Fundamental Concepts of Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes shaping the Earth’s surface, with early ideas developed by Greek and Roman geographers.
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ANCIENT GEOGRAPHERS
Herodotus
Herodotus is remembered for his geographical observation, through his statement such as "Egypt is gift of Nile". Thus, he could attribute the erosion of river Nile in the initial stage which resulted into the deposition of silt and sediment in Egypt.
Aristotle
Aristotle talked about the origin of springs and explained the formation of the springs which he believed was formed due to the percolation of rainwater. Aristotle also recognised that earthquakes and volcanoes are closely related in origin.
Strabo
Strabo noted the changes in the landforms which was rise and fall of the sea level. He also recognised that the deltas are due to river erosion. He also wrote extensively on the size of deltas and said that deltas vary depending upon the size of the river its erosional capacity of river and structure of the rock..
CLASSICAL PERIOD
The development of geography occurred in the classical period where there was birth of new modern geomorphic ideas.
James Hutton Father of Modern Geology
James Hutton challenged the principle of Catastrophism which was the prevailing philosophy according to which the feature on the earth were specially created due to sudden, violent changes or activities. The believers of the catastrophism did not appreciate the important of slow geomorphic concepts or process and believed that the earth was only few years old.
James Hutton challenge the idea of catastrophism by establishing the doctrine of uniformitarianism whose greatest contribution in geography is the concept of "Present is key to the past".
This idea forms the foundation of entire geomorphology because it recognises that extremely slow geomorphic features (diastrophism) results into shaping of the earth, forming various relief features.
Hutton and Playfair also explain the concept of river system and how the river erosion operates which was then elaborated scientifically by "W.M Davis" in his normal cycle of erosion. Similarly in Germany major geomorphic study in 1920 and 30 were carried by Walter Penck. He challenged the Davisian concept of normal cycle of erosion (Fluvial cycle), in which he criticized the over emphasis of Davis on time.
In the recent year there has been increasing use of system analysis and computer modelling in studying geomorphic processes, which has been applied even in civil engineering.
KEY CONCEPT OF UNIFORMITARIANISM
Concept 1
The same physical processes and law that operate today, operated throughout geological history, although not necessary always in same intensity.
This principle was first given by Hutton in his concept uniformitarianism which is based on present is key to the past.
Examples Supporting This Concept:
Glaciers were much more significant during the Pleistocene ice age and covered large part of the world including present day North America, Eurasia, Brazil, Africa and Peninsular India. But after the end of Pleistocene ice age the area under the Glacier have been significantly reduced.
Though volcanic activities are still present today they are no longer on large scale as were present during the Cretaceous period.
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| Note:- AI-generated schematic map for educational use only |
Major rivers of the world including those of North India they were much larger and formed bigger flood plains but today as the river has decreased the intensity of river in terms of erosion and deposition has also changed.
Limitations of the Concept
But this concept is not always true because geomorphic processes change with time due to different reasons such as - changes in climate, drifting of continent as well as cooling of earth which decreases the intensity of endogenetic process and hence in any regions more than one process operates, and hence landform is an example of polycyclic relief.
Why This Topic is Important for UPSC
Geomorphology forms a core part of Physical Geography and is frequently asked in UPSC Prelims, Mains (GS-I) and State PCS examinations.
Prepared by Study Indepth | For UPSC and State PCS
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