Appalachian Debris Slide and Flow Chronology
The occurrences, characteristics, and distributions of major debris slide and flow activity associated with flood events that occur during intense precipitation events are research topics that have applied as well as basic geomorphic importance. From a basic research standpoint, it is important to learn more about the initiation, transport, and depositional processes in the slides and flows. Evidence indicates that these processes are an extremely important mechanism of hillslope denudation, especially in the southern Blue Ridge, and that they are important processes involved in hollow formation and the evacuation of collected and stored regolith. From an applied geomorphic standpoint, these events constitute the most dangerous type of mass movements in the Appalachians, and much more information is needed about triggering mechanisms and likelihood of occurrences in susceptible terranes.
Some sediments in ancient fan deposits in the southern Blue Ridge may be of debris-flow origin, and thus study of modern events and sediments may help unravel the origins of such deposits. Alternatively, many such sediments may be alpine mudflow deposits that formed as periglacial features during Late Cenozoic cold-climatic environments.
View from debris slide scar head area on Anakeesta Ridge, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. U.S. Highway 441 in valley floor crosses several debris flow track areas.
G. Michael Clark
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
1412 Circle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-1410
Phone: (865) 974-6006
Email: clarkgmorph@utk.edu