Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
We start the first part of our topic with some of
the approaches that have been made in the study
of physical geography. Compared to some disci-
plines, physical geography is relatively new, hav-
ing emerged from geology and physiography in
the late nineteenth century. As Geography Depart-
ments became established in more British uni-
versities in the early twentieth century, so interest
in the subject increased and moved away from
its background of geology. Instead there was a
greater awareness of the interaction between the
different parts of the Earth system, though initially
much effort was spent in describing the features.
Early studies concentrated on the description of
the physical features of the landscape such as
cirques, arêtes, oxbow lakes, landslides and spits,
to choose examples from a range of geomorpho-
logical features as we would now call them.
Similarly in climatology, Köppen developed a des-
criptive scheme to identify the range of climates
that were observed across Earth's surface.
Once a subject has been fully described the next
stage is to develop an understanding of how and
why particular features have been formed and
increasingly studies in physical geography have
moved towards an examination of the processes
involved in their formation. Associated with this
movement towards process studies, there has
been a shift in the way we approach our subject
matter with greater emphasis on the total system
that is involved in the formation and development
of a particular environment. This is why we start
our first chapter with a case study of one small
area and treat it as an environmental system. In
this way we hope to show how what we see in the
landscape is the product of a variety of separate
and interacting systems. Any example could have
been chosen, so it could be a useful exercise to
take an area known to you and, once you have
gained some understanding of the processes
involved, produce a similar study of the environ-
mental systems of that area. Comparisons could
then be made to see what differences exist and,
of course, why this should be. By these methods
it is possible to manage the physical environment
more sympathetically and to respond to foreseen
and unforeseen environmental changes.
The study of physical geography also involves
practical aspects as well as textbook learning.
Geography has a strong tradition of field work and
we would like to stress the importance of “hands-
on” experience of learning about our environ-
ment. Field work and field experiments can allow
greater insight into the operations of our environ-
mental systems as shown in
Chapter 1.
Increas-
ingly too, the data and material obtained from
such field experiments can be used in laboratory
analysis to quantify the processes involved. As
computers have become more powerful too,
increasingly realistic models of the environment
can be built to allow prediction as well as observ-
ing what appears to be happening in our various
systems.
One of the most important aspects of our
environmental system is energy. Energy can flow
into and out of a system or be stored in a variety
of forms.
Chapter 2
concentrates on examining the
different forms of energy and their nature. Some
are more important in the environmental system
than others so we do not treat them equally but
concentrate on those forms which are of greatest
significance. The sun is our main source of energy
and helps to drive many of the energy flows that
take place on a wide range of scales from global
to local. Without the presence of the sun and its
energy we would be a dead planet. This chapter
concludes with a discussion of local and regional
energy transfers in different components of the
environment. By studying these flows we hope to
gain a better understanding of the processes and
mechanisms that produce Earth's environmental
system.
