Test 1 Flashcards
What does Geography mean
geo “Earth” and graphein “to write.”
Scientific method
- Assume that the real world exists.
- Make observations and measurements.
- Use your inductive reasoning.
- Make a hypothesis.
- Make predictions.
- Form a “general theory, governing laws.
Systems theory
Ordered, interrelated sets of things and their attribute.
Open system
Receives inputs and outputs.
Closed system
Shut off from the surrounding environment.
System equilibrium
- Steady-state – in/out puts stable as is mass and energy.
- Dynamic – fluctuations around an equilibrium with a trend over time.
- Metastable – new equilibrium reached after passing a threshold (abrupt changes in the system).
Earth’s 4 spheres
Atmosphere
Hydroshpere
Lithosphere
Biosphere
Earth’s shape
Earth is an Oblate spheroid, not perfectly round.
Latitude
Lines measuring angular discourse north and south of the equator. The lines run east and west.
Longitude
Based off of the “Prime Meridian.” Anything east of the Prime Meridian is the eastern hemisphere, west of it is the western hemisphere.
Is Earth an open system or closed system?
Open system.
The short waves of the electromagnetic spectrum
Gama | X-rays | Ultra-violet | Visible violet – blue
The long waves of the electromagnetic spectrum
Visible yellow – red | Infrared | Microwave | Radio Wave
Do short waves have low or high energy?
High energy.
Insolation
Incident solar radiation
5 reasons for seasons
- Revolution
- Rotation
- Tilt of Earth’s axis
- Axial parallelism
- Sphericity
Tilt of Earth’s axis
23.5° from plane of ecliptic.
Axial parallelism
Axis maintains alignment during orbit around the Sun. North pole points toward the North Star (Polaris).
Winter solstice
December 21 or 22. Subsolar point Tropic of Capricorn.
Spring equinox
March 20 or 21. Subsolar point Equator.
Summer solstice
June 20 or 21. Subsolar point Tropic of Cancer.
Fall equinox
September 22 or 23. Subsolar point Equator.
What is air?
a simple mixture of gases that is naturally odorless, colorless, tasteless and formless, behaving as if it were one gas.
What are the three criteria to examine the atmosphere?
- Composition
- Temperature
- Function
Heterosphere
Outer atmosphere. Layers of gases sorted by gravity.
Homosphere
Inner atmosphere. Gases evenly blended, except ozone, water vapor and pollutants.
Atmospheric gasses in order of how much we breathe in.
- Nitrogin
- Oxygen
- Argon
- Carbon dioxide
Divisions of atmospheric temperature
Top: Thermosphere
Middle: Mesosphere
Bottom: Stratosphere
Troposphere
- Surface to 18 km
- 90% of the atmosphere
Ionosphere
-Absorbs cosmic rays, gamma rays, X-rays, some UV rays.
Ozonosphere
- Part of stratosphere
- Ozone (O3) absorbs UV energy and converts it to heat energy.
Temperature inversion
Occurs when a layer of warm air gets above a layer of cold air (warm air is thus sandwiched between layers of cold air).
Clean Air Act
Unleaded fuel
Ozone hole
Largest hole is over the Antarctica (south pole). CFC’s released in the air is the cause, they don’t break down biologically.
Temperature inversion
Occurs when a layer of warm air gets above a layer of cold air (warm air is thus sandwiched between layers of cold air).
Anthropogenic Pollution
Pollution that HUMANS make.
- Carbon monoxide
- Photochemical smog
- Industrial smog and sulfur oxides
- Particulates
Natural Sources of Variable Atmospheric Components
Volcanoes give out sulfur oxides. Forest fires give carbon dioxide Plants give hydro carbons Biological decomposition Soil Ocean
Natural Factors That Affect Air Pollution
Winds blow pollutants around
Landscapes guide and redirect moving pollutants.
5 principal pollutants
(down since Clean Air Act)
- Carbon monoxide (down 45%)
- Nitrogen oxide (down 22%)
- Sulfur dioxide (down 52%)
- Volatile organic compounds (down 48%)
- Particulate molecules (down 75%)
Significance of the Clean Air Act
Use unleaded fuels now. We have saved more money and have cleaner air, resulting in healthier people.
Photochemical smog vs. industrial smog
photochemical is nitrogen dioxide released from cars that mixes with sunlight.
industrial is sulfur dioxides from coal burning.
Concerns about sulfur dioxide
Mixes with the air and becomes sulfur trioxide which mixes with water and produces sulfate aerosols which creates smog clouds, sometimes producing sulfuric acid.
Insolation
Single energy input driving the Earth atmosphere system. Includes all radiation received at Earth’s surface – direct and indirect.
Significance of latitude in insolation
Most insolation is NOT over the equator but instead over the tropics. This is because the cloud cover in the rain forests reduces insolation over the equator.
Significance of wave lengths in isolation
Shorter the wave length, the greater the scattering. Longer is less.
Why is sky blue?
Rayleigh Scattering: blue is the shorts wave and therefore scattered more and the dominant color of the sky.
Significance of transmission in isolation
Passage of energy through atmosphere or water.
Significance of scattering in isolation
Changing direction of light’s movement, without altering its wavelengths
Significance of refraction in isolation
When insolation changes its speed, it causes it to change direction, and it usually bends.
Albedo
The reflective quality of a surface. High albedo reflects a lot, low albedo reflects a little.
Conflicting roles of clouds
Cloud-albedo forcing tends to be the lower stratus clouds, reflect shortwave energy from the Sun, and Atmospheric cooling.
Cloud-greenhouse forcing tends to be the higher cirrus clouds, act as insulation, trapping in longwave radiation, and atmospheric warming
Heat transfer
Absorption - radiation is absorbed and converted to energy.
Conduction - molecule to molecule transfer. One surface to another.
Convection - Energy transferred by movement, vertical movement.
Advection - Energy transferred by movement, horizontal movement.
Radiation - Energy traveling through air or space.
Greenhouse effect
Natural. Short wave energy goes in, the surface absorbs it, and then reradiated long wave energy which doesn’t have the capability to exit. Atmosphere delays transfer of heat from Earth into space.
Radiation Balace
All of Earth’s surfaces are not balanced but Earth as a SYSTEM is balanced.
Daily radiation pattern
Temperature lag; coolest at sunset and warmest at 3 pm.
Net R (net radiation energy)
Net R = \+SW (insolation) –SW (reflection) \+LW (infrared coming into atmosphere) –LW (infrared leaving atmosphere)
Dissipation of NET R
Latent heat of evaporation – energy stored in water vapor as water evaporates.
Sensible heat – back-and-forth transfer of energy between air and the surface through conduction and convection.
Ground heating and cooling – energy that flows in and out of the ground. (positive energy gain during the summer is equalized by the energy loss in the winter).
Urban heat island
Hotter in the center of a city than in the outskirts. metal, irregular shapes, sealed spaces (no water), air pollution.
Measurements of temperature and their faze temperatures of water
Fahrenheit - 32 degrees freeze, 212 degrees boil.
Celsius - 0 degrees freeze, 100 degrees boil.
Kelvin - 273 degrees freeze, 373 degrees boil.
Heat
A form of energy that flows between two systems/objects
Temperature
A measure of the average kinetic energy (motion) of individual molecules of matter.
Principal temperature controls
Latitude
Altitude
Cloud cover
Land/water heating differences (Evaporation, transparency, specific heat, movement, ocean currents).
Maritime vs. continentality
Maritime - temperatures are effected by water, temperature curve is moderate.
Continentality - places far from water, temperature curve is extreme.
Where is the Gulf Stream?
Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
High-pressure air properties
- Descending
- Diverging
- Cool and dense
- Clockwise in the northern hemisphere outward
- Counter clockwise in the southern hemisphere outward
Low-pressure air properties
- Converging
- Ascending
- Warm and less dense
- Counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere inward
- Clockwise in the southern hemisphere inward
Devices for measuring air pressure
Mercury/Aneroid barometer
Devices for measuring wind speed/direction
Anemometer and wind vane
Hurricane Katrina
- Category 5 hurricane 257kmph (160mph)
- Barometric pressure of 920 mb
- One of the lowest barometric pressure for an Atlantic storm.
Air-pressure
Created by air molecules, product of motion, size and number.
What is the normal sea-level pressure?
1013.2 mb (millibars).
3 levels of wind circulation
- Primary circulation (general worldwide)
- Secondary circulation (migration of L & H)
- Tertiary Circulation (local winds and temporal weather)
Where is the best place to harness wind energy?
Along the coasts.
“North wind”
Wind coming form the north and traveling south.
Driving forces within the atmosphere
Gravitational Force – atmospheric pressure.
Pressure Gradient Force – generates winds.
Coriolis Force – deflective force (curving).
Frictional Force – drag on winds.
Wind always moves from high pressure to low pressure.
True or False
True
Coriolis effect
The deflected path of an airplane due to the rotation of the earth. Traveling straight ends up being a curved pathway along Earth’s surface.
Pressure systems and the winds that create them drive the ocean currents.
True or False
True.
Polar front
Area of contrast between cold (high lat.) and warm (low lat.)
Rossby waves
Protrusions of the polar front into warmer air, leading to the formation of lows and highs.
Jet stream
An irregular, concentrated band of wind occurring at several different locations that support surface weather conditions.
Monsoon
Seasonal shift in winds.
Gyres (currents)
Surface current consisting of circular flows of water in the ocean basins, tied to high pressure systems. Rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere and vice versa.
Equatorial currents
Surface currents consisting of strong east-west currents.
Western intensification currents
Surface currents consisting of the piling-up of water on the eastern coasts of continents. Surround the equator.
Upwelling currents
Where currents sweep away water. Deep current.
Downwelling currents
Where currents pile-up water. Deep current.
Thermohaline circulation
Deep currents driven by differences in temp and salinity.
Perihelion
Earth is closest to the sun on January 3.
Aphelion
Earth is farthest from the sun on July 4.
Planetesimal hypothesis
Suns condense from nebular clouds.
Solar wind
Clouds of electrically charged particles.
Sunspots
Caused by magnetic storms.
Solar Declination
Latitude where the sun is directly overhead (subsolar point) at noon.
Solar altitude angle
Angle of the sun above horizon.
System feedback
Outputs that influence operation:
Positive – encourages the same actions.
Negative – discourages similar actions.
Great Circle
Cuts the planet directly in half.
Small Circle
Cuts off a small chunk of the planet
Geoid
Shape that the surface of the oceans would take under the influence of Earth’s gravity and rotation alone, in the absence of other influences such as winds and tides.
Active remote sensing
Transmits energy to allow an image to be formed. Camera flash.
Passive remote sensing
Collects energy reflected or emitted from a surface. No camera flash.
