Coastal relict landforms and the legacy of Tony Orme

Abstract

While perhaps best be known by outsiders as a coastal geomorphology expert, Dr. Antony Orme was in fact a consummate example of a well-rounded field geomorphologist, as evinced by his wide-ranging publications which focused on topics from tectonism, beaches, and paleoecology to geomorphology history (of the discipline), Pleistocene research, and climatic geomorphology, among others. This field tradition was passed onto many of his students who, in turn, continue to pass on such traditions to their students. While we were fortunate to have many strong mentors along our paths, the encouragement and continued camaraderie by our PhD Advisor (Ron Dorn) nonetheless, and at least partially, stemmed from his advisor, Dr. Antony “Tony” Orme. Without Tony’s own desire to explore the world and nature – and coasts specifically – perhaps we (the authors) would not have had successes in our own field-based research endeavors (Allen, 2005, 2012, 2017, 2019; Dorn et al., 2013; Paradise, 2012, 1995, 2005, 2010). Although we both retain strong inclinations for empirical research and fieldwork, having enjoyed exploring since we were young, without proper guidance, that spirit can easily become extinguished. Had Tony not passed on his love of exploration and adventure to his students, maybe our advisor would not have done so either, leaving many landscapes and landforms undiscovered and unexplained. We feel fortunate to have benefited from his legacy that has allowed us to conduct geomorphic fieldwork in very interesting locations, on very intriguing landforms, and across landscapes at local, regional, and international scales. As we both continue to explore and guide our own academic children (and grandchildren) just as he did, we continue to perpetuate the legacy and indomitable nature of a great geographer and geomorphologist, Dr. Antony Orme. It is with this spirit of Tony’s intrepidness, we present this article examining two types of relict landforms, selected regionally due to our current respective locales, that highlight some of our recently undertaken field-based research in the US and Caribbean we believe would have intrigued our academic grandfather.