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Ploughing Boulder

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

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Definition

Boulders forming distinct furrows upslope (Johnsson et al. 2012).

Category

A type of periglacial landform

Synonyms

Gliding block; Ploughing block

Formation

Ploughing boulders are periglacial features associated with active layer processes, e.g., solifluction. Movement rates on Earth average from zero to a few cm per year and are exponentially related to gradient (Ballantyne 2001).

Formation models: (Johnsson et al. 2012 and references therein)

  1. (1)

    Frost creep

  2. (2)

    Heating and cooling

  3. (3)

    Freezing and expansion of water trapped upslope the boulder

  4. (4)

    Sliding of a block on the upper surface of a frozen ground which lies directly beneath a rather wet and fluid layer

  5. (5)

    Gelifluction (freeze–thaw)

Distribution

Ploughing boulders are among the most widespread periglacial features and occur in all periglacial environments (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Terrestrial example in the French Pyrénées (Photo by Thierry Feuillet)

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References

  • Ballantyne CK (2001) Measurement and theory of ploughing boulder movement. Permafr Periglac Process 12:267–288. doi:10.1002/ppp.389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthling I, Eiken T, Sollid JL (2001) Frost heave and thaw consolidation of ploughing boulders in a mid-alpine environment, Finse, Southern Norway. Permafr Periglac Process 12:165–177. doi:10.1002/ppp.367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnsson A, Reiss D, Hauber E, Zanetti M, Hiesinger H, Johansson L, Olmvo M (2012) Periglacial mass-wasting landforms on Mars suggestive of transient liquid water in the recent past: insights from solifluction lobes on Svalbard. Icarus 218:489–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sernander R (1905) Flytjord I svenska fjälltrakter. Geol Fören Stosck Föeh 27:42–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tufnell L (1972) Ploughing blocks with special reference to NW England. Biuletyn Peryglacjalny 21:237–270

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  • Wilson P (1993) Ploughing boulder characteristics and associated soil properties in the Lake District and southern Scotland. Scott Geogr Mag 109:18–26. doi:10.1080/00369229318736872

    Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire LETG-Nantes-Géolittomer – UMR 6554 CNRS, Nantes, Cedex 3, France

    Thierry Feuillet

Authors
  1. Thierry Feuillet
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Correspondence to Thierry Feuillet .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Cite this entry

Feuillet, T. (2014). Ploughing Boulder. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_272-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_272-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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