Rock resistance to erosion: Some further considerations

Rock resistance to erosion is an often described factor in geomorphic studies, and is generally considered to strongly influence the shape of erosional landforms. However, the property of the rock mass that enables it to resist erosion is rarely considered, and its measurement is rarely justified and assessed adequately. Allison (1988, 1990) examined the intact strength properties of several types of carbonate rocks and considered that dynamic Young's modulus is a good indicator of rock material strength for geomorphic purposes, and cast doubts on the reliability of Schmidt hammer tests for this purpose. Alternative approaches to rock characterization from the view point of evaluating rock intact strength are considered.