On teaching geomorphology: making it more scientific via the Critical Zone concept

ABSTRACT Students new to geomorphology need to observe and interpret complex landscapes and features being acted upon in space and over widely-varying time periods. These observational complexities are generally communicated via textbooks as much as fieldwork. This article presents an explanatory schema by linking materials (M), process-mechanisms (P) to the visual aspects and geometry (G) of the landscape. This MPG schema can be viewed within the ‘Critical Zone’ where the processes, linkages and feedbacks at the Earth’s surface are studied. The linkages extend beyond geomorphology to wider aspects of physical geography: geology, soils, biogeography, climate and environment.