Adam Gellman - Peer Reviews

Group 6

This paper is quite thorough and has fantastic content, especially in the two main body sections. In these sections the content is accurate, the writing is clear and the figures are very helpful, especially figures 5, 6 and 7. There are however a few issues that will need work. This paper, while quite thorough, is significantly too long. While this is expected for a draft, significant editing will be needed for the final draft.

While the main content sections are very good, the introduction and especially the conclusion will need some more review.

One issue in the introduction is that the sentences seem like they could flow a bit better. Small bits of unexplained definitions are used while the introduction could have more of a narrative flow giving the ideas of where you are going with less out of context details. Additionally The Figure 1 map is very beautiful imagery but unclear in the point that the authors are trying to get across. As the map is quite zoomed out, the topography of riverside ave is quite difficult to see, especially in comparison to the more distinct topography of the area to the south of it.

The conclusion should be reviewed by all of the authors for both content and for writing. This section uses informal language, has grammatically unclear sentences and brings up several topics, such as wildlife, were not part of the rest of the paper. Using the success of the middle of this draft, there is potential for a very strong paper.

Group6_Draft.pdf

Group 4

This paper is overall well done, coherent and stays within the word limit of the assignment. I found that the content of this paper struck a good balance of supplying the relevant information without diving too deep into any one aspect.

The biggest thing that could be improved upon for this paper is the structuring and ordering of the information. It would be very helpful if the paper went from broad to specific and then ending on a broad note. The paper seemed to bounce from details to historical background and then back to details in a way that seemed somewhat unplanned.

Another aspect of this paper that stood out is that the main body content stretched nearly to the end with very little conclusion. This gave the paper a bit of an abrupt feeling as well as leaving out any significant discussion of mitigation strategies. Though a full conclusion does not seem required, the mitigation strategies section could function well as a way to tie up the details and bring the paper back to the big picture.

I found the use of figures in this paper quite effective in the use of historical and modern photos to show the changes and key events of riverside ave slides.

Group4_Draft.pdf

Group 3

This paper has plenty of good information but will require some work to demonstrate and understanding of the material and better convey the material to readers.

One thing that might make this paper flow better is if the figures were incorporated into the paper instead of all at the end of the paper. This could increase readers comprehension of a topic by explaining it next to a visual aid.

I found the use of figure 4 and the way that was applied to paragraph on spatial distribution was not a compelling argument. It did not appear to add information on the spatial distribution of landslides and there does not seem to be a provable link between 1 soil pit in one separate location and the composition of riverside ave. Additionally, I love the idea of the timeline figure but there is too much newspaper text to make it easily understandable.

This paper overall seems somewhat choppy. There is a lot of good information but changes in voice and changes in topic inhibit the flow of the narrative. The paragraphs on “are they natural” and “are they human induced” might be more effective as one discussing the balance between natural features and human change. Looking at the broader structure and ideas of the paper could make the existing information clearer.

Group3_draft.pdf

Group 2

This is a fantastic paper overall. This is well thought out and cohesive in its presentation of information and clearly demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of the material. This paper generally strikes a balance of general conceptual information and key specifics.

One aspect that I felt may have gone too detailed was the historical analysis of landslides over the last century. While that section did demonstrate subject knowledge and information on other aspects of the landslides, it did seem to dive a bit far into the weeds. This could be edited down to focus on the key ideas rather than the detailed history.

The figures used in this paper are overall exceptional and one of the best parts of the piece. However, figures 5 and 6 should be significantly larger for maximum effect. The text is far to small and hurts the readers eyes trying to glean information from the text.

This paper is overall very clear and thorough, taking a deep look at the history as well as the equations behind these landslides. Though the paper is significantly over the word count, I do not think it will be difficult to make edits to key sections and that this will only improve the paper.

Group2_draft.pdf

Group 1

This paper is extremely well done. It contains all the necessary components asked for and fits within the word count (though just barely).

One thing that I noticed is that the in-text citation for Wright is unclear as there is no date or indication of whether it is citing a paper or possibly information taken from a different course. Over all the use of in text citations was

The use of figures is also very effective. By utilizing GIS software, interesting data was applied and unique figures were constructed, further demonstrating understanding of the material. However, one unclear paragraph was paragraph number 2 under natural and anthropogenic causes. This paragraph seems to blur definitions of different qualities of material and how this breaches thresholds. Stronger wording and clearer explanation of phenomena would be helpful here.

A question that I had related to the impervious surfaces sections is how much of the water in this basin is still being directed towards its original drainage or has the development of roads more severely redirected flow in a different direction? How does this apply to landslides at this site?

This paper does an incredible job explaining the history and reasons behind landslides along riverside ave. By doing this, the authors demonstrated an excellent understanding of geomorphological processes and their applications to the areas where we live.

Group1_draft.pdf