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Information about Physical Geography

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True-color image of the Earth's surface and atmosphere
Physical geography (also know as geosystems or physiography) is one of the two major subfields of geography. Physical geography focuses on understanding the processes and patterns in the natural environment, as opposed to the built environment which is the domain of Human geography. Within the body of physical geography the Earth is often split either into several spheres or into different environments, with the main spheres being the; Atmosphere, Biosphere, Cryosphere, Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere and Pedosphere. Within physical geography there are various fields of study, mainly but not exclusively focusing on the spheres of the earth. Research in physical geography is often interdisciplinary and uses the systems approach.

Fields of physical geography

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A natural arch
  • Geomorphology is the science concerned with understanding the surface of the Earth and the processes by which it is shaped, both at the present as well as in the past. Geomorphology as a field has several sub-fields that deal with the specific landforms of various environments e.g. desert geomorphology and fluvial geomorphology, however, these sub-fields are united by the core processes which cause them; mainly tectonic or climatic processes. Geomorphology seeks to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical modeling (Geomorphometry). Early studies in geomorphology are the foundation for pedology, one of two main branches of soil science.
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Meander formation
  • Hydrology is predominantly concerned with the amounts and quality of water moving and accumulating on the land surface and in the soils and rocks near the surface and is typified by the hydrological cycle. Thus the field encompasses water in rivers, lakes, aquifers and to an extent glaciers, in which the field examines the process and dynamics involved in these bodies of water. Hydrology originated from engineering and has thus developed a largely quantitative method in its research, however, it does have an earth science side that embraces the systems approach. Similar to most fields of physical geography it has sub-fields that examine the specific bodies of water or their interaction with other spheres e.g. limnology and ecohydrology.
  • Glaciology is the study of glaciers and ice sheets, or more commonly the cryosphere or ice and phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology groups the latter (ice sheets) as continental glaciers and the former (glaciers) as alpine glaciers. Although, research in the areas are similar with research undertaken into both the dynamics of ice sheets and glaciers the latter tends to be concerned with the interaction of ice sheets with the present climate and the latter with the impact of glaciers on the landscape. Glaciology also has a vast array of sub-fields examining the factors and processes involved in ice sheets and glaciers e.g. snow hydrology and glacial geology.
  • Biogeography is the science which deals with geographic patterns of species distribution and the processes that result in these patterns. Biogeography emerged as a field of study as a result of the work of Alfred Russel Wallace, although the field prior to the late twentieth century had largely been viewed as historic in its outlook and descriptive in its approach. The main stimulus for the field since its founding has been that of evolution, plate tectonics and the theory of island biogeography. The field can largely be divided into five sub-fields: island biogeography, paleobiogeography, phylogeography, zoogeography and phytogeography
  • Climatology is the study of the climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a long period of time. As opposed to meteorology which studies atmospheric processes over a shorter duration, which are then examined by climatologist to find trends and frequencies in weather patterns/ phenomena. Climatology, examines both the nature of micro (local) and macro (global) climates and the natural and anthropogenic influences on them. The field is also sub-divided largely into the climates of various regions and the study of specific phenomena or time periods e.g. tropical cyclone rainfall climatology and paleoclimatology.
  • Pedology is the study of soils in its natural environment. It is one of two main branches of soil science, the other being edaphology. Pedology mainly deals with pedogenesis, soil morphology, soil classification. In physical geography pedology is largely studied due to the numerous interactions between climate (water, air, temperature), soil life (micro-organisms, plants, animals), the mineral materials within soils (biogeochemical cycles) and its position and effects on the landscape such as laterization.
  • Palaeogeography is the study of the distribution of the continents through geologic time through examining the preserved material in the stratigraphic record. Palaeogeography is a cross-discipline, almost all the evidence for the positions of the continents comes from geology in the form of fossils or geophysics the use of this data has resulted in evidence for continental drift, plate tectonics and supercontinents this in turn has supported palaeogeographic theories such as the Wilson cycle.
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High-energy Coastline
  • Coastal geography is the study of the dynamic interface between the ocean and the land, incorporating both the physical geography (i.e coastal geomorphology, geology and oceanography) and the human geography of the coast. It involves an understanding of coastal weathering processes, particularly wave action, sediment movement and weathering, and also the ways in which humans interact with the coast. Coastal geography although predominantly geomorphological in its research is not just concerned with coastal landforms, but also the causes and influences of sea level change.
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Thermohaline circulation
  • Oceanography is the branch of physical geography that studies the Earth's oceans and seas. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics (biological oceanography); ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics (physical oceanography); plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor (geological oceanography); and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries (chemical oceanography). These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to further knowledge of the world ocean and understanding of processes within it.
  • Quaternary science is an inter-disciplinary field of study focusing on the Quaternary period, which encompasses the last 2.6 million years. The field studies the last ice age and the recent interstadial the Holocene and uses proxy evidence to reconstruct the past environments during this period to infer the climatic and environmental changes that have occurred.
  • Landscape ecology is a sub-discipline of ecology and geography that address how spatial variation in the landscape affects ecological processes such as the distribution and flow of energy, materials and individuals in the environment (which, in turn, may influence the distribution of landscape "elements" themselves such as hedgerows). The field was largely founded by the German geographer Carl Troll Landscape ecology typically deals with problems in an applied and holistic context. The main difference between biogeography and landscape ecology is that the latter is concerned with how flows or energy and material are changed and their impacts on the landscape whereas the former is concerned with the spatial patterns of species and chemical cycles.
  • Geomatics is the filed of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering of geographic information, or spatially referenced information. Geomatrics includes geodesy (scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the earth, its gravitational field, and other geodynamic phenomena, such as crustal motion, oceanic tides, and polar motion) and G.I.S. (a system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the earth) and remote sensing (the short or large-scale acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, by the use of either recording or real-time sensing device(s) that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object).
  • Environmental geography is a branch of geography that describes the spatial aspects of interactions between humans and the natural world. The branch bridges the divide between human and physical geography and thus requires an understanding of the dynamics of geology, meteorology, hydrology, biogeography, and geomorphology, as well as the ways in which human societies conceptualize the environment. Although the branch was previously more visible in research than at present with theories such as environmental determinism linking society with the environment. It has largely become the domain of the study of environmental management or anthropogenic influences on the environment and vice a versa.

Physical geography literature

Physical geography and Earth Science journals communicate and document the results of research carried out in universities and various other research institutions. Most journals cover a specific field and publish the research within that field, however unlike human geographers, physical geographers tend to publish in inter-disciplinary journals rather than predominantly geography journal; the research is normally expressed in the form of a scientific paper. Additionally, textbooks books and magazines on geography communicate research to laypeople, although these tend to focus on environmental issues or cultural dilemmas.Examples of journals that publish articles from physical geographers are:

List of notable physical geographers

Main article: List of geographers
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Alexander Von Humboldt - considered to be the founding father of physical geography

See also

Further reading

  • Smithson, Peter; et al (2002). Fundamentals of the Physical Environment. Routledge, London. 
  • Holden, Joseph (2004). Introduction to Physical Geography and the Environment. Prentice-Hall, London. 
  • Summerfield, Mike (1991). Global Geomorphology. Longman , London. 
  • Wainwright, John; Mulligan, M. (2003). Environmental Modelling: Finding Simplicity in Complexity. John Wiley and Sons Ltd, London. 
  • Inkpen, Robert (2004). Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. Routledge, London. 

External links

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Sub-fields of Physical Geography


General subfields within the earth sciences
Atmospheric sciences | Geodesy | Geology | Geophysics | Glaciology
Hydrology | Oceanography | Soil science
Geography - (from the Greek words Geo (γη) or Gaea (γαία), both meaning "Earth", and graphein (γράφειν) meaning "to describe" or "to write"
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natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth or some part of it (e.g. the natural environment in a country).
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The phrase built environment refers to the manmade surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging from the large-scale civic surroundings to the personal places.
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Human geography, is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with the environment, with particular reference to the causes and consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity on the Earth's surface.
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The Earth's Spheres relates to the division of the Earth into broadly four interacting spheres:
  • Mesosphere
  • Biosphere
  • Lithosphere
  • Asthenoshere
Other interpretations of this model of the Earth include the following additional spheres:

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Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity. It contains roughly (by molar content/volume) 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.
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ecosystem" by Sir Arthur Tansley (see ecology history). Vernadsky defined ecology as the science of the biosphere. It is an interdisciplinary concept for integrating astronomy, geophysics, meteorology, biogeography, evolution, geology, geochemistry, hydrology and, generally
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The cryosphere, derived from the Greek word kryos for "frost" or "icy cold", is the term which collectively describes the portions of the Earth’s surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps and ice
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The term Geosphere is often used less generally by geologists with reference to the densest parts of Earth, which consist mostly of rock and regolith. [1]. However, the term applies to the four nested geospheres identified since Meteorology (Aristotle) with the states of
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water cycle, a key process of the hydrosphere.]]

A hydrosphere (Greek hydro means "water") in physical geography describes the collective mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet.
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lithosphere (IPA: [ˈlɪθ.ə.sfiɹ], from the Greek for "rocky" sphere) is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. On the Earth, the lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost mantle which is joined to the crust across the Mohorovičić
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The pedosphere (from the Greek πέδον [pedon] soil, earth + σφαίρα [sfaíra] sphere) is the outermost layer of the Earth that is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes.
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Systems thinking is an approach to integration that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system will act differently when isolated from the system's environment or other parts of the system.
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Geomorphology (from Greek: γη, ge, "earth"; μορφή, morfé, "form"; and λόγος, logos
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lithosphere (IPA: [ˈlɪθ.ə.sfiɹ], from the Greek for "rocky" sphere) is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. On the Earth, the lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost mantle which is joined to the crust across the Mohorovičić
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desert is a landscape form or region that receives very little precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas that receive an average annual precipitation of less than 250 mm (10 in). In the Köppen climate classification system, deserts are classed as (BW).
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The word fluvial is used in geography and earth science to refer to all topics related to flowing water. Fluvial usually refers to rivers, streams and sometimes through flow, overland flow and percolation.
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A landform comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography.
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Geomorphometry is the science of quantitative land surface analysis. It gathers various mathematical, statistical and image processing techniques that can be used to quantify morphological, hydrological, ecological and other aspects of a land surface.
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Soil science deals with soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils per se; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils.
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Hydrology (from Greek: Yδωρ, hudōr, "water"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources.
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water cycle.]]

The Earth's water is always in movement, and the water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.
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river is a natural waterway that transits water through a landscape from higher to lower elevations. It is an integral component of the water cycle. The water within a river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge (as seen at baseflow
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lake (from Latin ligacus) is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. A vast majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes.
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An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well.
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glacier is a large, slow moving river of ice, formed from compacted layers of snow, that slowly deforms and flows in response to gravity. Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to oceans as the largest reservoir of total water.
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Engineering is the applied science of acquiring and applying knowledge to design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development, also known as ECPD,[1] (later ABET [2]
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Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet.
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Limnology (from Greek: Λίμνη limne, "lake"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the study of inland waters (both fresh and saline), including their biological, physical, chemical, geological and hydrological aspects.
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Ecohydrology is a new interdisciplinary area linking hydrology with ecological processes involved in the water cycle hydrological cycle. These processes generally occur within the water (rivers, lakes, groundwaters) or on land soil and plant foliage.
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