Despite the fact that geomorphology is confused with geology and sometimes with geography, it should be clarified that it is a very extensive science or scientific discipline, its study and understanding is vital, because it supports other scientific disciplines and generates extensive information. for the search for natural resources, risk management, natural hazards, territorial organization, environmental studies, etc.
What is geomorphology?
Meaning :Geomorphology is a branch of geology and physical geography, which is dedicated to the study and interpretation of all types of relief (geoforms) of planet earth and can even be applied to other planets. It comes from the Greek Geo «earth», morpho «forms», logos «study or treaty», that is to say that it is dedicated to the study of forms or terrestrial relief.
Geomorphology is a fundamental branch or part of geology and earth sciences in general. It is considered a very important science because it has existed since man began to study the morphological phenomena that occur on earth.
As this science is very extensive, it has several subdivisions, for example the following:
Applied geomorphology
It is the one in charge of applying knowledge to solve problems in different disciplines.
In search of mineral deposits.
Here geomorphology interprets landforms associated with some mineral deposits, for example a copper porphyry will be associated with circular terrains due to the presence of intrusives.
Instead the veins will be associated with elongated forms controlled by geological faults.
In risk management
For example, here geomorphology studies landslides, geological faults and forms associated with ancient natural disasters, with the aim of helping to reduce risk in populations, associated with the possible occurrence of landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc.
Tectonic geomorphology
This studies the interaction between tectonic and geomorphic processes in regions where the Earth’s crust is actively deforming. Advances in rate measurement and in understanding the physical basis of tectonic and geomorphological processes have revitalized it as a field of research.
It is a challenging and highly inclusive field that uses techniques and data drawn from studies of geomorphology, seismology, geochronology, structure, geodesy, and Quaternary climate change.
Climatic geomorphology
The main exponents are the French and Germans. Their arguments rest on the not universally accepted observation that each climatic zone (tropical, arid, temperate, etc.) engenders a distinctive set of geographical features.
The climate strongly influences the geomorphological processes, but it is doubtful that the set of these processes within each climatic zone creates characteristic landforms unique to that climate.
Currently it is more accepted that it is a combination of climate and tectonic processes that shape the terrain, but above all tectonic processes.
Underwater geomorphology
It deals with the shape, origin and development of seabed features. Underwater landforms cover about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, but are mostly less studied than landforms.
In shallow marine environments, landforms include waves, dunes, sand waves, sand ridges, shorelines, and underground channels.
In the transition zone of the continental slope are submarine canyons and ravines, areas between canyons, intra-slope basins, and scars from falls and landslides.
The deep marine environment contains a variety of landforms, including trench and basin plains, trench fans, sediment wedges, abyssal plains, distribution channels, and submarine canyons, including the enigmatic mid-ocean ridges.
Structural gemmorphology
It is the shape of the relief related to the type of rock and the structures that are formed in them, that is, they are inherent to the lithology and the arrangement of the strata. It also takes into account the landforms related to plate tectonics.
It is also based on the fact that erosion or exposure to exogenous agents acts differently on different types of rocks.
Historical geomorphology
When the cartographic studies have been carried out and both the structural geomorphology and the climatic and dynamic geomorphology have been taken into account, an evolutionary model of the relief is proposed, that is, from when it was a young relief to a mature relief.
Planetary geomorphology
This is the study of landforms on planets and large moons with a solid crust, for example Venus, Mars, and some moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
It is a thriving branch of geomorphology with a bright future.
Surface processes on other planets and their satellites depend materially on their mean distance from the Sun, which dictates the annual receipt of solar energy, on their period of rotation, and on the nature of the planetary atmosphere.
Observed processes include weathering, wind activity, fluvial activity, glacial activity, and mass movements.
What does geomorphology study?
Currently, geomorphology is defined as that branch of earth sciences that is in charge of studying the physical characteristics that occur on the surface and crust of the earth and also studies why they occur.
In other words, it investigates landforms and the processes that form them. The form, the process and the interrelationships between them are essential to understand the origin and development of landforms.
It can be said that geomorphology is in charge of the study of the forms or geoforms that exist on the surface of the earth, associated
- The rivers
- The mountains and settlers
- The plains
- The beaches and coasts
- Dunes
- Volcanoes and their associated structures
- Glaciers
Some geologists and geographers include underwater landforms close to coastal profiles in the study of geomorphology.
And also now it is becoming a very important science in the study of space dynamics by analyzing the geographical morphology of planets and satellites in our solar system, where the most studied currently are Mars and the moon, but that in the future their use it will increase.
Branches of geomorphology
- Plate tectonics and associated structural landforms.
- Volcanoes, impact craters, folds and faults, and their landforms.
- Weathering and associated landforms
- Slopes and landslides
- River landscapes
- Glacier and glaciofluvial landscapes.
- Periglacial landscapes
- Wind landscapes
- Coastal landscapes
- Karst or Karstic landscapes