GEOG 1112 Lecture 1 Notes

intro to geography

Geography is

the study and analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of phenomena on the Earth’s surface.

why is the pattern the way it is, and what causes it

Five fundamental themes of geography

location, place, movement, regions, and human-earth relationships

location

spatial component of geography

Location can be expressed as either

absolute or relative

absolute location refers to

latitude and longitude, or GPS coordinates or an address

Relative location is

comparing one location to another by the distance between them as measured in either time or miles (km).

Place refers to

characteristics that make a location unique

movement is

what, how, where, and why the diffusion of organisms and physical events across the Earth’s surface.

regions refer to

the study of areas

human-earth relationships looks at

the impacts of the environment on people and the impact of people on the environment

3 Main Sub-Disciplines or areas in Geography

1) physical geography

2) human/cultural geography

3) techniques

physical geography

this is the non-human made patterns.

examples of physical geography

biogeography, geomorphology, climatology, hydrogeography, soil geography

human/cultural geography

these are human made patterns

examples of human/cultural geography

economic, political, historical, cultural, urban, population, etc.

techniques

the tools of geography

examples of techniques

cartography, remote sensing, aerial photography, geographic information systems/science (GIS)

weather is

the day to day conditions of the atmosphere.

weather is also called

meteorology

what is meteorology?

this is the science that studies the atmosphere and Atmospheric Sciences

climatology

the statistical properties of the atmosphere, measures the average conditions, variability, etc..

Eratosthenes is

one of the first “geographers”

what did Eratosthenes do?

he measured the apporximate polar circumference of the Earth

what else did Eratosthenes do?

he was a cartographer

who developed the idea of the environmental zones based on temperature (T)?

Eratosthenes

Alexander von Humboldt

the “father” of modern physical geography

who brought scientific study to physical geography?

Alexander von Humboldt

Vladimir Köppen

developed the Köppen classification system for climates based on vegetation, temperature, and precipitation patterns

Alfred Wegner

developed the Theory of Continental Drift

Tetsuya Theodore Fujita

developed the Fujita Scale for measuring the intensity of tornadoes

Robert Simpson

created the Saffir-Simpson Scale for measuring hurricane intensity with Herbert Saffir.

Earth’s 4 Spheres are…

1) Atmosphere

2) Hydrosphere

3) lithosphere

4) biosphere

the Atmosphere is the

thin gaseous veil which surrounds Earth

Hydrosphere is

all the water above, on, and in the Earth

Lithosphere is the

Earth’s crust and a portion of the upper mantle. the rocky, outer shell of the planet.

two types of systems

1) open system

2) closed system

open systems allow

for free transfer of energy an matter across boundaries

a closed system is a

self-contained exhibiting no exchange of energy or matter across boundaries

equilibrium state is the

changing or relatively non-changing conditions of a system

steady-state equilibrium is when

a system is in balance over time and is neither growing nor contracting but is in full operation.

dynamic equilibrium is when

a system exhibits wide fluctuations around an average value, and in which the average demonstrates a trend over time.

Feedback Mechanism is a

process by which when the normal operations of a system cause a portion of the system’s output to be returned as information input

what happens in one part of a system influences other parts.

2 types of Feedback mechanisms

1) negative feedback mechanisms

2) positive feedback mechanisms

negative feedback mechanisms tend to

slow or reduce responses in a system and promotes self-regulation of the system. this tends to keep the system in its original condition, inhibiting change.

positive feedback mechanisms tend to

amplify or encourage responses in a system. this induces progressively greater changes in other parts of the system.

uniformitarianism is the

idea that the processes we see today functioned the same way in the past and will into the future

what functions under the idea of uniformitarianism?

the Earth systems (equilibrium, feedback mechanisms, spheres) and all the earth’s components function