McLuhan used the madness of King Lear as a model for cultural denudation.
Scientific Process
The dictionary defines denudation as " to divest of covering or make bare." The word is used by scientists to describe a process of removing layers of covering to uncover the base beneath. Medical researchers may discuss removing layers of epidermis to uncover arteries and other organs for surgery as denuding. Marshall McLuhan applied the concept to modern sociology by using Shakespeare's King Lear as an example of the denudation of the personality by the removal of traditional social roles and prerogatives. McLuhan argued in The Gutenberg Galaxy that alienation occurs at such times of cultural transition, citing Renaissance Europe and the onset of the Technological Society. The most common use of the concept of denudation, though, is as a geologic concept that scientists now separate into several processes.
Erosion and Weathering
Sir Charles Lyell described denudation in his treatise, "The Elements of Geology," as "the removal of solid matter ... and the consequent laying bare of some inferior rock." This basically means that the topsoil and subsoil that make lawns and all other agricultural practices possible are removed leaving only igneous rock---the raw material of earth. Lyell included only erosion by water in his definition, written in 1871. Modern scientists know that erosion may be caused by water or wind and can be advanced by poor farming practices and land use. Another process, weathering, is closely related to erosion because storms that produce flooding and strong winds also contribute to erosion. Weathering, though, also includes freeze-thaw cycles that break up rocks and water tables; and the chemical effects of atmospheric components that break down the composition of soil leading to a loss of structural integrity. Erosion and weathering are both gradual processes that wear down rocks and soil over a period of years. The material washed away usually ends up "downstream", creating marshes and extending alluvial plains into oceans, leaving infertile rock inland and changing the ecology of the waters through---and into---which it runs.
Tectonic Plate Movement
Lyell's inquiry into geology was written before the development of tectonic plate theory in the early twentieth century. Today, although we don't know exactly what moves it, we know that the shell of rock covering earth's molten center broke into sections millions of years ago. These sections have been "drifting" around, bumping into each other at various times, causing great mountains to rise on "collisional" boundaries and deep valleys to form on "divergent" boundaries. Plates may slide over and under each other (convergent) or simply slide alongside each other (transformative). As the plates "quake," they create new landforms and sprout volcanoes, through which the molten center bubbles up, creating new crust. Earthquakes also break up rock and thrust earth upward, exposing sections of crust. These areas are susceptible to erosion and weathering. Denuded areas may take thousands of years to recreate the subsurface and topsoil that support life.
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