Field testing of Glew and Ford's model of solution flute evolution

Based on a laboratory simulation, Glew and Ford (Earth Surface Processes, 1 980, vol. 5, pp. 25-36) put forward a model of solution flute formation whi ch embraces both morphological evolution and time to formation. The occurre nce of dated fluted surfaces in the field presents opportunities to test th is model. The morphological development of flutes is consistent with the ex perimental observations in that width stabilizes early whereas depth contin ues to increase. The time to formation of flutes is confirmed as limestone (10(3) years) > gypsum (10(2) years) > salt (10(1) years), and is consisten t with the solubility of the main rock-forming minerals. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.