Conference: The 49th Annual Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium; Syracuse, New York; October 2018

Syracuse University, Syracuse NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award will help conduct the 49th annual Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium (BGS), an annual gathering of scholars from geography, geology, and other disciplines who focus their attention on the dynamic processes the produce and modify landforms on the surface of the Earth. The BGS will provide a forum that enables scholars from a broad range of universities and other organizations in the U.S. and other nations to collectively examine the current state of knowledge, explore new lines of inquiry and approaches, and facilitate interaction across generations of scholars ranging from long-established experts to early-career researchers and graduate students. The symposium's focus on specific topics over a three-day time period will permit deeper consideration of issues than normally is possible at large scholarly gatherings, and it will facilitate establishment and enhancement of new collaborative links. The funds provided by NSF will be used largely to facilitate the involvement and interaction of at least 25 graduate students in symposium discussions and activities. Special efforts will be made to involve female students, thereby helping to broaden future workforce diversity in this traditionally male-dominated realm. Presentations and other products from the symposium will be made available online, with papers based on noteworthy presentations published in "Geomorphology," a leading scholarly journal. The 49th annual Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium will be conducted in Syracuse, New York, in October 2018. This symposium will focus on the complex processes that control sediment initiation, transport, and deposition in watersheds across space and over time. Attention will be given to different modes for collecting and analyzing data with different levels of detail, including a variety of field, experimental, and modeling approaches combined with advanced technologies such as sediment tracing and dating and the use of unmanned aerial vehicle and other remote sensors. The symposium's core substantive themes will be (1) complex processes of sediment dynamics over relatively short time scales; (2) complex patterns and trends of sediment dynamics over relatively long time scales; and (3) complex sediment dynamics across multiple geographic scales. Participants will address both biophysical and human-related factors that influence the complex process of sediment dynamics. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.