of tropical riverscapes and interactions between ecology and flow dynamics
• Sensitivity of sediment, carbon and nutrient dynamics to landuse and climate change
• Developments in interpreting Quaternary environmental change and long term denudation rates in low latitudes
• The role of deep weathering in earth surface processes in the tropics
• Carbonate and ferricrete formation and its influence on landscape evolution

Landscapes develop through the interplay between tectonic and climatic processes. Tectonic processes, such as faulting, folding, and uplift often build topography, and climate (manifest as erosion, and sediment transport and deposition) helped by gravity, tear or wear down that topography. Increasingly quantitative methods in seismology, paleoseismology, geodesy, geochronology, and Quaternary climate studies, enable the roles of tectonics, climate, and inter-relationships between these forcing factors, to be untangled, in time and space. These improved understandings contribute to hazard assessment, resource identification, environmental sustainability, and climate change forecasting.

Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are invited. The session will
be open to all topics related to tectonic geomorphology, but will
emphasise these themes:

• Linking event scale tectonic processes with long term tectonic landforms (e.g. how do successive fault ruptures build a mountain range)
• Understanding landscape response times to tectonic events
• Quantification of tectonic and climate contributions to landforms
• Thresholds conditions linking tectonics and surface processes
• Landscape change forecasts consequent on tectonic processes

The Polar Geomorphology session is concerned with contemporary and Late Quaternary earth surface processes and resultant landforms in high latitude environments. We invite contributions from any area of polar geomorphology including research into the nature and rates of earth surface processes, the sensitivity of polar areas to regional environmental changes, and interactions between geomorphological, biological and geochemical processes. Contributions that focus on the interactions between contemporary glaciers and permafrost in Antarctica and the Arctic together with research on glacier-permafrost interactions beneath Quaternary glaciers are especially welcome.

Significant immediate environmental cost is almost inevitably associated with military activities, including damage to natural and cultural heritage values and to the potential for later environmentally sustainable economic development.  Understanding of direct and later environmental impacts may also be pertinent to evaluating the legitimacy under international law of environmental impacts inflicted during armed conflict.  The limited literature available concerning the environmental impacts of armed conflict tends to focus on biological considerations with little attention paid to the physical environment which in addition to including phenomena that are important in their own right is also the foundation stone upon which terrestrial biodiversity is dependent, fundamental to the functioning of many natural systems, and the source of many critical ecosystem services provided to humans.

Additional Protocol 1 (AP 1), adopted by the Diplomatic Conference for the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law as additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, provides in Article 35, paragraph 3 that “It is prohibited to employ methods and means of warfare which are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment”. What insights might a better accounting of the impacts of armed conflict upon geomorphology and soils potentially offer to evaluating compliance with this requirement?  Contemporary post-conflict environmental assessments tend to focus on biological and chemical metrics and to ignore geodiversity. However, landforms and soils typically develop over geological rather than human time frames, hence damage inflicted to them during armed conflict is potentially far more long-term than even the damage caused to biota, and in some cases it may also be “widespread” and/or “severe”.

This session will explore the nature, degree and significance of the harm that is caused by armed conflict to landforms and soils, and also the potential significance of a geomorphological perspective to determining compliance with international laws of war.

1. The key focus will be on the impacts on geomorphology that are generated during the immediate conflict phase, and their potential relevance in evaluating whether environmental war crimes may have been committed.
2. Some time will also be set aside to consider related issues, such as impacts on geomorphology during pre-conflict phases, including harm caused to physical landscapes by military training; impacts associated with refugee movement and poverty both during conflicts and in their aftermath; and also ongoing physical legacies of past conflict, such as those associated with depletion of the natural resource base. 
3. Other potential areas for discussion include the implications for geomorphology of lapses in effective environmental governance during conflicts due to competing priorities of governments. Particularly worthy of discussion is the environmental harm that may accrue during the so-called "post-conflict" phase when governance vacuums that may be facilitated by war can be filled by political corruption that impedes sustainable environmental management and may allow environmentally damaging processes to continue for decades, to the detriment of social and economic recovery and to the conservation of geoheritage and associated natural and cultural heritage assets.

The significance of understanding geomorphological hazards can be clearly recognized by looking at the number of disasters associated to hazards such as volcanic activity, landsliding, flooding and earthquakes, and so forth, that take place on daily basis in our planet. Therefore, we would like to invite all papers related to all types of geomorphological hazards not only in terms of processes, and landforms, but also considering the impact on population. Moreover, we are particularly interested on those contributions which address the role of geomorphologists and applied geomorphology in disaster prevention.

Earth System Science can be defined as the study of the Earth System, with an emphasis on observing, understanding and predicting global environmental changes involving interactions between land, atmosphere, water, ice, biosphere, societies, technologies and economies.
Geomorphology in turn deals with the dynamics of Earth’s land surface at the interface of atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. This implies that, as one among many disciplines within Earth System Science, Geomorphology can provide understanding of fundamental linkages between Earth System components and raises a number of questions.  How can we link Geomorphology to other ESS disciplines and how can we contribute to a better integration within ESS? Our discipline documents and exploits valuable records that can be used to extend knowledge of Earth surface processes to larger spatial and temporal scales. Much geomorphological work is on small to medium spatial scales and relies on modelling for both prediction and postdiction. How can we optimize the efficient use and effect of geomorphological models within the ESS community? This session intends to raise awareness of this crucial discussion within the geomorphological community and to highlight developments and system approaches in Geomorphology which contribute to the linking of components of the Earth system. For the oral and poster sessions we invite contributions on theoretical/conceptual, field-based and modelling themes.

River catchments are an important landscape structure in all morphoclimatic zones of the Earth. Small river catchments are spatial units (geoecosystems) that are especially sensitive to natural and man-made processes. External impulses and their effects are immediately coded in a system and possible to register under the integrated monitoring of the natural environment. The study of the geoecosystem of a small river catchment embraces the identification and determination of its environmental controls, internal structure, supply sources, and the pathways of circulation and outflow of energy and matter in the conditions of climate change and multi-directional human impact. What distinguishes the Small Catchments programme among many fluvial programmes currently implemented is a search for index features of the operation of a catchment that can help to determine present-day landscape changes in the various morphoclimatic zones.

Both oral papers and posters are welcome in this session. The session will focus on:

• The influence of hydrometeorological conditions and land use on the dynamics of fluvial transport
• Extreme processes and their effect on the operation of small river catchments
• Changes in the landscape structure of the catchment in the conditions of climate change and growing human impact
• Simulation and forecasting studies

IAG Large Rivers Working Group is holding a session on geomorphology and management of large rivers. Papers can be presented on any aspect of large river, involving headwater, alluvial valleys or deltas. Submission of papers dealing with water and sediment transfer, channel and floodplain morphology, river management, and effect of climate change on large rivers is encouraged. Papers presented in some of the previous large rivers sessions have been published together as special issues in established journals.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was devastating. Since then much work has been undertaken to examine the sedimentological signatures and deposits associated with this event. While the sedimentology of tsunami is an important branch of science, tsunami have the capacity to cause significant changes to coastal geomorphological systems, triggering critical threshold changes. To date, little systematic work has sought to examine, explore and identify the geomorphological imprints and effects of tsunami as they inundate the coast. For example, exactly what changes to coastal geomorphology do tsunami initiate? What are the characteristics of tsunami geomorphology? How long do tsunami geomorphological imprints last within the coastal environment? Can a knowledge of tsunami geomorphology provide a useful or even essential addition to our understanding of past events?

Both oral papers and posters are welcome in this session. It is expected that approximately half of the papers accepted will be presented as posters.