Piping in relation to periglacial boulder concentration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/BP/1968/17/9Keywords:
piping, peryglacjalne pola głazowe, procesy podpowierzchniowe, soliflukcja, geomorfologia peryglacjalnaAbstract
In many areas formerly affected by periglacial conditions, local concentrations of bare boulders occur within otherwise unsorted rubble mantles. These features, ranging from small clusters to extensive boulder fields and stone rivers, have often been attributed to the washing away of fines by surface water. The paper introduces the concept of “piping” – the subsurface removal of fine materials by underground water – as a more plausible explanation for these phenomena. Case studies, including the stone rivers of the Falkland Islands, the boulder field in Pennsylvania and examples from the Beartooth Mountains, support the hypothesis. The process results in the progressive exposure of boulders and the formation of voids below the surface. The author concludes that piping represents an important secondary process in periglacial geomorphology and may clarify aspects of boulder concentration development previously attributed solely to other mechanisms.
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