Article ID: CBB725297459

Re-Situating Fieldwork and Re-Narrating Disciplinary History in Global Mega-Geomorphology (2018)

unapi

In 1985, more than thirty geomorphologists, planetary scientists, and remote sensing specialists gathered at a conference center in Oracle, Arizona, to discuss an emerging area of research that they called “mega-geomorphology.” Building on a conference of the same name held in London in 1981, they argued that new techniques of remote sensing and insights emerging from the study of extraterrestrial planets had created opportunities for geomorphology to broaden its spatial and temporal scope. This new approach was, however, neither unproblematic nor uncontested. In the discussions around mega-geomorphology that took place in the mid-1980s, the perceived conflict between the use of remote-sensing techniques to observe phenomena on vast spatial scales, on one hand, and the disciplinary centrality of fieldwork and field experience to geomorphology, on the other, was a recurrent theme. In response, mega-geomorphologists attempted to re-situate fieldwork and re-narrate disciplinary histories in such a way as to make remote sensing and planetary science not only compatible with geomorphological traditions but also means of revitalizing them. Only partially successful, these attempts reveal that the process of adopting a planetary perspective in geomorphology, as in other earth sciences, was neither straightforward nor inevitable. They also show how the field and fieldwork could remain central to geomorphology while also being extensively revised in light of new technical possibilities and theoretical frameworks.

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Article Lino Camprubí; Philipp Lehmann (2018) The Scales of Experience: Introduction to the Special Issue Experiencing the Global Environment. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (pp. 1-5). unapi

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Authors & Contributors
Hadeel Assali
Mamdani, Mahmood
Filippo, Michele di
Jordan C. Mallon
Amy Moe-Hoffman
Argentieri, Alessio
Concepts
Geology
Earth sciences
Field work
Geomorphology; physiography
Science and politics
Globalization; internationalization
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
19th century
Enlightenment
20th century, early
20th century
Places
United States
Italy
Canada
Antarctica
Palestine
Wales
Institutions
International Geophysical Year (IGY)
Geological Survey of Canada
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