Geography is one of the most fascinating and necessaryhumanity of science. If there were no era of great geographical discoveries, we would still not know what a vast and diverse world we live in. In a word, key knowledge in this discipline is necessary for almost every person.
The very word "process" impliesa consistent change of some phenomena or even entire formations. The geographic process (examples we will give below) is the formation of new formations both on the surface of the planet and in its interior. Responsible for these changes are the most diverse agents of morphogenesis. Most scientists characterize such phenomena with the word "dynamic", since they believe (and it is not unreasonable) that only such morphological forces can lead to serious changes.
This point of view is fully confirmed byThe fact that many geographic processes are (to some extent) relief-transforming, because they directly act on the existing landscape, actively transforming it.
Многие могут не понять из научного объяснения, what is a geographical process. The examples are quite diverse, but one can immediately recall the movement of tectonic plates. This is just the dynamic (see above) phenomenon, which leads to serious morphological changes not only in the landscape of a particular region, but in the whole planet. The drift of the continents, therefore, is also ideally suited to the definition considered above.
It is not at all surprising that the study of thesephenomena is considered the foundation of geography and geology. As the theoretical model of V.M. Davis, the term "process" occupies an important place between structural and stagial changes, and the researches of this scientist are still considered to be one of the deepest and most important. In this article, we will try not only to give the phenomenon a detailed definition, answering the question of what a geographic process is, but also give an example of its typification.
The basic characteristic of geographical processesis that they, while actively participating in the morphogenesis of the earth's surface, also contribute to the movement of substances near it, which serves as an indicator of their importance in lithogenesis. Accordingly, when analyzing their general role, one can come to conclusions about the necessary directions of typing.
It is fair to say that there isa lot of different classifications, which roughly reflect the essence of geographical processes, but are based only on two or three principles, which is clearly not enough for serious research. We do not claim to provide an exhaustive typing method. Rather, the article is devoted to the consideration of the role of geographical processes in nature and the possibility of their classification in principle.
Geographic process of speciationimplies the influence of geographical factors on the emergence of entirely new species of living organisms: changes in the relief have a profound impact on the migration of animals on their diet. It is not surprising that under the influence of such factors new subspecies often appear.
Any processes in animate nature, no matter how globally significant they may look, can have a significant impact on the geographic landscape.
It is generally accepted that serious changesthe relief of the earth's surface is caused only by phenomena whose agents originated on the planet itself (the flow of rivers, winds, etc.). People completely forget about the initial stages of the Earth's development, when the main factors were the processes of cosmic nature. Of course, over time, when the normal atmosphere has developed, their importance has slightly decreased, but one can not forget about them.
We are talking, for example, about the fall of meteorites.Scientists suggest that once a similar phenomenon led to the complete extinction of dinosaurs, which at that time reigned supreme on the planet, as well as to significant climate change. On the surface of the Earth and to this day, traces of the fall of celestial bodies are noticeable, and in some areas there are giant craters from meteorites that fell many millions of years ago. It is not so much the processes of ecological and geographical speciation as the phenomenon of the complete destruction of many species of living beings.
Do not assume that those times have passed: if something like this repeats in our time, the relief of the earth's surface will also seriously change, and it is not worth forgetting about climate transformations.
Thus, any geographical process (photosee in the article) is rather unstable: the change in the main agents, under the influence of which its dynamic modification occurs, can occur at any time.
Most often, scientists prefer not to complicatethe question under study, therefore, the simplest classification of such kind of phenomena is widespread: lowering the surface, keeping it in the same state, or elevation of the relief.
If you impose this typology on a timeline,then it becomes clear that all processes lead either to the dismemberment of the surface (faults) or to its gradual leveling. Thus, any geographical process (the definition of this term we cited at the very beginning of the article) can be attributed to only one of two main groups. Of course, such an approach is far from being true in every case, but under certain conditions this point of view is fully justified.
So, the gradual erosion of mountains (wind, water) in anycase will lead to their transformation into a plain. An ideal example is the Ural Mountains, which, as a result of a complex geographical process that has been going on for thousands of years, have virtually ceased to be so.
Erosion. Это процесс деградации грунтов и скальных rocks, when their constituent parts are washed out with water and are gradually destroyed by wind. The most intensive processes of this kind can be observed in the mountains and in hilly terrain due to the inept plowing of the earth.
Landslides - disruption of large masses of rocks under the influence of both gravity and precipitation. Similar physiographic processes are characteristic of highlands.
Boarded. Extremely dangerous phenomenon.This is the rapid convergence of a mixture of soil, rock debris, snow, water and ice. Debris flows can carry an entire city from the surface of the earth in just a few minutes. As you might guess, they are observed mainly in the mountains.
Karst. This phenomenon implies the occurrencelarge cavities in the bowels of the earth's crust. This is due to the characteristics of geological rocks that are prone to rapid erosion. For example, karst cavities are formed in limestone for a relatively short period of time.
Thus, geographic natural phenomena occur much more frequently than is commonly believed.
Принято считать (да и в некоторых научных publications can come across a similar point of view) that karst processes have not such a significant phenomenon on geographical and geological features of the terrain. Far from it.
Take, for example, the Yucatan Peninsula.The fact is that geologists and geographers often compare it with a huge cheese head that someone threw into the ocean. This is due to the fact that its entire surface is literally dotted with dips and faults. And they, as you might have guessed, are of karst origin. In this case, it is not necessary to deny that the given geographical objects and phenomena had the most serious influence on the development of the landscape of this area.
In addition, karst on a similar scale cancontribute to some climate change. A large number of karst falls, at the bottom of which there are often lakes, is considered to be a factor predisposing to mitigate and moisten the climate. In such an area, where there is more rain, one of the main agents of water erosion.
Drought, dry winds, storms, large hail and many other climatic processes - this is not a complete list of negative phenomena. Let's look at some of them in more detail:
Dry wind. Жаркий и горячий ветер, который возникает при air temperature over 25 degrees Celsius and its relative humidity is less than 25%. Within Russia, it practically does not occur, but is constantly observed in the Central Asian republics of the former USSR.
Dust and sand storms. Constantly occur in areas where, due to soil erosion, plant roots are no longer able to strengthen the upper layers of the soil. Under these conditions, any wind can trigger the onset of a storm.
With wind speeds of more than 29 meters per second Hurricane. This geographical process is extremelydangerous, because a powerful wind can provoke the occurrence of giant waves on the sea, blows off a huge amount of fertile soil, drowns even large ocean-going vessels.
Rain is considered unfavorable geographicalprocess if 12 hours fall more than 50 millimeters of precipitation. This is extremely dangerous, since a large amount of water easily provokes the occurrence of powerful mudflows, landslides, causes large flooding.
So how can they be classifiedgeographic objects and processes? The typification of these phenomena should be carried out according to a formula that consists of three elements at once: the characteristics of the terrain, the processes taking place, as well as factors directly or indirectly influencing the changes in the landscape. Keep in mind that a similar formula is used in soil science. But in this case, all factors must act on each other bidirectionally and simultaneously.
If we take as a basis the depth of the earth's surface,then almost all such phenomena can be attributed to the internal. The fact is that in practice it is often impossible to distinguish one or another geographical process. What does this mean for geography in general? Only that in the field, specialists who are guided by the above classification principle are forced to rely more on their experience and opinion than on a solid scientific basis.
Therefore, we would like to say that it is much more efficient and more justified to follow another principle of separation:
Geographical processes of tectonic origin. The most common, are the main cause of global relief changes.
Volcanic. Similar to the previous species.
Isostatic.
Erosion and accumulation processes, which in scientific literature are often referred to as fluvial.
Gravitational phenomena. Do not underestimate the gravity, which contributes a lot to the formation of new forms of surface relief.
Eolian.
The formation of karst cavities, which we have already mentioned above.
Suffosion.
Abrasive processeswhich are especially pronounced in mountainous areas. More solid rocks constantly grind less stable formations, acting like sandpaper.
Phenomena of cryogenic rock (and postcryogenic). Continuous thawing and freezing also contributes greatly to changing the landscape. This is especially pronounced in mountainous areas.
Glacial processes.
Fluvioglacial phenomena.
The processes of biogenic nature.Everything is somewhat more difficult with them, as many people underestimate the impact of wildlife on the surface of the planet. Meanwhile, it suffices to recall the formation of deposits of coal, in order to verify the fallacy of such a point of view.
The phenomena of weathering and soil formation.
Cosmic phenomena. These include cases of the fall of large meteorites, which in ancient times often formed giant craters.
About people's ability to create environmental problemsWednesday said a lot. The disappearance of species, water and air pollution ... Where less often they recall that human activity is a powerful geographical process that can seriously change the surrounding landscape. Sometimes even on a planetary scale.
Многие знают о Великой Китайской стене, но далеко not everyone thinks that it has seriously changed the geographical terrain. This structure is not only visible from space (which in itself fully confirms the above thesis). The wall at one time seriously violated the migration routes of many species, several small rivers, not to mention brooks, were simply set aside or filled up for its construction. Thus, in many areas where it passes, the intensity of wind and water erosion was significantly reduced, which could not but affect the geographical features of the area.
Примерно то же самое можно сказать о construction and operation of large cities. They seriously change, and sometimes make it impossible to completely migrate animals, during their erection and development, the river beds completely change, the actions of many agents of geographical processes are suspended or seriously limited.
As you can see from the above classification,many processes are divided into subspecies, due to differences in the main agents that directly affect the landscape. For example, flowing along the surface of a river's water is an agent of fluvial processes.
Depending on the environmental conditions in whichone agent or another acts, processes can be characterized somewhat more precisely: underwater, above ground and underground. But what is a geographical process, if we talk about the time that is necessary for its manifestation? More precisely, how can they be classified in this case?
All geographical processes can be divided intogroups, based on their chronological characteristics. By the time of manifestation they are modern, ancient and relict. In addition, there are permanent (rhythmic phenomena in the geographical shell) and sporadic (temporary) phenomena. Regarding the flow rate, there are fast, instantaneous and slow processes.
You should be very careful about the latter.classification option: disputes about whether it is possible to “squeeze” geographical processes into some kind of time frame still do not cease. Much more important is their dynamics and ability to involve large groups of various factors that are involved in changing the terrain.
This is what a geographical process is. As you can see, this concept is extremely important for understanding many phenomena that occur on our planet constantly, regardless of other conditions.
