Rationalizing Geomorphology With an Energy Balance

An energy balance shows that geomorphological processes are driven by an energy source more powerful than the geological processes that raise the continents. In addition, energy fluxes for the entire Earth are calculated from several energy sources including energy from the Sun, Esolar, geothermal energy, Egeothermal, based primarily on heat production from radiogenic sources, energy in the hydrologic cycle, Ehydrologic, based on energy stored as latent heat in water vapor, and energy required to maintain continental uplift rates, Epotential. The Epotential term is estimated from the hypsometric curve for the Earth's continents and the crustal roots according to Airy's model of isostasy. It is shown that Esolar > Ehydrologic, Egeothermal > Epotential and Ehydrologic > Epotential. The preceding calculations are presented in a format that illustrates the development and application of mathematical equations for geological problems. These examples provide instructors with material to illustrate the use of graphs, algebra and integral calculus in a geological context. All steps are explained assuming only basic knowledge from the reader.