Weather and Climate Unit One

Geography

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

Five fundamental themes of geography

Location, Place, Movement, Regions, Human-Earth Relationships

Location

The spatial component of geography

Absolute location

Latitude and longitude, GPS coordinates, an address

Relative location

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

Place

Characteristics that make a location unique

Movement

The diffusion of organisms and physical events across the Earth’s surface

Regions

The study of areas with uniform or similar characteristics

Human-Earth Relationships

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

Physical Geography

Non-human-made patterns

Human/Cultural Geography

Human-made patterns

Techniques

The tools of geography

Weather

The day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere

Meteorology

The science that studies the atmosphere and atmospheric science

Climate

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

Climatology

The study of long-term atmospheric conditions

Eratosthenes

One of the first “geographers,” measured the polar circumference of the Earth, developed the idea of environmental zones based on temperature

Alexander von Humboldt

“father” of modern physical geography

Vladimir Koppen

Koppen Classification System

Alfred Wegner

Theory of Continental Drift

Tetsuya Theodore Fujita

Fujita Scale for measuring the intensity of tornadoes

Robert Simpson

the Saffir-Simpson Scale for measuring hurricane intensity

The Four Spheres

Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Biosphere

Atmosphere

Thin gaseous veil which surrounds the Earth

Hydrosphere

All the water above, on, and in the Earth

Lithosphere

The Earth’s crust

Biosphere

The living organisms of the planet and the interconnections between them and their physical environment

Open System

Free transfer of energy and matter

Closed System

Self-contained, exhibiting no exchange of energy or matter across boundaries

Equilibrium State

Changing or relatively non-changing conditions of a system

Steady-state Equilibrium

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

Dynamic Equilibrium

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

Feedback Mechanism

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

Negative Feedback Mechanism

Slows or reduces responses in a system and promotes self-regulation of the system, tends to keep the system in its original condition, inhibiting change

Positive Feedback Mechanism

Amplifies or encourages responses, induces progressively greater change

Uniformitarianism

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

Parallels of Latitude

lines that run East-West, measure North or South, starting at 0 (the Equator), ending at 90 (the N and S Pole)

Meridians of Longitude

Lines that run North-South, measure East of West, starting at 0 (the Prime Meridian) and ending at 180 (the International Date Line)

Equator

Latitude 0

Tropic of Cancer

Latitude 23.5 N

Tropic of Capricorn

Latitude 23.5 S

Arctic Circle

Latitude 66.5 N

Antarctic Circle

Latitude 66.5 S

North Pole

Latitude 90 N

South Pole

Latitude 90 S

Prime Meridian

Longitude 0

International Date Line

180

Scale

The ratio of distance on the map to the actual distance on the ground

Large-scale Map

Shows a relatively small area of the Earth’s surface and thus more detail

Small-scale Map

Shows a relatively large area of the Earth’s surface and thus less detail

Thematic Maps

Show the distribution of a phenomena or the relationships between places

Spatial Distribution

The arrangement on the landscape of the feature being studied, why that distribution is the way it is, what causes it

Density

The frequency with which a feature/phenomenon occurs within a given area

Concentration

The arrangement or spread of a feature over a unit of area

Pattern

The geometric arrangement of a feature across a landscape

The Sun

where greater than 99% of Earth’s energy is from

Rotation

The counterclockwise spinning of the Earth on its axis, why the same side of the planet is not always facing the sun and solar intensity varies

Revolution

The movement of the Earth in its elliptical orbit around the Sun

Perihelion

When the Earth and Sun are the closest together, which occurs on January 4 (a little higher solar intensity)

Aphelion

When the Earth and the Sun are the furthest apart, which occurs on July 4 (a little lower solar intensity)

Earth’s Seasons

Due to the Earth’s orientation to the Sun, the varying angle the Sun’s rays strike the Earth’s surface, caused by revolution, rotation, tilt of the Earth on its Axis, axial parallelism, and sphericity

Inclination of the Earth’s axis

23.5