geomorphology, study of the origin and evolution of the earth's landforms, both on the continents and within the ocean basins. It is concerned with the internal geologic processes of the earth's crust, such as tectonic activity and volcanism that constructs new landforms, as well as externally driven forces of wind, water, waves, and glacial ice that modify such landforms. Geomorphology developed from the works of James Hutton Hutton, James, 1726–97, Scottish geologist, chemist, and naturalist. He was initially attracted to chemistry; he entered the legal profession at the Univ.
..... Click the link for more information. and James Playfair in the 18th cent.; G. K. Gilbert described landform evolution; William Morris Davis developed the geomorphic cycle, set forth in his Geographic Essays (1909). By the 1970s, geomorphology had grown to include the environmental problems involved in landform processes, including subsidence subsidence, lowering of a portion of the earth's crust. The subsidence of land areas over time has resulted in submergence by shallow seas (see oceans ). Land subsidence can occur naturally or through human activity.
..... Click the link for more information. , landslides landslide, rapid slipping of a mass of earth or rock from a higher elevation to a lower level under the influence of gravity and water lubrication. More specifically, rockslides are the rapid downhill movement of large masses of rock with little or no hydraulic flow,
..... Click the link for more information. , and coastal processes (see coast protection coast protection, methods used to protect coastal lands from erosion. Beaches can exist only where a delicate dynamic equilibrium exists between the amount of sand supplied to the beach and the inevitable losses caused by wave erosion.
..... Click the link for more information. ), which all affect humans who live in certain susceptible regions. Satellite images and data help geomorphologists to describe and map landforms and observe rapid or slow changes on the earth's surface. Development of mathematical models of landform processes have influenced the direction of modern geomorphic research. Geomorphology principles also have been applied to the study of landform development of other planets and moons of the solar system, based on images sent back to earth by flyby and orbiting satellites.

geomorphology

Scientific discipline that describes and classifies the Earth's topographic features. Many systems of classifying landforms have been devised. Some systems describe and group topographic features primarily according to the processes that shaped or modified them. Others take additional factors into consideration (e.g., character of the surface rocks and climatic variations) and include the developmental stage of landforms as an aspect of their evolution over geologic time.

geomorphology (redirected from geomorphologically)

geomorphology

geomorphology
(redirected from geomorphologically)