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About a Physical Geography degree

About

Physical Geography is focusing on the processes that are shaping the planet today and in recent geological history.

The main difference between Geology and Physical geography is the depth in which you look at more recent events. Geologists will study past and present processes and will have a more holistic view of the rock forming and reforming processes. Phyical geographers will focus on the more recent events (last 100 000 years) and will look in particular at surface processes that might affect people. The study of glaciers, rivers and other contemporary erosional processes helps physical geographers understand and predict the current environment we live in today.

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This degree is often organised as a joined degree with geology.

Measuring seasonal river discharge in the field, picture by Leonluca Klein

Examples of domains of interest for a physical geographer

Critial slope angle, what is it?

Processes that shape our planet also helped shape other planets. Gravity is one factor that affects the way grains of sand roll down a slope and thus affect the angle of slopes. The critical slope angle is the angle at which if you were to add more material it will cause the slope to fail. Let us say that the critical slope angle for material A is 35 degrees on earth, on mars which has a slightly less gravity the slope can be stable at 40 degrees, for arguments sake. Obviously in reality this is far more complicated that as you need to take into consideration many more factors (vegetation, climate, history of the region...) than is made out here, but you get the idea.

Sketches about slope critical angle, made by Leonluca Klein

River erosion

Consider a mountain stream in the Himalayas, its erosion rate (rate at which material is removed) is constant. River work with gravitational potential and will continue to erode to reach an equilibrium until it reaches sea level. That is why rivers and streams in mountains carve deep canyons, but rivers near the ocean and estuaries tend to be almost level with sea level and the surrounding land. During an earthquake, large quantities of rock are rapidly displaced. If a river was flowing from point A to B and there is a continuous downward slope, erosion rates will be constant, however if you displace a portion of the midsection between A and B, erosion rates will be higher where the rock masses have diverged from one another to reach and equilibrium, also one reason why you only see waterfalls in mountainous regions and not near the sea.

Sketches about rivers shape and erosion, made by Leonluca Klein

Glaciers

Studying the landscape, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, can tell you a lot about the recent glaciation. Elongate structures like Drumlins and scratches on hard rock known as striations can give physical geographers all they need to map out a path for the glacier’s movement direction and extent.

Understanding the past glaciers help understanding the landscape and the surface geology, as well as the current glacier behaviours.

A lot of physical geographers study current glaciers, mapping out their change in shape and thickness, investigating their effect on river discharge and erosion. All these changes can affect the polulations living close to the glacier and downstream of the related rivers.

Sketches aboutpast glacier evidence, made by Leonluca Klein

Data aquisition techniques, field observations and remote sensing

Geographical information system (GIS) is often used by physical geographers for cartography. Mapping river catchments using data acquired via remote sensing satellites enable geographers to study it in its integrity in an efficient way GIS allows to investigate and monitor the remotest corners of the world while covering extremely large areas. This allows for studies of the geosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. Complex three-dimensional data can be represented using GIS and many industries require geoscientists in general to be well versed in this industry standard.

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Understanding the impact of global warming on forest growth is a key subject many physical geographers study. The evolution of forests in response to the change in climate and

"Looking at the future of GIS", by ForestTECH

deforestation is monitored using satellite imagery within a GIS framework. This allows for the study of the relationship between the decrease in forest, increase in soil mobility and the observed cloudiness in Amazonian estuary. These seemingly independant processes can greatly influence the environment, from slope stability and erosion rates to the peril of corals and photosensitive organisms.

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