Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Not available / text

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Rebecca J. Sheppard, School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The study of landforms has, to a large extent been neglected by exploration geologists. This is surprising because field geology is intimately related with landforms of one type or another. An understanding of the geomorphological history of a particular area will assist in the appreciation of the surficial environment, the processes of weathering, soil formation and duricrust (calcrete , ferricrete silcrete) formation. This has direct application in planning and interpreting geochemical sampling programmes. In order to understand the evolution of landforms it is necessary to study slope development in some detail. Agents of erosion and denudation constantly at work, remove detritus from hillcrests down to the drainage lines which form the local base level from whence material is transported down to the sea. The system is one of dynamic equilibrium, and the concept of grade is important in understanding hillslope evolution. Thus Section (1) of this discussion deals with past and present theories of hillslope evolution. Very little work has been done recently on the geomorphology of Southern Africa and the presently accepted classification of land surfaces is based on the work of Prof. L.C. King (numerous publications). However, through the more recent work of De Swardt and Bennet (1974) on the geomorphology of Natal, it is apparent that the present system of landform classification in Southern Africa requires widespread revision. The relationship of erosion cycles in Southern Africa to the late Jurassic-early Cretaceous break-up of Gondwanaland has received insufficient attention in the past. Erosion cycles bear an intimate relationship to offshore Cretaceous and Tertiary-Recent sedimentation. Valuable information on these sediments has only recently become available as a result of offshore exploration for oil. The findings of De Swardt and Bennet (1974) are summarized in Section (2) and the present land surface classification of Southern Africa is reviewed. Finally, some suggestions on a new interpretation of land surfaces in Southern Africa are given.

Memphis is considered to have been the main metropolis of dynastic Egypt. For more than 3000 years the settlement played a primary role in political, economic and cultural life of the state, functioning as capital for long periods. Nonetheless, little is known about the setting and archaeology of the city itself, even when compared to other Egyptian settlements. This work investigates the context and archaeology of Memphis, recognising distinctive development phases, and examines potential reasons for historical changes. Sedimentary records of 77 boreholes taken in the area of Mit Rahina are analysed to detect palaeoenvironmental conditions and palaeo-landscape features. Their interpretation is sustained by a multidisciplinary approach drawing together prior archaeological, historical and geomorphological studies. A model reflecting the transformations of Memphis is formulated and multi-scale landscape and environmental changes in the Memphite region over the last 5000 years are established. According to this new model, a settlement was founded during the Early Dynastic Period on a complex of sandbanks which were separated and surrounded by three branches of the Nile. After its foundation and during the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom, the city grew on the western cluster of sandbanks while the West Channel was losing flow. During the First Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom extreme floods significantly affected the settlement. It recovered during the Middle Kingdom when large-scale landscape management initiatives and strong interventions on the margins of the Central Channel were undertaken. By the New Kingdom, the Middle Birka was already dry land, mainly as a result of human intervention. The East Channel became the only active branch of the Nile serving the city and the Eastern Koms were intensively settled. In the Late Period the city had expanded to the Northern Koms and the North Birka silted up. During the Ptolemaic Period, the city reached its maximum extension, despite important changes in its status and social-economic background. Subsequently, the importance of the city declined with the end of the dynastic state, while the East Channel started to migrate slowly eastward. The city decayed and was abandoned after a few centuries. Some landscape and environmental changes are positively associated both with urban mutation and with different social, economic and political phases of Memphis' history. Human interventions actively induced the evolution of both landscape and local environment. Events at the supra-regional level, both natural and especially anthropic, also had impact and are linked to changes at Memphis. Conversely, contingencies restricted to the Memphite region influenced the development of the state. Local situations at Memphis-e.g., crisis, disaster, conflict, prosperity, or affluence-could be magnified to the extent that they have been perceived as having affected the state as a whole. The foundation and development of Memphis were tightly interconnected with the fortunes of state and power. The city embodied the cultural and political identity of the state and maintained its prominence through dynastic Egyptian history. Triangular complex cause-effect relations between local changes in Memphis, historical change in Egypt, and climatic and environmental evolution both at regional and supra-regional scales are recognised. The significance of each varied with time, determining the evolution of Memphis and also of dynastic Egypt.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Geography, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-78).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 220-234).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2003. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--York University, 2002. Graduate Programme in Geography. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-160). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71616.