Области покровного и горного оледенения находятся в центре внимания наук о Земле. Это связано с рядом научных, экономических и политических факторов. В частности, одной из важнейших задач государства является обеспечение развития территорий Арктики – зоны стратегических интересов России. Не менее важной геополитической задачей является обеспечение присутствия Российской Федерации в Антарктическом регионе. Серьезным политическим инструментом становится доступ к источникам пресной воды, которыми являются горные ледники.

Arid environments may not be the most hospitable places n Earth, but the 30 % or more of the global land surface that they cover does support an ever-growing human population and has fascinated travellers, explorers and scientists for centuries. Early geomorphological studies were frequently carried out indirectly, sometimes even unwittingly, by those whose main purpose and motives lay elsewhere: inevitably, but with some notable exceptions, their accounts were descriptive and unscientific. Some would even argue that these traits persisted and dominated desert geomorphological studies well into the second half of this century.

Along with storms, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, landslides are one of the most severe natural hazards. Even though they cause fewer victims than other hazards, landslides are responsible for huge economic damage around the world, with losses of hundreds of millions of Euros per year. In addition, differently from other hazards, even small magnitude events represent a serious threat, deeply affecting transportation corridors and disrupting movements of men and goods. Finally, landslides can cause strong geomorphological modifications inducing permanent changes in the landscape.

Earth surface processes, landforms, and sediment deposits are intimately related – involving erosion of rocks, generation of sediment, and transport and deposition of sediment through various Earth surface environments. These processes, and the deposits and landforms that they generate, have a fundamental bearing on engineering, environmental and public safety issues; on recovery of economic resources; and on our understanding of Earth history.

Slope profile analysis: the system of best units by A. young Hillslope process-response models based on the continuity equation by
M. J.KIRKBY
An application of the concept of threshold slopes to the Laramie Mountains, Wyoming by m. a. carson
State, environment and attribute in scree-slope studies by j. в. thornes
Micro-erosion processes and factors affecting slope development in the Lower Swansea Valley by e.m. bridges and d.m. harding
Slope form and geomorphological process: an Australian example by
R.R. ARNETT
The role of snow avalanches in the evolution of alpine talus slopes by B.H.LUCKMAN
Landsliding on the Jurassic escarpment near Rockingham, Northamptonshire by R.J. CHANDLER
Some examples of mudflow and rockfall activity in north-east Ireland by
D.B. PRIOR, N. STEPHENS and G.R. DOUGLAS
Relationships between slope form and soil properties developed over Chalk parent materials by p.a.furley
The relationship between soil patterns and slope form in the Ettrick Association, south-east Scotland by w. a. d. Whitfield and
P. A. FURLEY
The British Geomorphological Research Group The Institute of British Geographers Publications in print

La acogida que tuvieron el libro Geomorfoiogía Climática (2001) y su traducción al inglés ligeramente ampliada, Climatic Geomorphology (2005), nos ha proporcionado el ánimo necesario para afrontar la redacción de un libro de carácter general más amplio que aborde las diferentes formas del relieve del planeta Tierra y de los procesos responsables de su génesis. El estudio de las morfologías, algunas de ellas generadas en tiempos geológicos pretéritos bajo condiciones ambientales muy diferentes a las actuales, nos permite reconstruir la evolución del relieve e inferir cambios ambientales en los que han podido intervenir el medio geológico, el clima o la actividad humana.

Вопросы изучения природных явлений и одновременно проблема охраны окружающей среды становятся все более актуальными. Настало время выработать правильные критерии природопользования. Эта задача может решаться лишь при высоком уровне изучения природных явлений, в том числе и таких динамичных комплексов, как морские берега, развитие которых протекает при исключительно сложном взаимодействии разнообразных процессов.