GEOG 100- TEST 1

In an equivalent map projection

(also called an equal area map projection), the correct size ratio of area on the map to the corresponding actual area on Earth's surface is maintained over the entire map.

conformal map projection

, proper angular relationships are maintained across the entire map. Although it is impossible to depict true shapes for large areas such as a continent, in practice for small areas we can say that conformal maps show correct shapes. Conformal projections have meridians and parallels crossing each other at right angles, just as they do on a globe.

June Solstice: e

, which occurs on or about June 21 (the exact date varies slightly from year to year), Earth reaches the position in its orbit where the North Pole is oriented most directly toward the Sun. On this day, the vertical rays of the Sun strike the Tropic of Cancer, 23.5° north of the equator

Absorption

:Electromagnetic waves striking an object may be assimilated by that object; this process is called absorption

Scattering

:Gas molecules and particulate matter in the air can deflect light waves and redirect them in a type of reflection known as scattering

Advection

:When the dominant direction of energy transfer in a moving fluid is horizontal (sideways)

annual temperature range

:for a location is the difference between the average temperature of the warmest month and the average temperature of the coldest month—normally July and January.

Reflection

:is the ability of an object to repel ("bounce back") electromagnetic waves that strike it

Transmission

:is the process whereby electromagnetic waves pass completely through a medium, as when light waves are transmitted through a pane of clear, colorless glass.

What is angle of incidence

? the angle that an incident line or ray makes with a perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence.

What is a globe and how are they the best representation of the globe?

A globe is a true representation of Earth (Figure 2-1). Not only does a globe convey the spherical shape of Earth, it can show, essentially without distortion, the spatial relationships of Earth's surface, maintaining correct size, shape, distance, and direction relationships of features around the planet.

Oceantic circulation

A single simple pattern of surface currents is characteristic of all the basins. It consists of a series of enormous elliptical loops elongated east-west and centered approximately at 30° of latitude (except in the Indian Ocean, where it is centered closer to the equator).

Threshold:

Although systems may resist change through negative feedback loops, a system may reach atipping point or threshold. Beyond that point, the system becomes unstable and changes abruptly until it reaches a new equilibrium. For instance, as we see in Chapter 9, the increasing freshwater runoff from melting glaciers in the Arctic could one day disrupt the energy transfer of the slow deep ocean thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean, triggering a sudden change in climate.

Isoline

An _____ is any line that joins points of equal value of something

latent heat

Any phase change involves an exchange of energy known as

How has the Ozone Layer been depleted?

Because evidence has showed that the most problematic of these chemicals are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but other ozone-depleting substances include halons (used in some kinds of fire extinguishers), methyl bromide (a pesticide), and nitrous oxide.

Perihelion:

Because of this elliptical orbit, the Earth-Sun distance is not constant. Rather, it varies from approximately 147,100,000 kilometers (91,400,000 miles) at the closest or ___________ position (peri is from the Greek and means "around" and helios means "Sun") on about January 3.

Midlatitude—

Between about 30° and 60° N and S

Be able to define the differences between closed and open systems

Closed: Effectively self-contained systems, which are therefore isolated from influences outside that system, are called closed systems. It is rare to find closed systems in nature. Earth as a whole is essentially a closed system with regard to matter Open:Most Earth systems are open systems—both matter and energy are exchanged across the system boundary. Matter and energy that enter the system are called inputs, and losses from the system to its surroundings are called outputs.

Negative feedback:

Conversely, negative feedback loops tend to inhibit a system from changing—in this case, increasing a system input tends to decrease further change, keeping the system in equilibrium. For example, an increase in air temperature may increase the amount of water vapor in the air; the extra water vapor may in turn condense and increase the cloud cover—which can reflect incoming solar radiation and so prevent a further temperature increase.

sun strikes 23.5s (capricorn)

December solstice

SHAPE

Earth is not quite spherical. The cross section revealed by a cut through the equator would be circular, but a similar cut from pole to pole would be an ellipse rather than a circle. Any rotating body has a tendency to bulge around its equator and flatten at the polar ends of its rotational axis.

Know and be able to define the Earth's rotation, revolution, and axis'

Earth rotates from west to east on its axis, a complete rotation requiring 24 hours. The Sun, the Moon, and the stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west

Know the environmental spheres and earth systems:

Earth's physical landscape is composed of four overlapping, interacting systems called "spheres." The atmosphere is the air we breathe. The hydrosphere is the water of rivers, lakes, and oceans, the moisture in soil and air, as well as the snow and ice of the cryosphere. The biosphere is the habitat of all life, as well as the life-forms themselves. The lithosphere is the soil and bedrock that cover Earth's surface.

Equilibrium: When inputs and outputs balance over time, the conditions within a system remain the same; we describe such a system as being in equilibrium. For instance, a glacier will remain the same size over many years if its inputs of snow and ice are balanced by the loss of an equivalent amount of ice through melting. If, however, the balance between inputs and outputs changes, equilibrium will be disrupted—increasing snowfall for several years, for example, can cause a glacier to grow until a new equilibrium size is reached.

Equilibrium

Compromise Projections

Except for maps of very small areas (in other words, large-scale maps), where both properties can be closely approximated, equivalence and conformality cannot be maintained on the same projection.

latitudes greater than about 60° N and S

High Latitude

Colder winter locations :

In January, the coldest temperatures occur many hundreds of kilometers south of the North Pole, in subarctic portions of Siberia, Canada, and Greenland

Does density decrease with an increase in elevation? If so, why?

In addition to reaching upward above Earth's surface, the atmosphere extends slightly downward. Because air expands to fill empty spaces, it penetrates into caves and crevices in rocks and soil. Moreover, it is dissolved in the waters of Earth and in the bloodstreams of organisms.

How systems are interconnected

In physical geography we study the myriad of interconnections among Earth's systems and subsystems. Continuing with our example of a glacier: the system of an individual glacier is interconnected with many other Earth systems.

What are some scales to measure temperature?

Kelvin, F, Celcius

The vertical pattern of temperature is complex, consisting of a series of layers in which temperature alternately decreases and increases (Figure 3-5). From the surface of Earth upward, these thermal layers are called the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere,thermosphere, and exosphere.

Know the thermal layers

Be able to name a few variable gasses of the atmosphere:

METHANE, AEROSOLS, WATER VAPOR, OZONE, CARBON DIOXDIE

The relationships of Earth and the Sun are virtually identical on the March equinox and the September equinox

March equinox.

Be able to name the permanent gasses of the atmosphere :

NITROGEN AND OXYGEN

Be able to define and explain the origins of the Earth and the Solar System :

Our solar system originated between 4.5 and 5 billion years ago when a nebula—a huge, cold, diffuse cloud of gas and dust—began to contract inward due to gravitational collapse, forming a hot, dense protostar. This hot center became our Sun, and the cold revolving disk of gas and dust around it eventually condensed and coalesced to form the planets.

What are some applications of GPS?

Practically everything that moves—airplane, truck, train, car, bus, ship, tablet, cell phone—can be equipped with a GPS receiver. GPS has been employed in earthquake forecasting, ocean floor mapping, volcano monitoring, and a variety of mapping projects. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) uses GPS-enabled devices to collect data for damage assessment following such natural disasters as floods and hurricanes.

What is GPS?

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is such a system of satellite technologies

How many time zones does the U.S. span?

The United States is spread across six time zones. From west to east, they are Hawaii, Alaska, Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern.

Know some properties of the size and shape of the Earth

The diameter of our planet is only about 13,000 kilometers (7900 miles) Mount Everest, at about 8850 meters (29,035 feet) above sea level, to the Mariana Trench of the Pacific Ocean, at about 11,033 meters

Map Distortions :

The extent to which the geometric impossibility of flattening a sphere without distortion becomes a problem on a map depends on two related variables: (1) how much of Earth is being shown on the map—these distortions are always significant on a world map, but they are less so on a map showing a very limited region of Earth, and (2) the scale of the map—the topic to which we turn next.

Primary:

The gas carbon monoxide (CO) is the most plentiful primary pollutant—a contaminant released directly into the air. It is formed by the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, especially by motor vehicle

Know the elements of weather and climate

The most important are (1) temperature, (2) moisture content, (3) pressure, and (4) wind. These are the basic "ingredients" of weather and climate

the environmental lapse rate

The observed trend of vertical temperature change in the atmosphere is called

dry adiabatic lapse rate

The term adiabatic means that no heat transfer occurs into or out of the parcel. ... When the air contains little water, this lapse rate is known as the dry adiabatic lapse rate: the rate of temperature decrease is 9.8 °C/km (5.38 °F per 1,000 ft) (3.0 °C/1,000 ft).

Conduction

The transfer of heat from one molecule to another without changes in their relative positions

The Greenhouse Effect :t

The trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

What is the Ionosphere?

The_____________ IS a deep layer of ions (electrically charged molecules or atoms) in the middle and upper mesosphere and the lower thermosphere, between about 60 and 400 kilometers (40 and 250 miles). The ionosphere is significant because it aids long-distance communication by reflecting radio waves back to Earth.

Positive feed back:

These are examples of positive feedback loops—change within a system continuing in one direction.

subtropical gyres

These loops, called __________, flow clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

Be able to define insolation

This constant amount of incoming energy—referred to as the solar constant—is about 1372 watts per square meter

Be able to define some examples of human-induced atmospheric change

This human impact, in simplest terms, consists of the introduction of impurities into the atmosphere at a pace previously unknown—impurities capable of altering global climate and harming forms of life.

Know what the geographic grid is:

This locational system is closely linked with the various positions assumed by Earth in its orbit around the Sun. Earth's grid system, called a graticule, consists of lines of latitude and longitude.

is the upper portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in which gases are fractionated according to their molecular weight. It lies above the homosphere, where chemical constituents are well mixed. On average the ____________begins at an altitude of about 80 km.

What is the Heretrosphere?

Where is atmospheric pressure the greatest?

___________is the highest near the Earth's surface where air particles are squeezed close together by the weight of the air above. Air pressure is the force with which the air presses down on things. The greater the altitude, the lower the air pressure.pressure is the greatest and the lowest.

What is the Ozone Layer?

a layer in the earth's stratosphere at an altitude of about 6.2 miles (10 km) containing a high concentration of ozone, which absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth from the sun.

Be able to define the Coriolis Effect

all things moving over the surface of Earth appear to drift sideways. This deflection in the path of free-moving objects is known as the Coriolis effect

How are isolines helpful

are now commonplace and are very useful to geographers even though an isoline is an artificial construct—that is, it does not occur in nature. For instance, an isoline map can reveal spatial relationships that might otherwise go undetected. Patterns that are too large, too abstract, or too detailed for ordinary comprehension are often significantly clarified by the use of isolines.

What is the Electromagnetic Spectrum?

collectively, electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths comprises what is called the

Fractional,A fractional map scale

conveys the relationship between distance measured on a map and the actual distance that represents on Earth with a fraction or ratio called a representative fraction. For example, a common fractional scale uses the representative fraction 1/250,000

Know and be able to explain time zones :

countries established 24 central meridians, 15° of longitude apart, in order to divide the world into standard time zones. The mean (averaged) local solar time of the Greenwich prime meridian was chosen as the standard for the entire system

Longitude

describes east-west location on Earth—like latitude, it is an angular description of location measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds.

Stars appear in the

east

Convection

energy is transferred from one point to another by the predominately vertical circulation of a fluid, such as air or water.

Be able to define Electromagnetic Radiation

entails the flow of energy in the form of waves. These waves of energy move through space by way of rapidly oscillating electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic fields oscillate at the same frequency as the vibrations of the electrical charges that form them

low latitudes

generally between the equator and 30° N and S

Hottest summer locations

hus, the highest July temperatures occur in northern Africa and in the southwestern portions of North America and Eurasia,

Be able to name a few accords meant to limit (minimize) human-induced atmospheric change

including the United States, banned the use of CFCs in aerosol sprays in 1978. A major international treaty—the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer—was negotiated in 1987 to set timetables for phasing out the production of the major ozone-depleting substances.

Why is the Coriolis Effect important?

influences the upwelling of cold water that takes place where cool currents veer away from subtropical coastlines, allowing colder deep water to rise from below.

Latitude

is a description of location expressed as an angle north or south of the equator.

Temperature

is a description of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a substance

What is GIS????

is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes.

What is the difference between weather and climate?

is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time.

What are map projections? A map projection

is a system in which the spherical surface of Earth is transformed for display on a flat surface

What is the International Date Line?

is in the middle of the time zone defined by the 180° meridian. Consequently, there is no time (i.e., hourly) change when you cross the International Date Line—only the calendar day changes, not the clock. When you cross the International Date Line from west to east, it becomes one day earlier

Climate?

is the aggregate of day-to-day weather conditions over a long period of time. It encompasses not only the average characteristics, but also the variations and extremes of weather

atmospheric circulation

is the large-scale movement of air by which heat is distributed on the surface of the Earth.

What is the Homosphere?

is the lower area of Earth's atmosphere. The 43-mile deep layer of the earth's atmosphere that you live in is an example of the ______________

Radiation

is the process by which electromagnetic energy is emitted from an object.

Energy:

is what makes "stuff" move. For example, it takes energy to cause something to move faster, change direction, or break apart

Sun strikes 23.5 N (cancer)

june solstice

wet adiabatic lapse rate

lapse rate varies considerably because the amount of water vapour in the air is highly variable. ... As an air parcel rises and cools, it may eventually lose its moisture through condensation; its lapse rate then increases and approaches the dry adiabatic value.

Small denomoiantor:

large scale

Know the controls of weather and climate

latitude, distribution of land and water, general circulation of wind and ocean, altitude, and topotopic barriers.

The scale of a map describes the relationship between distance measured on the map and the actual distance it represents on Earth's surface

map scale

What are maps and how are they poor representations of the globe?

n the simplest terms, a map is a flat representation of Earth, shown reduced in size with only selected features or data showing.

Secondary:

pollutant include ozone, which is formed when hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) combine in the presence of sunlight; NO2, which is formed as NO combines with oxygen in the air; and acid rain, which is formed when sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides react with water.

remote sensing

refers to any measurement or acquisition of information by a recording device that is not in physical contact with the object under study—in this case, Earth's surface.

heat

refers to energy that transfers from one object or substance to another because of a difference in temperature

Subtropical—

slightly poleward of the tropics, generally around 25-30° N and S

Large denominator:

small scale

A verbal map scale (or word scale)

states in words the relationship between the distance on the map and the actual distance on Earth's surface, such as "one centimeter to ten kilometers"

September equinox.

that the vertical rays of the Sun strike the equator. Notice also that the circle of illumination just touches both poles, bisecting all other parallels—on this day all locations on Earth experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness

How was the prime meridian established?

the delegates chose the meridian passing through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, just east of central London, as the prime meridian for all longitudinal measurement

What is air pollution

the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.

Weather?

the term __________ refers to short-term atmospheric conditions that exist for a given time in a specific area. It is the sum of temperature, humidity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure, winds, storms, and other atmospheric variables for a short period of time

Aphelion:

to approximately 152,100,000 kilometers (94,500,000 miles) at the farthest or _______ (ap is from the Greek and means "away from") on about July 4. The average Earth-Sun distance is defined as one astronomical unit (1 AU)—about 149,597,871 kilometers (92,960,117 miles).

A graphic map scale

uses a line marked off in distances to represent actual distance on Earth's surface. To use a graphic map scale, we measure off the distance between any two points on the map and then compare that measured distance with the graphic map scale, which gives you a direct reading of the actual distance.

stars set in the

west

December Solstice:

which occurs on about December 21, Earth reaches the position in its orbit where the North Pole is oriented most directly away from the Sun. The vertical rays of the Sun now strike 23.5° S, the Tropic of Capricorn

polar

within a few degrees of the North or South Pole

Equatorial—

within a few degrees of the equator

tropical

within the tropics (between 23.5° N and 23.5° S)

This is called adiabatic cooling

—cooling by expansion (adiabaticmeans without the gain or loss of energy).

This is called adiabatic warming

—warming by compression. In the atmosphere, any time air descends, it warms adiabatically.