Active tectonics and alluvial rivers / Активная тектоника и речной аллювий

Tectonics enters into every aspect of the earth sciences. Although it is possible to study erosional and depositional processes without concern for tectonics, the relief that permits these processes to continue is always in some way related to uplift or subsidence. For example, the erosional evolution of a landscape, as proposed by W. M. Davis, requires a tectonic boost to start the process (Davis, 1899; King and Schumm, 1980), and in an attempt to link tectonics to landforms, Walter Penck (1953) estimated relative rates of uplift and denudation from the shape of valley-side profiles.
Obviously, tectonics has had a role in earth history since the origin of the planet, and the interpretation of this history has been the traditional role of the structural geologist. More recently much attention has been paid to the role of tectonics in human affairs, and active tectonics has become a major concern with much emphasis on earthquake studies (McCalpin, 1996). Active tectonics is the ongoing deformation of the earth’s surface (Wallace, 1985). More broadly, active tectonics is defined as "those tectonic processes that produce deformation of the earth’s crust on a time scale of significance to human society” (Keller and Pinter, 1996, p. 2). <...>