earth systems

Geographers

• study location and distribution of things (rainfall, mountains, trees; tanglible)

• languages, migration, and voting paterrns

• look for patterns in physical and human landscapes. 

What are tangible things?

rainfaill, mountains, trees

what are less tangible things?

language, migration, voting patterns

What does Geography stand for?

Earth Description

What are the two elements of geography?

physical and cultural geography

physical geography 

• natural in origin

• landforms, water, plants, animals, soil, climate, rocks

Cultural Geography

• human endeavor 

• population, language, religion, food, politics 

What is a geographers fundamental question?

Why is what where and so what?

Tobler’s first law of geography

• everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things 

remote sensing

• study of an object/surface from a distant by using various instruments, including aircrafts, satellites, and other spacecrafts 

Geographic Information System (GIS)

computer systems for the capture, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display of special data

Atmosphere

• mix of gasses

• meteorologists and climatologist 

Hydrosphere 

• comprises water in all its forms 

Crysosphere

• frozen water, ice, snow 

• glaciologist 

lithosphere

• made up of rocks and mineral matter

biosphere 

• encompasses all the parts where living organisms exist

• plants, animals

pedosphere

• soil layer that covers earths land surface

• bridge between biosphere and lithosphere 

System

• collection of things + processes that are connected and operate as a whole 

closed system

• effectively self contained systems that are therefore isolated from influences outside that system 

open system

• matter + energy are exchanged across the system boundary

Is earth an open or closed system?

• for energy its open 

• but it is a closed system of physical matter 

How do systems work?

• operate through feedbacks 

feedback loop

system produces outputs that influence its own operating 

positive feedback loops 

• change within a system continuing in one direction 

  • unstable

negative feedback loops 

• tend to inhibit a system from changing

  • stable

tipping point or threshold

• system becomes unstable and changes abruptly until it reaches a new equilibrium 

equilibrium

• when inputs and outputs are in balance over time, conditions in a system remain the same 

equilibrium inputs

• snow, ice, rock, debris, solar radiation

equilibrium outputs

• rock, debris, water vapor, meltwater, latent heat exchanged between ice, liquid water and water vapor 

What is the shape of the earth ?

• oblate spheroid

How does the earth react?

• it is a rotating body with pliable rocks 

  • bulges at equator 

  • flattens at poles 

geographic grid system

• system of accurate location

gratitude

• grid system of two sets of lines, intersect at right angles 

why do we need grid systems?

• to accurately describe locations

Earths Rotation axis

• imaginary line passing through N and S pole 

Plane of equator 

• imaginary line through earths midline or equator 

latitude 

• description of location as an angle north + south of equator 

• 0 degrees at equator

• 90 degrees at N and S poles

Parallel

• lines that run east to west 

• connects all points of the same latitude 

  • N and S poles are points or infinitely small parellels  

Seven significant latitudes

• special locations on earth where suns rays strike the surface each year

Equatorial

• within a few degrees of the equator 

tropical

• within the tropics (b/w 23.5 N/S

Subtropical

• slightly poleward of the tropics

  • around 25-30 degrees N and S

Polar

• within few degrees of the N and S pole

Low latitude

• between equator and 30 degrees N and S

High latitude

• greater than about 60 degrees N and S

Latitude and Meridian

• mirror to parallel and latitude

Meridians

• imaginary lines extending from pole to pole

  • cross parallels at right angles

    • furthest apart at equator, converge at poles 

What degree is the Artic

66.5 N

What degree is the Antartic

66.5S

Tropic of cancer and capricorn degrees

23.5 N and 23.5 S

specific heat

• amount of energy required to increase temperature, and water has a higher specific heat capacity than land 

Transmission

• . Sun transmits deeper in water, absorbing more and land’s warming concentrates at surface, reaching higher temps

mobility

• . Water is highly mobile, wind and ocean currents disperse energy, and land is immobile and poor conductor of energy

evaporative cooling

• much more prevalent over water than over land, more latent heat is drawn away, and temperature decreases.

What are the 2 important and related mechanisms of energy transfer?

• circulation patterns in the atmosphere

• in the oceans

What is the principle force in ocean currents 

• steady winds blowing over the surface of water

Northern Hemisphere Variation

• two basins, landmasses so close, flow prevented into Arctic ocean 

Southern Hemisphere Variation

• continents are far apart

• connection southern gyres around 60 degrees S in circumpolar flow 

West Wend Drift

• connection southern gyres around 60 degrees S in circumpolar flow 

On the west side of oceans…

poleward currents transfer warm water poleward

On east side of oceans …

currents moving to equator carry cool water

High latitude northern hemisphere gyres transfer …

warm water east

High latitude southern hemisphere gyres transfer …

cool water east 

western intensification 

• occurs on western side of subtropical gyres 

  • poleward warm currents off east coasts of continents tend to be narrower, deeper, and faster 

upwelling

• Equatorward cool currents pull away from western coasts, and upwelling of deep water 

• brings nutrient-rich water to surface, making west-coast marine systems prodictive 

• cools surface temperatures 

environmental lapse rate

• observed trend of vertical temperature change in the atmosphere 

Prime Meridian

• no natural baseline like the equator 

• 0 degrees meridian = greenwich england 

  • run north to south 

Longitude

• is the description of location as angle east or west of the Prime Meridian (0-180 degrees E+W)

Great Circles

• all meridians are great circles

• any plane that passes through center of sphere

• divide into two equal halves or hemisphere

Small circles

• do not pass through center

Latitude degrees angles

angles referenced 23.5 N or S

Longtitude degrees 

180 W or E 

What are the coordinates of Rutgers academic building

40.5 N 74.45 W

Earth’s rotation

• rotation from W to E on its axis takes 24 hours 

• speed varies by latitude 

• relative to N pole from space rotation is counterclockwise or eastward 

Polarity of Earth’s axis

• axis always points towards the north star 

• known as Parallelism 

Inclination of earths axis

• based on imaginary plane of the ecliptic 

• tilted at 23.5 degrees

Diurnal Transition

• daylight to darkness, human circadian cycles 

Coriolis Effect

• deflection of wind and ocean currents 

Ellipse 

orbit around the sun 

Tropical Year

365.25 days

Perihelion

• closest point to the sun

Aphelion

furthest point to the sun

september equinox

• 12 hours of light and dark on September 22

March equinox 

• 12 hours of light and dark 

June Solstice

• North pole oriented toward the sun

• Circle of illumination 

  • only bisects the equator and impacts polar circle 

Antartic Circle

dark for 24 hours

Artic Circle

24 hours of life

june 21

december solstice

• Artic circle and Antartic cirlce happen

day length

• only equator has constant day lengths

tropical latitude 

warm due to high sun angles and consistent day lenghts 

polar latitudes

• consistently cold due to low sun angles

Mid Latitude

• greatest seasonal variation

Standard time

• Greenwich Mean Time or Coordinated Universal

  • 24 time zones all spaced 15 degrees apart

International Date Line

• runs across mid-pacific

  • new days begin but time does not change

Time zones geoghraphies 

some countries extend across many time zones and modify standard time such as daylights savings time 

Tropic of Cancer

• recieves verticle rays of sun on June Solistice

Tropic of Capricorn

• recieves verticle rays of sun on December Solistice