| A | B |
|---|
| geography defined | spatial science--how things vary over space--all encompassing discipline that examines both human and physical phenomena that shapes the world's environment = places |
| human geog. | Human geography is concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence - how people and their activity are distributed in space, how they use and perceive space, and how they create and sustain the places that make up the earth's surface. Human geographers work in the fields of urban and regional planning, transportation, marketing, real estate, tourism, and international business. |
| physical geog. | Physical geographers study patterns of climates, land forms, vegetation, soils, and water. They forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. Many human and physical geographers have skills in cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). |
| weather | the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place |
| climate | average weather in an area over a longer period |
| 4 spheres | atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere |
| lithosphere | earth's crust and theupper part of the mantle |
| hydrosphere | the water portion of the planet |
| biosphere | all life on earth |
| evolution of atmosphere | 4 broad stages--primordial, secondary primitive, third phase, oxygen phase |
| primordial stage | 4.6 billion years ago gases condensed to form earth, hydrogen+ helium,--8000 deg.C, methane and ammonia=helium |
| secondary primitive | 4.5 billion, earth cools, outgassing occurs, 80% water vapor 20% carbon dioxide, some nitrogen |
| third phase | 3.8 billion, heavy precip. water vapor forming clouds=rain, forms oceans lakes, oceans take in CO2 and rocks do too, limestone sequesters CO2 in air |
| oxygen period | photodissociation--water molecules split by sunlight, ozone layer formed, photo synthesis occurs in ocean, plants evolve on land, CO2 + 02 photosynthesized, moves O2 in atmos. , |
| meteorology | the study of the atmosphere and its patterns and processes, short term 2 weeks |
| climatology | average long term weather conditions, month seasonal yearly |
| atmosphere | thin gaseous veil around the earth held by gravitational force |
| atmospheric composition | 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen .93%argon .036% carbon dioxide 0-4% water vapor traces of ozone, neon, methane, helium, crypton, hydrog., nitrous oxide, xenon, cfc's |
| greenhouse effect | the transmission of shortwave radiation by the atmosphere coupled with the selective absorbtion of earth radiation by atmospheric gases that results in the warming of the atmosphere |
| heat energy | the total kinetic energy of all the atoms and molecules that make up a substance |
| conduction | transfer of heat through matter by molecular activity |
| convection | transfer of heat by mass movement or circulation within a substance |
| radiation | the wave like energy emitted by a substance that possess heat |
| reflection | light bounces back at the same angle it encounters an object and with the same intensity |
| scattering | a large number of weaker rays traveling in different directions |
| absorbtion | 50 percent is absorbed by land/sea 15 percent asbsorbed by atmosphere. Atmosphere is not as affective absorber because gases are selective absorbers of radiation |
| albedo | the fraction of radiation that is reflected by a surface, earth's albedo as a whole is 30 percent |
| isotherm | =equal temperature a line on a map that connects areas of equal temp. |
| longitude | lines are made by circles that intersect with both the North and the South Poles. Each longitude can be thought of as dividing the Earth in half. Longitudes are measured in half circles of 0° to 180° East and from 0° to 180° West from the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England. The Royal Greenwich Observatory was established in 1675 to advance the art of navigation. |
| latitude | is measured as a angle from the equator of the Earth (0°) to the North Pole (90° North) or to the South Pole (90° South). Think of the center of the Earth as the latitudes vertex and the plane made by the equator as the adjacent side or base of the angle. Latitude lines are made by circles that run parallel to the equator’s plane, and grow progressively smaller as they get closer to the poles. |
| international date line | 180 degrees longitude |
| remote sensing | obtain information of a place without physical contact--camras in aircraft, satellite images, radar, infrared |
| GIS | geographic info. systems, computer maps with specific info--endangered species, streets, power plants, parks, streams rivers |
| statistical analysis | t-tests, chi-square, multi-variate studies--ex. humidity, high temp., heat waves through time |
| plane of ecliptic | earth's orbit around sun |
| tilt of axis | 23 1/2 degrees relative to plane of ecliptic |
| equinox | 12hr. day 12 hr. night |
| vernal equinox | 3-22 or 3-23 spring |
| autumnal equinox | 9-22 or 9-23 autumn |
| solstice | cancer-23 1/2 north, capricorn 23 1/2 south |
| summer solstice | 6-21 or 6-22 arctic 24 hr light equator 12night--12 day, antarctic 24 hr. night |
| winter solstice | dec 21 or 22, arctic 24 hr night, equator 12night 12 day, antarctic 24 hr. day |
| terrestrial radiation | heat from surface to air, 5 times greater than solar radiation |
| heat units | calorie--amount of energy required to raise 1 kg of H2O, 1 deg. C, joule, 1 calorie equals 4186 joules, BTU 1 pd to 1 deg F |
| heat energy | always moves from higher temp. to lower temp. |
| temperature | is different from heat, the measure of average kenetic energy in a substance |
| electromagnetic spectrum | is characterized by wavelengths of radiation emitted, length is the distance between crests, solar radiation is shortwave radiation, the sdhorter the wavelength the greater the energy |
| solar constant | incoming solar raduation is always the same, not true because sunspots have a cyclical cycle and effect the amount of solar radiation |
