The University of Winnipeg

物理地理学领域

课程GEOG-12201（3）入门大气科学和geog-12202（3）入门地球科学are essentially an overview of many distinct disciplines within the subject area of Physical Geography. These distinct disciplines include:

  • 气候/气象学
  • Geology
  • Geomorphology
  • Hydrology
  • 生物地理学

气候/气象学

Climatology looks at how the weather system has behave in the past and in the present as well as the relationships between these climates and the physical and human environments. Today scientists are studying both how climate of the past and present change as well as how best to prepare for the effects of weather vagaries. From these studies they hope to better predict future climates.

Geology

Physical Geography provides an excellent grounding in physical geology which can be very useful as background material for a continuing programme in geology. The department offers 2 half courses, GEOG-2215(3)矿物学和岩石学and GEOG-2216(3)物理地质学. These courses provide a theoretical and practical introduction to the primary areas of geology, namely, mineralogy, petrology, historical, structural plate tectonics and palaeontology. This approach will give a clear understanding of what geology is to those who may wish to continue in this area. Both courses have full laboratory programmes which concentrate on 4 areas of expertise:

  1. Hand specimen identifications of both minerals and rocks, including precious and semi-precious metals and gems.
  2. The correct procedures for optical mineralogical identifications of mineral properties under ordinary, polarized and conoscopic viewing.
  3. The methods of reading and interpreting geological structures from geological maps, an essential part of exploration geology.
  4. The identification of fossils.

Geomorphology

把最简单,地貌学是研究局域网dforms of the earth's surface and the processes which have produced them. As a sub-discipline of the Earth Sciences, it has its roots in both Physical Geography and Geology, with very important contributions from engineering and soils science. Its objectives range from the descriptive classification of landforms to the understanding of the physics of earth-shaping processes. Valid subject material for geomorphic study may range in scale from minor scratches on a rock outcrop to entire landscapes, or from the effects of small rills on a hillside to those produced by continental ice sheets several thousands of metres thick. Landforms and landscapes also evolve through time and the study of how and why they change is an important objective for geomorphologists. Indeed, many landscapes can only be properly understood in terms of events long past and the unravelling of their history is one of the most challenging areas of geomorphology.

关于地貌学的另一个描述可能是研究地球表面材料的重新分布 - 在一个地方获得“污垢”，产生侵蚀地面，这种材料通过水，风，冰或重力来移动到另一个地点产生沉积地面。因此，地貌学家还研究沉积物的运输和沉积物的内部特征，以了解产生它们的事件的顺序。此外，由于地球的表面是大多数人的活动的基础，因此地貌学家有很大的贡献，可以解决特定人类问题的解决方案。这是应用地貌的子场，包括对山体滑坡发生的理解，河流如何对操纵的反应，可能会产生冰川蔓延的问题，或者在哪里发现沙子和碎石资源的问题。地貌学家用来解决特定问题的方法可能涉及任何或全部仔细的现场观察和测量，地图和空气照片解释，实验室分析，数学和统计技术的应用，当然还有正确的推理，以正确解释获得的数据。

Hydrology

水文学是对水的发生的研究，并在地球表面上和下方移动，水文学家负责对加拿大淡水供应的测量和清单，提供了基于水资源决策的主要数据。因此，水文活性的重要组成部分致力于开发和改进准确的测量技术。在其边缘之一，水文学领域与大气科学融合，通常称为水信学。然而，从本质上讲，水文学与雨水一旦到达地面的发生了什么 - 河流如何以及何时在河流中奔跑，将渗透到地面，如何在地下移动，将蒸发多少从地面和植物表面等来看，虽然水的准确模型的发展本身就是一个值得的科学目标，但水文学是一种应用科学，试图回答社会重要性的问题。洪水的预测，涵洞的设计大小，洪水道或雨水系统系统的估计，估算水库的供水，确定可以从含水层中抽水的安全率，预防量土壤侵蚀 - 这些都是水文学家寻求解决的重要人类问题。红河的排水盆是人与他的水文环境之间相互作用的一个很好的例子。它是加拿大最严重的洪水危害区之一，洪水控制系统是该国最雄心勃勃的。在盆地的许多地方，地下水质量和可用性是严重的关注点。 Land drainage schemes are among the most elaborate on the continent. The basin has suffered from serous drought in the past and may do so again. Lakes in and around the basin provide a major recreation outlet for the urban population and source of income for fisherman. All these (and many others) are problems which the hydrologist seeks to solve.

生物地理学

Biogreography is a sub-discipline within physical geography which attempts to show relationships between soils and vegetation and how man has manipulated (and often abused) soil-vegetation systems. Biogeography is therefore a subject area which makes use of a basic background in physical geography so that

  1. the influences of geomorphology, geology and climate on soil type differentiation and properties can be better appreciated, and
  2. the influences of both climate and soil on vegetation can be more clearly understood.

As soils with their associated vegetation covers form dynamic systems with nutrient inputs and outputs they can be modelled to see how natural ecosystems "tick." These soil-vegetation systems can then be manipulated to see how man has or can suffer or benefit from ecosystems, thereby manipulating nutrient cycles through these systems -- he has often done this very inefficiently. It is therefore the aim of biogeography to better present an understanding of these soil-vegetation systems and their potential to withstand human manipulation and support human populations. We are all, after all is said and done, completely dependent on these manipulations as food production is essentially the applied art of soil-vegetation systems modification.

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