Lecture 1 Essentials of Geography Flashcards
What parallel is Canada located above?
49th
Physical geography uses a ______ perspective to examine processes and events happening at specific locations and follow their effects across the globe.
spatial
What percent does the melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets cause to sea level rise annually?
20%
True or False: human activities are forcing climate change.
True
Physical geographers study the environment by ______ (4).
analyzing air, water, land, and living systems.
______ is the science that studies the relationships among natural systems, geographic areas, society, and cultural activities, and the interdependence of all of these, ______.
Geography, over space
______ refers to the nature and character of physical space, its measurement, and the distribution of things within it.
Spatial
True or False: maps and location are central to the discipline
True
What are the 5 spatial themes to geography?
location, region, human–Earth relationships, movement, place
_____ is tangible and intangible characteristics that make each location unique.
Place
______ is the absolute and relative positions of people, places, and things on Earth’s surface.
Location
______ is the spatial analysis of all the physical elements, processes, and systems that make up the environment: energy, air, water, weather, climate, landforms, soils, animals, plants, microorganisms, and Earth itself.
Physical geography
The scientific method is also known as ______.
positivism
What two methods are employed by physical geography?
- Empiricism
* Positivism
What fields of study does geography deal with?
- meteorology and climatology(study of weather and climate)
- hydrology (study of water)
- geomorphology (study of landforms and landscapes)
- pedology (study of soils)
- biogeography (study of the geography of organisms)
_____ is a set of actions or mechanisms that operate in some special order, is a central concept of geographic analysis.
Process
Sustainable growth and water resources are an example of what one of the five themes of geographic science?
Human-earth relationship
We consider the totality of human impact on Earth as the ______.
Human denominator
True or False: Population in most of the more-developed countries is no longer increasing.
True
______ is an interrelated set of materials or items existing separate from the environment or within a boundary
system
A ______ system has inputs and outputs crossing back and forth between the system and the surrounding environment.
Open
A system that is shut off from the surrounding environment so that it is self-contained is a______ system
closed
True or False: Earth is essentially a closed system in terms of physical matter and resources—air, water, and material resources.
True
___ are referred to as “carbon sinks”
Forests
______ is created when a portion of system output is returned as an information input, causing changes that guide further system operation
Feedback loop
_____ tends to slow or dampen responses in a system; promotes self-regulation in a system
negative feedback
______ amplifies or encourages responses in a system.
Positive feedback
What is steady state equilibrium?
Rates of input and output are equal and the amounts of energy and stored matter are nearly constant around a stable average.
What is dynamic equilibrium?
System fluctuates around a stable average but jumps when reaches a threshold to form new stable average
What variables affect sea ice?
- temperature of the atmosphere and oceans
- ocean currents
- reflection of sunlight from the ice and water (albedo)
- storms that disperse sea ice
