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Geomorphology.
Geomorphology is an area of geology that deals with relief features of the earth the study of landforms, with the forces and processes that have shaped them, and with the description and classification of various physical features on Earth or of another celestial body (as the moon) and seeks a genetic interpretation of them . It is scientific in approach. Formal research in geomorphology is mostly carried out within the rational, empirical and analytical traditions of modern science. The approach includes information gathering in the field and testing of hypotheses. Efforts are taken to replicate and to generalise results. Other disciplines and human endeavours make use of the results of geomorphology.
The term, which comes from the Greek words geo, or "Earth," and morph, meaning "form," was coined in 1893 by the American geologist William Morris Davis (1850-1934), who is considered the father of geomorphology.
Many systems of classifying landforms have been devised. Some systems describe and group topographic features primarily according to the processes that shaped or modified them. Others take additional factors into consideration (e.g., character of the surface rocks and climatic variations) and include the developmental stage of landforms as an aspect of their evolution over geologic time.
Geomorphology is practiced within geography, geology, geodesy, engineering geology, archaeology, and geotechnical engineering, and this broad base of interest contributes to a wide variety of research styles and interests within the field.
Animation of Fluvial erosion in a cratered landscape on Mars with ongoing impact cratering. See: Howard, A. D., Simulating the development of martian highland landscapes through the interaction of impact cratering, fluvial erosion, and variable hydrologic forcing, Geomorphology, v. 91, p. 332-363, 2007 (http://erode.evsc.virginia.edu/rratxa.gif)
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