Zonal factors of natural complexes. What is a natural complex? Definition, types

The geographic envelope is not tripled in the same way everywhere, it has a "mosaic" structure and consists of separate natural complexes (landscapes). Natural complex - it is a part of the earth's surface with relatively homogeneous natural conditions: climate, topography, soils, waters, flora and fauna.

Each natural complex consists of components between which there are close, historically established relationships, while a change in one of the components sooner or later leads to a change in others.

The largest, planetary natural complex is the geographic shell; it is subdivided into natural complexes of a smaller rank. The division of the geographic shell into natural complexes is due to two reasons: on the one hand, differences in the structure of the earth's crust and the heterogeneity of the earth's surface, and on the other hand, the unequal amount of solar heat received by its various parts. In accordance with this, zonal and azonal natural complexes are distinguished.

The largest azonal natural complexes are continents and oceans. Smaller - mountainous and flat areas within the continents (West Siberian Plain, Caucasus, Andes, Amazonian lowland). The latter are subdivided into even smaller natural complexes (Northern, Central, Southern Andes). Natural complexes of the lowest rank include individual hills, river valleys, their slopes, etc.

The largest of the zonal natural complexes - geographic zones. They coincide with climatic zones and have the same names (equatorial, tropical, etc.). In turn, geographical zones consist of natural zones, which are distinguished by the ratio of heat and moisture.

natural area called a large land area with similar natural components - soils, vegetation, wildlife, which are formed depending on the combination of heat and moisture.

The main component of the natural zone is the climate, because all other components depend on it. Vegetation has a great influence on the formation of soils and wildlife and is itself dependent on soils. Natural zones are named according to the nature of the vegetation, since it most obviously reflects other features of nature.

The climate naturally changes as you move from the equator to the poles. Soil, vegetation and wildlife are determined by climate. This means that these components should change latitudinally, following climate change. The regular change of natural zones when moving from the equator to the poles is called latitudinal zoning. Moist equatorial forests are located near the equator, and icy Arctic deserts are located near the poles. Between them are other types of forests, savannas, deserts, tundra. Forest zones, as a rule, are located in areas where the ratio of heat and moisture is balanced (equatorial and most of the temperate zone, the eastern coasts of the continents in the tropical and subtropical zone). Treeless zones are formed where there is a lack of heat (tundra) or moisture (steppes, deserts). These are the continental regions of the tropical and temperate zones, as well as the subarctic climatic zone.

The climate changes not only latitudinally, but also due to changes in altitude. As you climb up the mountains, the temperature drops. Up to a height of 2000-3000 m, the amount of precipitation increases. A change in the ratio of heat and moisture causes a change in the soil and vegetation cover. Thus, unequal natural zones are located in the mountains at different heights. This pattern is called altitudinal zonation.

The change of altitudinal belts in the mountains occurs approximately in the same sequence as on the plains, when moving from the equator to the poles. At the foot of the mountains there is a natural zone in which they are located. The number of altitudinal belts is determined by the height of the mountains and their geographical position. The higher the mountains, and the closer they are to the equator, the more diverse the set of altitudinal zones. The most complete vertical zonality is expressed in the Northern Andes. Moist equatorial forests grow in the foothills, then there is a belt of mountain forests, and even higher - thickets of bamboos and tree-like ferns. With an increase in altitude and a decrease in average annual temperatures, coniferous forests appear, which are replaced by mountain meadows, often turning, in turn, into stony placers covered with moss and lichens. The tops of the mountains are crowned with snow and glaciers.

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They can cover both vast territories and completely small areas of the Earth. What natural complexes are there? What is the difference? What are they characterized by? Let's find out.

Geographic envelope

Telling what natural complexes are, it is impossible not to mention the geographical shell. This is a conditional concept that unites several spheres of the Earth at once, which intersect and interact with each other, forming a single system. In fact, it is the largest natural complex on the planet.

The boundaries of the geographic shell almost repeat the edges of the biosphere. It includes the hydrosphere, biosphere, anthroposphere, the upper part of the lithosphere (the earth's crust) and the lower layers of the atmosphere (the troposphere and stratosphere).

The shell is solid and continuous. Each of its components (terrestrial spheres) has its own patterns of development and features, but at the same time it is influenced by other spheres and influences them. They constantly participate in the circulation of substances in nature, exchanging energy, water, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, etc.

Natural complex and its types

The geographical envelope is the largest, but not the only natural complex. There are a lot of them on the globe. What are natural complexes? These are certain areas of the planet that have homogeneous geological vegetation, wildlife, climatic conditions and the same nature of the waters.

Natural complexes are also called landscapes or geosystems. They differ in vertical and horizontal directions. Based on this, the complexes are divided into zonal and azonal. The main reason for their diversity is the heterogeneity of the geographic envelope.

First of all, differences in natural conditions provide an uneven distribution of solar heat on Earth. This is due to the elliptical shape of the planet, the uneven ratio of land and water, the location of the mountains (which trap air masses), etc.

complexes

The complexes represent a predominantly horizontal division of the planet. The largest of them are Their arrangement consistently and naturally. The emergence of these complexes is directly related to the climatic conditions of the area.

The nature of geographic zones varies from the equator to the poles. Each of them has its own temperature and weather conditions, as well as the nature of soils, groundwater and surface water. There are such belts:

• arctic;
• subarctic;
• Antarctic;
• subantarctic;
• north and south temperate;
• northern and southern subtropical;
• northern and southern subequatorial;
• equatorial.

The next largest zonal complexes are natural zones, which are divided according to the nature of moisture, that is, the amount and frequency of precipitation. They do not always have a purely latitudinal distribution. And they depend on the height of the terrain, as well as proximity to the ocean. Allocate the Arctic desert, steppe, tundra, taiga, savannah and other natural areas.

Azonal natural complexes

Azonal complexes are not associated with the latitudinal division of the planet. Their formation is associated primarily with the relief and formation of the earth's crust. The largest azonal natural complexes are oceans and continents, which differ significantly in geological history and structure.

Continents and oceans are divided into smaller complexes - natural countries. They consist of large mountain and plain formations. For example, the natural complexes of the Far East include the Central Kamchatka Plain, the Sikhote-Alin Mountains and the Khingan-Bureya Mountains, etc.

The natural countries of the planet include the Sahara Desert, the Ural Mountains, the East European Plain. They can be divided into narrower and more homogeneous sections. For example, gallery forests located along the outskirts of the steppes and savannahs, mangrove forests located along the coast of the seas and in estuaries. The smallest natural complexes include floodplains, hills, ridges, urems, swamps, etc.

Components of natural complexes

The main components of any geographical landscape are relief, water, soil, flora and fauna, climate. The interconnection of the components of the natural complex is very close. Each of them creates certain conditions for the existence of the others. Rivers affect the state and climate - the appearance of certain plants, and plants attract certain animals.

A change in even one component can lead to a complete change in the entire complex. The drying up of the river will lead to the disappearance of vegetation characteristic of the river area, to a change in the quality of the soil. This will certainly affect the animals that will leave the geosystem in search of their usual conditions.

Excessive reproduction of any kind of animal can lead to the extermination of the plants they eat. There are cases when huge swarms of locusts completely destroyed meadows or fields. Such a development of events does not go unnoticed by the natural complex and provokes changes in the soil, water, and then the climate regime.

Conclusion

So what are natural complexes? This is a natural-territorial system, the components of which are homogeneous in origin and composition. The complexes are divided into two main groups: azonal and zonal. Within each group there is a division from large to smaller areas.

The largest natural complex is the geographic shell, which includes part of the lithosphere and atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere of the Earth. The smallest complexes are individual hills, small forests, estuaries, swamps.

There are many interesting things in the natural world - a variety of rivers, landscapes, soils, animals and plants. We think little about the fact that all this can be systematized in a certain way. Occasionally I (like you) have heard a lot about natural areas, natural complexes, but knew little about it until decided to sort it out. After all, you want to understand where you live! Below I will share the information, and I guarantee: it will be interesting!

Natural complex - a special zone

As I said before, there are many different elements in the natural world. I'll list the main ones here:

• animal and plant world;
• climatic conditions;
• terrain;
• water;
• the soil.

A kind of vinaigrette from all of the above components and forms a natural complex. There are a lot of types and sizes of natural complexes. Speaking in a general phrase, then the natural complex is a certain zone within which the interaction of natural components occurs, due to patterns.

The largest natural complex is the geographic envelope of the Earth. An example of a small natural complex can serve as a single lake or sea bay. A mountain range or a whole ocean can be a natural complex, it all depends on how widely one is ready to systematize the interaction of various factors.

How the natural complex is formed

There are 2 groups of factors that influence the formation of natural complexes. The first group includes the so-called. zonal factors, that is, those that depend on the heating of the Earth by the Sun. They are also called external factors. Thanks to this group of factors, geographical zones and natural zones were formed.

The second group of factors includes azonal (internal) factors. These are those that pass within the Earth itself. In short, I note that the result of such processes was the formation of the relief and the general geological structure of the Earth. As an example of natural complexes formed by internal factors, I can cite the Cordillera, the Ural Mountains, the Alps and other mountainous regions.

Natural ingredients - components that form landscape complexes. The properties of the components, and some of them themselves, are largely derivatives of their interaction in the PTC. The main natural components of PTK: masses of rocks that make up the earth's crust (lithosphere); air masses of the lower layers of the atmosphere (troposphere); water (hydrosphere), presented in landscapes in three phase states (liquid, solid, vapor); vegetation, animals, soil. All natural components by their origin, properties and functions in landscapes are combined into three subsystems:

1. Lithogenic basis(geological rocks and relief); the lower part of the atmosphere (the air of the troposphere); hydrosphere (water) - geom.

2. biota- flora and fauna.

3. Soils– bio-inert subsystem.

Sometimes relief and climate are called as special components that have a great influence on the formation and properties of landscapes. However, they are only important properties of the earth's crust (lithogenic base) and surface air masses, which are the external form and set of parameters and processes of the contact layers of the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere.

Properties of natural components:

1. Real(mechanical, physical, chemical composition).

2. Energy(temperature, potential and kinetic energy of gravity, pressure, biogenic energy, etc.).

3. Information and organizational(structure, spatial and temporal sequence, mutual arrangement and connections).

It is the properties of natural components that determine the specifics of the interaction of components within landscape geosystems. At the same time, they are derivatives of these interactions.

Natural components have a wide variety of properties, but they are far from being of the same importance for the organization and development of territorial geosystems of geographical dimension. The most active and important for a particular level of organization of the STC, the interacting properties of the components are called natural factors. Among the factors, there are leading ones, the main ones for a certain level of organization of geosystems, and secondary ones, which determine the specifics of geosystems of other levels. They are one of the main reasons, driving forces that determine the results and types of interaction between natural components, as well as the structural and functional features of landscape geosystems (topography type; climate, vegetation type, etc.).

The influence of various factors on the properties of natural components in landscape complexes can be represented by the following examples.

The material composition of the surface layer of the Earth (granites, basalts, clays, sands, water, ice) affects the albedo (reflectivity) of the surface and the nature of vegetation, which affects the temperature regime of the surface atmosphere. The temperature regime, which depends primarily on the radiation balance of the territory, also affects the vegetation cover and water regime in landscapes. The chemical composition of rocks and water masses that are closely related to other natural components, for example, determine the geochemical and

species originality of soils, vegetation and landscapes in general in different areas of land and oceans. Powerful and active landscape-forming factors can be gradients in matter and its properties between components (difference in temperature and heat capacity, difference in chemical composition, in moisture, difference in inertia of structures and processes - lithogenic base and vegetation; lithogenic base and air or water masses ). Due to the fact that each natural component is a special material substance, in the zone of their maximum and active contact, that is, on the surface of the Earth, there are significant gradients in the substance and its properties. These gradients determine the formation and functioning of landscape complexes.

The main external energy factors that create the primary energy basis for the functioning of landscape geosystems are solar radiation, the gravitational forces of the Earth and the Moon, and intraterrestrial heat.

Among the factors, the leading ones are distinguished, which have the main influence on the organization of geosystems of a certain rank and type, as well as secondary ones, which determine the specifics of geosystems of other levels.

NATURAL COMPONENTS AS FACTORS DETERMINING THE SPECIFICITY OF LANDSCAPE GEOSYSTEMS

Lithogenic basis landscape complexes, or geosystems - this is the composition and structure of rocks, the relief of the earth's surface.

The lithogenic base, through the composition of rocks and relief, sets a rigid, very inertial frame of natural complexes formed on it. In one natural zone, different vegetation forms on rocks of different mechanical composition. Thus, in the forest zone of the temperate zone, PTCs on clayey and loamy rocks are characterized by spruce forests, and on sands, pine forests predominate. If the clay rocks in the southern taiga subzone are carbonated, then coniferous-broad-leaved forests develop here. Differences are also pronounced in desert landscapes formed on sandy, clayey, and rubble deposits.

Rocks of different mechanical and chemical composition determine the differences in the ratios and volumes of the runoff of surface and underground watercourses, in the ion runoff, as well as differences in the soils formed on them (loamy, sandy, sandy, gravel, carbonate, acidic, slightly alkaline, etc. ).

The presence of altitudinal zonality in the mountains and its change depending on the height and exposure of the slopes are known. By redistributing the water of atmospheric precipitation, the relief determines the moisture content in natural complexes (ceteris paribus). It is the difference in the reliefs of territories and the NTCs that form on them that determine the unequal potential and kinetic energy concentrated in landscapes. This energy is realized, first of all, in the form of various erosion processes, as well as in the structural elements of the relief itself (the shape of valleys, the dissection of the territory, etc.).

Different rocks form slopes of different steepness, and slopes of different steepness and their exposures absorb different amounts of heat. Warmer habitats are formed on the southern slopes, and colder habitats are formed on the northern slopes (V.V. Alekhin's rule of advance). All this is reflected in the landscape features of the territory.

So, the lithogenic base is the most inert element of the landscape shell. Therefore, its main properties are often the leading factors influencing the structural and functional organization of geosystems of a number of regional, and especially local, intralandscape hierarchical levels of the NTC. This is manifested through the features of the relief of territories, the presence of surfaces with different slopes, hypsometry and exposure, which determine the redistribution of zonal-sectoral and local hydrothermal resources, the provision of plants with nutrients contained in soils of various types.

Atmosphere, or more precisely, air masses the lower, surface part of the troposphere is also included as a component in the composition and forms landscape complexes. Depending on the rank and type of landscape geosystems (local, regional), the thickness of the air mass included in geosystems varies from tens to hundreds and a few thousand meters. The most important air properties that affect the characteristics of other components of the landscape can be represented as follows.

The chemical composition of the air, namely the presence of carbon dioxide, is one of the foundations of photosynthesis in green plants. Oxygen is necessary for respiration by all representatives of wildlife, for the oxidation and mineralization of dead organic residues - mortmasses. In addition, the presence of oxygen determines the formation of an ozone screen in the stratosphere, which protects the proteinaceous life forms characteristic of the landscape shell from the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the sun. At the same time, free oxygen in the atmosphere is itself a product of the photosynthesis process and is released by plants.

in atmosphere. Nitrogen is an important component of proteins and, accordingly, one of the main elements of plant nutrition.

The air of the atmosphere, relatively transparent to the visible spectrum of sunlight, due to the presence of carbon dioxide and water vapor in it, well delays the infrared (thermal) radiation of the Earth. This ensures the “greenhouse effect”, that is, temperature fluctuations are smoothed out, and the heat of solar radiation lingers longer in landscapes.

Air flows in the atmosphere, transferring heat and moisture from one region to another, smooth out hydrothermal differences between landscapes. Air provides heat and material exchange of substances between various components of geosystems. So, the air, being enriched with dust raised from the earth's surface, including salts, can transfer it to water bodies, and the latter enrich the air with moisture, ions of chlorine, sulfates, etc. They are transferred to land by air currents. Moreover, wind currents are able to form meso- and micro-forms of relief (dunes, dunes, blowout depressions, etc.) and even determine the shape and nature of plants (for example, flag-shaped, tumbleweeds).

If the lithosphere sets a rigid framework and is a very inertial component that determines rigid and sharp boundaries in the spatial differentiation of landscapes, then air masses, as a dynamic substance, on the contrary, integrate natural complexes, smoothing transitions between geosystems, and enhance the continuity of the landscape shell.

Hydrosphere, or natural waters are an important part of landscapes. At temperatures prevailing in landscapes, water can be in three phase states. The presence of more or less watered territories sharply differentiates the landscape envelope of the Earth into terrestrial (land) and aquatic geosystems (aquatic and territorial landscape complexes).

Water is one of the most heat-intensive substances on Earth (1 cal/g degree). In addition, it is characterized by very high costs of absorbed and released heat during phase transitions (ice, water, steam). This determines its main role in heat exchange between regions, as well as components and elements within geosystems. It is water, due to its properties, that forms many different-scale circulations of matter and energy, linking together different natural complexes and their components into single geosystems.

Surface runoff is a very powerful factor in the redistribution of matter between geosystems, as well as the formation of exogenous relief-20

pho- and lithogenesis. With water flows, the main types of exchange and migration of chemical elements are carried out both between landscape components and between the landscape complexes themselves, or geosystems. At the same time, in different landscape conditions, waters with different acid-base properties are formed. The latter determine the unequal conditions of water migration and the concentration of various chemical elements in landscapes. So, A.I. Perelman proposed the following classification scheme for natural waters according to the characteristics of the migration of certain chemical elements in them (Table 2.1).

1. Structure and properties of the geographic shell

2. Natural complexes of land and ocean

3. Natural zoning

4. Development of the Earth by man. Countries of the world

1. The structure and properties of the geographical shell

Before the appearance of life on Earth, its outer, single shell was made up of three interconnected shells: the lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere. With the advent of living organisms - the biosphere, this outer shell has changed significantly. All of its components have also changed. The shell, the Earth, within which mutually penetrate each other and interact with the lower layers of the atmosphere, the upper parts of the lithosphere, the entire hydrosphere and biosphere, is called the geographic (earth) shell. All components of the geographic envelope do not exist in isolation, they interact with each other. Thus, water and air, penetrating deep into rocks through cracks and pores, participate in weathering processes, change them and at the same time change themselves. Rivers and underground waters, by moving minerals, are involved in changing the relief. Particles of rocks rise high into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions, strong winds. Many salts are contained in the hydrosphere. Water and minerals are part of all living organisms. Living organisms, dying, form huge strata of rocks. Different scientists draw the upper and lower boundaries of the geographic shell in different ways. It has no sharp boundaries. Many scientists believe that its thickness is on average 55 km. Compared to the size of the Earth, this is a thin film.

As a result of the interaction of the components, the geographic shell has properties inherent only to it.

Only here are there substances in the solid, liquid and gaseous state, which is of great importance for all processes occurring in the geographical envelope, and above all for the emergence of life. Only here, at the solid surface of the Earth, life first arose, and then man and human society appeared, for the existence and development of which there are all conditions: air, water, rocks and minerals, solar heat and light, soils, vegetation, bacterial and animal life. .

All processes in the geographic envelope occur under the influence of solar energy and, to a lesser extent, internal terrestrial energy sources. A change in solar activity affects all processes of the geographic envelope. So, for example, during the period of increased solar activity, magnetic storms increase, the rate of plant growth, reproduction and migration of insects changes, and the health of people, especially children and the elderly, deteriorates. The connection between the rhythms of solar activity and living organisms was shown by the Russian biophysicist Alexander Leonidovich Chizhevsky back in the 1920s and 1930s. 20th century

The geographic envelope is sometimes called the natural environment or simply nature, referring mainly to nature within the geographic envelope.

All components of the geographic shell are connected into a single whole through the circulation of matter and energy, due to which the exchange of substances between the shells is carried out. The circulation of matter and energy is the most important mechanism of the natural processes of the geographical envelope. There are various cycles of matter and energy: air cycles in the atmosphere, the earth's crust, water cycles, etc. For the geographic envelope, the water cycle is of great importance, which is carried out due to the movement of air masses. Water is one of the most amazing substances in nature, characterized by great mobility. The ability to change from a liquid to a solid or gaseous state with slight changes in temperature allows water to accelerate various natural processes. There can be no life without water. Water, being in the cycle, enters into close interactions with other components, connects them with each other and is an important factor in the formation of the geographic envelope.

A huge role in the life of the geographical shell belongs to the biological cycle. In green plants, as is known, organic substances are formed from carbon dioxide and water in the light, which serve as food for animals. After death, animals and plants are decomposed by bacteria and fungi to minerals, which are then reabsorbed by green plants. The same elements repeatedly form the organic substances of living organisms and repeatedly again pass into the mineral state.

The leading role in all cycles belongs to the air cycle in the troposphere, which includes the entire system of winds and vertical air movement. The movement of air in the troposphere draws the hydrosphere into the global circulation, forming the world water cycle. The intensity of other cycles also depends on it. The most active cycles occur in the equatorial and subequatorial belts. And in the polar regions, on the contrary, they proceed especially slowly. All circles are interconnected.

Each subsequent cycle is different from the previous ones. It does not form a vicious circle. Plants, for example, take nutrients from the soil, and when they die, they give them much more, since the organic mass of plants is created mainly due to atmospheric carbon dioxide, and not due to substances coming from the soil. Thanks to the cycles, the development of all components of nature and the geographical envelope as a whole takes place.

What makes our planet unique? A life! It is difficult to imagine our planet without plants and animals. In a wide variety of forms, it permeates not only the water and air elements, but also the upper layers of the earth's crust. The emergence of the biosphere is a fundamentally important stage in the development of the geographic envelope and the entire Earth as a planet. The main role of living organisms is to ensure the development of all life processes, which are based on solar energy and the biological cycle of substances and energy. Life processes consist of three main stages: the creation of primary products as a result of photosynthesis of organic matter; transformation of primary (plant) products into secondary (animal); destruction of primary and secondary biological products by bacteria, fungi. Without these processes, life is impossible. Living organisms include: plants, animals, bacteria and fungi. Each group (kingdom) of living organisms plays a certain role in the development of nature.

Life on our planet originated 3 billion years ago. All organisms have evolved over billions of years, settled, changed in the process of development and, in turn, influenced the nature of the Earth - their habitat.

Under the influence of living organisms, there was more oxygen in the air and the content of carbon dioxide decreased. Green plants are the main source of atmospheric oxygen. Another was the composition of the oceans. Rocks of organic origin appeared in the lithosphere. Deposits of coal and oil, most limestone deposits are the result of the activity of living organisms. The result of the activity of living organisms is also the formation of soils, thanks to the fertility of which plant life is possible. Thus, living organisms are a powerful factor in the transformation and development of the geographic envelope. The brilliant Russian scientist V. I. Vernadsky considered living organisms to be the most powerful force on the earth's surface in terms of its final results, transforming nature.

2. Natural complexes of land and ocean

The geographical envelope, being integral, is heterogeneous at different latitudes, on land and in the ocean. Due to the uneven supply of solar heat to the earth's surface, the geographic envelope is very diverse. Near the equator, for example, where there is a lot of heat and moisture, nature is distinguished by the richness of living organisms, faster natural processes, in the polar regions, on the contrary, slower processes and poverty of life. At the same latitudes, nature can also be different. It depends on the terrain and distance from the ocean. Therefore, the geographic envelope can be divided into sections, territories, or natural-territorial complexes of different sizes (abbreviated as natural complexes, or PCs). The formation of any natural complex took a long time. On land, it was carried out under the influence of the interaction of the components of nature: rocks, climate, air masses, water, plants, animals, soils. All components in the natural complex, as well as in the geographical shell, are intertwined with each other and form an integral natural complex, it also exchanges substances and energy. A natural complex is a section of the earth's surface, which is distinguished by the features of natural components that are in complex interaction. Each natural complex has more or less clearly defined boundaries, has a natural unity, manifested in its external appearance (for example, a forest, a swamp, a mountain range, a lake, etc.).

The natural complexes of the ocean, in contrast to the land, consist of the following components: water with gases dissolved in it, plants and animals, rocks and bottom topography. Large natural complexes are distinguished in the World Ocean - separate oceans, smaller ones - seas, bays, straits, etc. In addition, natural complexes of surface water layers, various water layers and the ocean floor are distinguished in the ocean.

Natural complexes come in different sizes. They differ in terms of education. Very large natural complexes are continents and oceans. Their formation is due to the structure of the earth's crust. On the continents and oceans, smaller complexes are distinguished - parts of the continents and oceans. Depending on the amount of solar heat, that is, on the geographic latitude, there are natural complexes of equatorial forests, tropical deserts, taiga, etc. Examples of small ones are, for example, a ravine, a lake, a river valley, a sea bay. And the largest natural complex of the Earth is the geographical envelope.