Laboratory Experiments in Geomorphology: The 46th Annual Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium

Non-technical Explanation of the project's broader significance and importance The study of the processes that shape the Earth's surface and their associated landforms has been dominated by field-based research, yet the scales of time and space over which landscape processes operate often are very large and pose difficult challenges. Experimental facilities and physical analogues can compress time and shrink scale to examine more closely the dynamics of these systems. This award supports the 46th annual Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium, entitled "Laboratory Experiments in Geomorphology." The symposium will bring together a strong and diverse group of leading experts and emerging scientists actively engaged in experimental geomorphic research. Eight themes have been selected based on important phenomena, and the contributors have been asked to highlight the unique capabilities of their facilities and how their experimental research may transform the study of Earth-surface processes. The broader implications of the symposium include the promotion and enhancement of the education of future science professionals, the fostering of diversity within the discipline, and the discussion of topics having relevance to society, such as landslides and river restoration. Technical Description The 46th annual Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium will provide a concentrated opportunity for the exhange of ideas among researchers actively engaged in experimental geomorphic research. Eight themes have been selected based on significance to advancing the knowledge of Earth-surface processes and how experimental research in these areas may transform the discipline of geomorphology. The intellectual merit of this symposium is three-fold. First, the symposium provides a prominent forum for scientists to present, exchange, and disseminate methods, techniques, and results on geomorphic research to the global community. Second, because of its size and focus, the symposium offers an unrivalled opportunity to engage actively in discussion with a broad range of scientists linked not necessarily by a research focus, but by a methodological approach, which in this case is laboratory experimentation. Third, all papers presented orally at the symposium will be published in the internationally-recognized journal Geomorphology, which ensures the effective transfer of knowledge to the broader science community.