An Example of Using Opportunistic Geomorphic Experiments as Pedagogical Tools

An opportunistic geomorphic experiment (OGE) arises whenever a stable system is suddenly perturbed by either natural or anthropogenic forces. Examples of OGE may include: changing sediment or hydrologic regimes by placing (or removing) a dam on a river; ecological succession following a forest fire or volcanic eruption; or hill slope stability monitoring during an engineered slope's failure. While these system perturbations offer ample research avenues, they also create pedagogical opportunities that can be used to illustrate system operations. During the summer of 2005, a slope on Millsaps College campus was truncated behind a concrete-block retaining wall. Two years later, failure of the slope was apparent with the appearance of numerous slump scarps and crowns. Classroom and lab activities centered on this slope failure have been used in numerous geology department classes at various academic levels-including The Physical Earth, Plate Tectonics and Earth History, Minerals and Rocks, Sedimentary Geology, Structural Geology, and Geomorphology. Students engaged the slope failure by describing the fill material composing the failed block, calculating the force to move the block wall, determining the rate of movement, surveying the slope with a total station (multiple times), constructing a topographic map of the slope surface, and hypothesizing a remediation procedure. The mass movement on Millsaps College campus illustrates one example of an OGE. Research and teaching opportunities often arise when humans disrupt a stable system.