# Hypsometry > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hypsometry > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hypsometry.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsometry > Source revision: 1330938738 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Geographical measurement}} {{distinguish|Hypsometric tints}} '''Hypsometry''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{Wikt-lang|grc|ὕψος}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὕψος}})|height||''{{Wikt-lang|grc|μέτρον}}'' ({{grc-transl|μέτρον}})|measure}})[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Du%28%2Fyos ὕψος], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dme%2Ftron μέτρον], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus is the measurement of the [elevation](/source/elevation) and [depth](/source/bathymetry) of [features of Earth's surface](/source/terrain) relative to mean [sea level](/source/sea_level).{{cite web |last1=Rafferty|first1=John P. |title=Hypsometry |url=https://britannica.com/science/hypsometry |website=[Encyclopedia Britannica](/source/Encyclopedia_Britannica) |access-date=21 May 2021}} On Earth, the elevations can take on either positive or negative (below sea level) values. The distribution is theorised to be [bimodal](/source/bimodal) due to the difference in density between the lighter continental crust and denser oceanic crust.{{cite web |last1=The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica |title=Hypsometric curve |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/hypsometric-curve |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=23 May 2021}} On other planets within this solar system, elevations are typically [unimodal](/source/unimodal), owing to the lack of plate tectonics on those bodies.{{Citation needed|reason=Is the reason due to the presence of oceans or plate tectonics? See Talk.|date=May 2021}} thumb|center|600px|Hypsography of the Earth. Notice that Earth has two peaks in elevation, one for the continents, the other for the ocean floors. ==Hypsometric curve{{Anchor|Curve}}== thumb|right|Hypsometric curve of Earth as a histogram. A '''hypsometric curve''' is a [histogram](/source/histogram) or [cumulative distribution function](/source/empirical_cumulative_distribution_function) of elevations in a geographical area. Differences in hypsometric curves between landscapes arise because the [geomorphic](/source/geomorphology) processes that shape the landscape may be different. When drawn as a 2-dimensional histogram, a hypsometric curve displays the elevation (''y'') on the vertical, [y-axis](/source/y-axis) and area above the corresponding elevation (''x'') on the horizontal or [x-axis](/source/x-axis). The curve can also be shown in non-dimensional or standardized form by scaling elevation and area by the maximum values. The non-dimensional hypsometric curve provides a [hydrologist](/source/hydrology) or a geomorphologist with a way to assess the similarity of [watersheds](/source/drainage_basin) — and is one of several characteristics used for doing so. The hypsometric integral is a summary measure of the shape of the hypsometric curve. In the original paper on this topic, [Arthur Strahler](/source/Arthur_Strahler) proposed a curve containing three parameters to fit different hypsometric relations:{{cite journal |title=Hypsometric (area-altitude) analysis of erosional topography |first1=Arthur N. |last1=Strahler |author-link1=Arthur Newell Strahler |year=1952 |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of America |volume=63 |issue=11 |pages=1117–1142 |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1952)63[1117:HAAOET]2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=1952GSAB...63.1117S }} :y = \left[\frac{d-x}{x} \cdot \frac{a}{d-a}\right]^z, where ''a'', ''d'' and ''z'' are fitting parameters. Subsequent research using two-dimensional landscape evolution models has called the general applicability of this fit into question,{{cite journal |title=Revisiting the hypsometric curve as an indicator of form and process in transport‐limited catchment |first1=G. |last1=Willgoose |first2=G. |last2=Hancock |year=1998 |journal=Earth Surface Processes and Landforms |volume=23 |issue=7 |pages=611–623 |doi=10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199807)23:7<611::AID-ESP872>3.0.CO;2-Y|bibcode=1998ESPL...23..611W }} as well as the capability of the hypsometric curve to deal with scale-dependent effects. A modified curve with one additional parameter has been proposed to improve the fit.{{cite journal |title=Characterization of drainage basin hypsometry: A generalized approach |first1=P. |last1=Bajracharya |first2=S. |last2=Jain |year=2021 |journal=Geomorphology |volume=381 |article-number=107645 |doi=10.1016/j.geomorph.2021.107645|bibcode=2021Geomo.38107645B |s2cid=233940229 }} Hypsometric curves are commonly used in [limnology](/source/limnology) to represent the relationship between lake surface area and depth and calculate total lake volume. These graphs can be used to predict various characteristics of lakes such as [productivity](/source/productivity), dilution of incoming chemicals, and potential for water mixing.{{Cite web|last=Florida LAKEWATCH|date=|title=A Beginner's Guide to Water Management — Lake Morphometry|url=https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FA/FA08100.pdf|access-date=17 December 2020|website=}} == See also == * [Bathymetry](/source/Bathymetry) * [Hypsometric equation](/source/Hypsometric_equation) * [Hypsometer](/source/Hypsometer), an instrument used in hypsometry, which estimates the elevation by boiling water – water boils at different temperatures depending on the air pressure, and thus altitude. * [Levelling](/source/Levelling) * [Topography](/source/Topography) * [Orography](/source/Orography) ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== *[https://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/HypsometricCurve.html Hypsometric Curve] Category:Physical geography Category:Geomorphology Category:Fluvial geomorphology --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hypsometry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsometry) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsometry?action=history)). 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