THE Physical geography is the area of geographic studies related to natural terrestrial manifestations, involving the processes superficial and the elements of the interior of the planet that have a direct relationship with the shapes and alterations of the relief.
What does Physical Geography study?
Physical Geography addresses themes that are generally grouped around four themes: a lithosphere, a atmosphere, a hydrosphere and the biosphere. For this, it maintains direct relations with numerous other areas of knowledge, such as Geology and Biology.
When we talk about lithosphere, we refer to rocky portion of the planet. Of course, your understanding should also be related to the others inner layers of the Earth, as we know that they interfere directly and indirectly in the transformations of landforms.
Already the studies of atmosphere encompass themes related not only to the elements present in the air and their movement, but to all the processes that take place above the earth's surface, such as climate transformations It's from time and other occurrences.
THE hydrosphere, in turn, involves, in the studies carried out therein, questions related to the behavior of forms and water courses on the earth's surface, involving rivers and lakes as well as seas and oceans. At watersheds they are also an important theme in this field.
Finally, issues related to the study of biosphere, in a broad intersection with Biology, address issues relevant to the three themes established above, in addition to their relationships with living beings. Therefore, its understanding demands a better understanding of all terrestrial elements, whether they are biotic, be abiotic.
In the meantime, it is important to emphasize that the Earth is, above all, a dynamic system. Its composition and dynamics are not limited to these thematic separations, which were invented by man only to establish a didactic comprehension about natural issues.
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Branches of Physical Geography
There are several branches that comprise Physical Geography, involving different approaches aimed at the study of the Earth's dynamics, with regard to its surface, as well as its interior.
The main branches are:
Climatology
Branch of Physical Geography that studies the phenomena of the atmosphere and the relationship with the Earth's surface. O climate is the main object of study of Climatology.
Examples of topics studied in this area are:
Difference between weather and climate
Brazil climates
Climate changes
Differences between hurricane, tornado and cyclone
Phenomena such as hurricanes are studied by Climatology.
Geomorphology
It is the branch of Physical Geography that studies the land surface shapes (relief) covering your fgeological formation and all the structural dynamics.
Examples of topics studied in this area are:
Types of relief
weathering
Relief forming agents
Brazilian relief
Earth surfaces and their various forms are studied by Geomorphology.
Hydrology
It is the branch of Physical Geography that studies the water on the earth's surface and underground, as well as the factors that determine its occurrence and distribution.
Examples of topics studied in this area are:
Main hydrographic basins in Brazil
Amazon river
Guarani Aquifer
Main oceans of the planet
Water resources and their distribution are studied by the branch of geography known as Hydrology.
Pedology
It is the branch of Physical Geography that studies the soils — its formation, composition, classification and mapping.
Examples of topics studied in this area are:
Types of soil in Brazil
Soil Formation Factors
Ways to protect soil from erosion
Soil is studied by the branch of Physical Geography called Pedology.
glaciology
It is the branch of Physical Geography that studies the origin of glaciers, your training processes and the phenomena associated with them.
Examples of topics studied in this area are:
The action of glaciers in the formation of relief
What is a glacier?
Glaciers and phenomena related to water in its solid state are studied by Glaciology.
Orography
It is the branch of Physical Geography that studies the description of the relief, as well as the description of the mountains.
Examples of topics studied in this area are:
What is the biggest mountain on the planet?
- Exogenous relief formation agents
The study and description of mountains is done by the branch of Physical Geography called Orography.
Physical Geography of Brazil
THE Physical Geography of Brazil studies in Brazilian territory:
The lithosphere, as its geological, structural aspects and relief forms;
the characteristics of hydrosphere, according to the distribution of water resources;
The atmosphere and the atmospheric phenomena that cover the country, classifying its climates, meteorological phenomena, among others;
and the biodiversity, which is related to the biosphere, presenting its biomes, morphoclimatic domains and characteristics of Brazilian fauna and flora.
Briefly, Brazil:
is a tropical country, located near the Equator, on the American continent, specifically on the South America subcontinent;
it is a country of continental dimensions, which justifies its great biodiversity, whether in fauna or flora;
is a privileged country in terms of water availability, with various river basins;
Features diverse climates in its territory, as well as different types of vegetation which vary by geographic location.
The geological formation of the Brazilian relief is old, presents in its landscape different forms.
Examples of topics studied in this area are:
Brazil - general characteristics
Brazilian Biomes
Brazil climates
Vegetation in Brazil
Brazilian relief
Physical Geography in Enem
Physical Geography is quite recurrent in the tests of the And either — prepared by the National Institute for Educational Research Anísio Teixeira (Inep), an agency of the Ministry of Education.
Assessment values interdisciplinarity, so the disciplines dialogue with each other. Contents related to Physical Geography are associated with the contents of Science of Nature and its technologies.
According to studies carried out by the Department of Geography of the University of São Paulo (USP), Enem, in several years, raised questions about the climate, relief and hydrography. Many of these issues dialogue with areas of Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics, as well as dealing with man and nature relationship, making a parallel with Human Geography, for example, when addressing the issue of hydrography associated with the pollution of water resources.
Currently, there is a strong trend towards issues associated with environment, to the use and exploitation of natural resources and also at climate changes (greenhouse effect and global warming). Usually, these issues are associated with current information, graphs, climograms, not only referring to physical aspects of the question but also to the human interference in these studies.
There are other contents:
distribution of mineral resources in the lithosphere, which are associated with energy production;
biomes and their conservation;
hydrological cycle;
environmental conservation units;
climates and atmospheric phenomena, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, which affect many countries.
Solved Physical Geography Exercises
(Question 1 - Enem) The Earth's atmosphere is composed of nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) gases, which add up to about 99%, and trace gases, including the carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor (H2O), methane (CH4), ozone (O3) and nitrous oxide (N2O), which make up the remaining 1% of the air that we breathe. Trace gases, being made up of at least three atoms, are able to absorb the heat radiated by the Earth, warming the planet. This phenomenon, which has been going on for billions of years, is called the greenhouse effect. Since the Industrial Revolution (19th century), the concentration of trace gases in the atmosphere, in In particular, CO2 has increased significantly, which has resulted in increased temperature in scale. global. More recently, another factor has become directly involved in increasing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere: deforestation. Considering the text, a viable alternative to combat the greenhouse effect is
a) to reduce the heat radiated by the Earth by replacing primary production with refrigerated industrialization.
b) promote the burning of plant biomass, responsible for the increase in the greenhouse effect due to the production of CH4.
c) reduce deforestation, thus maintaining the vegetation's potential to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.
d) increase the atmospheric concentration of H2O, a molecule capable of absorbing large amounts of heat.
e) remove polar organic molecules from the atmosphere, decreasing their ability to retain heat.
RESOLUTION: alternative C.
A viable alternative to combat the increase in the greenhouse effect is to reduce deforestation, as the vegetation has the capacity to retain CO2 during the photosynthesis process, thus, the level of concentration (responsible for the greenhouse effect) of this gas in the atmosphere would reduce.
(Question 2 - Enem) According to a world organization for environmental studies, in 2025, two out of every three people will experience water shortages, if there is no change in the current consumption pattern of the product. An adequate and viable alternative to prevent shortages, considering global availability, would be:
a) develop water reuse processes.
b) explore underground water beds.
c) expand the supply of water, capturing it in other rivers.
d) capture rainwater.
e) import fresh water from other states.
Resolution: alternative A.
If the problem is water scarcity, it is already identified that the available water resources are not being sufficient for the demand, due not only to population increase but also to misuse. Therefore, it is then necessary to develop processes that reuse water. Reuse is a good way to avoid the depletion of water resources.
(Question 3 - Enem) Considering the wealth of Brazilian water resources, a serious water crisis in our country could be motivated by:
a) reduced area of arable land.
b) absence of groundwater reserves.
c) scarcity of rivers and large hydrographic basins.
d) lack of technology to remove salt from seawater.
e) degradation of water sources and waste in consumption.
Resolution: alternative E.
Brazil is a privileged country in terms of water resources. We are located under a region of huge aquifers (groundwater) as well as having an extensive hydrographic network. The issue of water in the country, therefore, would not be motivated by the lack of rivers, basins or groundwater, but due to the high waste in consumption and the degradation, misuse and inadequate exploitation of springs.
(Question 4 - Enem) It is about the progressive loss of productivity of entire biomes, affecting very expressive portions of the subhumid and semiarid domains in all the warm regions of the world. It is in these ecologically transitional areas that the pressure on biomass is felt very strongly, due to the withdrawal of forest cover, overgrazing and uncontrolled mining activities, triggering an acute picture of degradation environmental, reflected by the inability to support the development of plant species, whether a natural forest or plantations agricultural. CONTI, J. B. Physical geography and nature-society relationships in the tropical world. In: CARLOS; THE. F. THE. (Org.) New paths of geography. São Paulo: Context 1999 (adapted).
The text emphasizes a consequence of the conflicting relationship between human society and the environment regarding the process of
a) thermal inversion.
b) atmospheric pollution.
c) eutrophication of water.
d) soil contamination.
e) desertification of ecosystems.
Resolution: alternative E.
Desertification corresponds to the process in which the soil loses its fertility, also causing the loss of biodiversity, especially in regions with an arid, semi-arid and sub-humid climate. This natural process is aggravated by man's action.
by Rafaela Sousa
Graduated in Geography
Physical geography is an important area of geographical thought, as it carries with it the study and analysis of various aspects of the Earth's surface space. Then, mark the alternative that indicates the topic that is not studied by Physical Geography.
“The crust, the Earth's fractured surface, is often compared to the broken house of a hard-boiled egg. Each whole portion, in the fractured egg shell, would be a plate. But this analogy, like any other, has limitations. Tectonic plates, by comparison, are almost always larger blocks than the smaller and more numerous portions of the broken shell of a hard-boiled egg. Another analogy that helps to understand the structure of the Earth is to consider the crust, the surface on which we live, as the peel of an apple in relation to the pulp, in this case, the lower layers”.
(CAPOZZOLI, U. Scientific American Brazil. Ed. 92, Jan./2010.)
The movement of tectonic plates is one of the main elements in the formation of different types of land surface relief. Mark the alternative that indicates, respectively, the main cause of this movement and a form of relief arising from such process.