natural processes
Earth's own workings
Natural processes are changes or developments that occur without human intervention—erosion, decomposition, evolution, weather patterns, cellular division.
The term often appears in scientific and environmental contexts to distinguish what nature does on its own from what humans engineer or manufacture: Natural processes will eventually break down the oil spill.
In legal and philosophical contexts, natural processes may be contrasted with artificial or technological ones: The court ruled that natural processes cannot be patented.
- erosionGradual wearing away
- oxidationLosing electrons chemically
- respirationGas exchange in organisms
- reproductionCopying or procreation
- growthIncrease in size
weathering · continental drift · sedimentation · predation · energy flow · food chain · photosynthesis · volcanic activity · hydrolysis · dissolution · fermentation · crystallization · acidification · decomposition · germination · seed dispersal · symbiosis · glacial melting
natural processeschemical synthesis
Creating substances through reactions
manufacturing · fabrication · industrial production · chemical engineering · genetic engineering
natural processesgeoengineering
Intentional large-scale environmental modification
natural, nature, naturally, naturalness, naturalize, naturalization, unnatural, supernatural, naturalism