Konstantin Konstantinovich Markov (; 20 May 1905,

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

– 18 September 1980,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

geomorphologist Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand why ...

and Quaternary geologist. As a geomorphologist Markov theorized on

planation surface In geology and geomorphology a planation surface is a large-scale land surface that is almost flat with the possible exception of some residual hills. The processes that form planation surfaces are labelled collectively planation and are exogeni ...

s. His geographical research of arid areas outside the Soviet Union led to publications on

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

and the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

. Markov was professor at the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

.The great national geographer, geomorphologist and paleogeographer konstantin konstantinovich Markov (to The 110th Anniversary)
/ref> Markov created the concept of geomorphological levels. In this idealization geomorphic processes on Earth are distributed vertically in the form of concentric spheres, this if there is no

tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

disturbances. The in each sphere a specific kind of process dominates. At sea level abrasion and accretion will dominate landscape, surfaces above this level would be dominated by

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

and peneplanation. Further up mountain tops would form their level. Cape Markov in Antarctica is named after him.

References

1905 births 1980 deaths 20th-century geographers 20th-century geologists Scientists from Vyborg Academic staff of Moscow State University Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Saint Petersburg State University alumni Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Quaternary geologists Soviet geographers Soviet geologists Soviet geomorphologists {{scientist-stub Soviet paleogeographers Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery