Geography 2051 Geography study of spatial distribution of phenomena on earth s surface Old geography writing about the earth what is where observation description WHY economics find fish trading supplies nations became wealthy powerful as result of geography travel to find trade goods bring back to home country creating world powers political the wealthier the nation the more powerful military want to know the lay of land your area to fight on in order to be successful cultural Europeans created colonies by sending out missionaries to spread culture religion curiosity drove exploration in old geography practical activity only recently has become a university thing New geography why are things where they are explanation understanding Physical geography hydrology climatology biogeography geomorphology meteorology pedology Human geography social cultural economic behavioral political urban The 4 Connected parts of the Earth System interconnection of Spheres lithosphere Earth s solid portions geomorphology land forms landscapes main focus atmosphere Earth s air sphere that protects the Earth climatology hydrosphere Earth s waters lakes clouds etc hydrology biosphere Earth s living things biogeography special distribution of various types of organisms present past focuses on plants living organisms 5 common themes in Geographic Research 1 place refers to characteristics attributes that make location unique different from others 2 location old geography where things are relative 3 region area is internally homogenous w respect to some characteristics attributes NOLA can also be separated by climatic regions 4 movement networks pathways interconnections things that connect places that bind regions together road systems railways river systems 5 human earth relationships how humans affect the earth how the earth affects humans global warming holes in the ozone layer tsunamis hurricanes PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY METHODS TOOLS Scientific Method a method to generate knowledge a priori knowledge pre existing knowledge AKA THEORY 1st step hypothesis possible explanation of some phenomenon that requires verification a guess at the answer an educated guess theory generally accepted body of knowledge not a hypothesis 2nd step verification test hypothesis collecting data analyzing ultimately based on results of that process end up making a choice either accept the hypothesis and utilize our theory or reject the hypothesis in which case we go back to the beginning and regenerate a new hypothesis if it is accepted it becomes a priori knowledge General Systems Theory conceptual model powerful because it is very abstract describes how things in the world work together and interact with each other many of the concepts terms are intentionally extremely vague allowing it to be applied to a vast range of human phenomenon System set of objects their attributes that are linked together by flows matter energy open allows matter energy to enter exit continuous flows of energy earth is an open system closed does not allow energy to flow through it hard to give an example when the matter being used is all used up Geography 2051 stored energy temperature budgets a balance between input outputs storage a conservation of matter energy matter energy cannot be destroyed inputs outputs change in storage inputs outputs constant balanced inputs outputs increase in storage positive budget inputs outputs decrease in storage negative budget equilibrium is a complete balance internal energy is from core of earth controlling systems like earthquakes solar energy from the sun causing plants to grow energies are constantly changing meaning the outputs must change too 2 types of equilibrium static inputs outputs are constant unchanging they balance each other dynamic both inputs outputs fluctuate to find an equilibrium lag time difference in time between some change in environmental systems systems response Biomass amount of living material in a system feedbacks are system responses to a change in an environmental condition that influences that change in environmental conditions positive ongoing population growth nothing can continue to grow indefinitely tend to be destructive tend to alter the operation of systems negative snowball effect of death have to dampen or reduce the initial change competition constructive help a system to keep everything in balance Methods and Tools Maps Maps 2D model of Earth s surface very effective data storage Data Types 1D represented by a point point represents location 2D represented by a line line represents pathways networks movements 3D represented by areas or shapes polygons show regions Choropleth map displays qualitative data things described by words rather than numbers use colors such to show regions Isoline map quantitative data things described by numbers surround regions with similar attributes thunderstorm temperature elevation subdividing areas into regions where values of data are similar Scale tool used to convert measurements from map into real world equivalents 2 types graphic scale little picture that shows miles kilometers on a line to measure area remains accurate with size change representative fractions written in ratio fraction or verbal scale Key Legend small symbols colors to represent things on the map Date Source purpose is quality control important to use updated maps check date Orientation direction compass or arrow to North allow user to find relative location of something Coordinate system gridline of light white lines crossing all over the map longitude latitude Circular coordinate system origin at center reference points that create angles degrees for locations Latitude lines that run parallel to each other 49th parallel 49th degree of latitude lines of reference are center of the earth and the equator value of 0 degrees North Pole 90 degrees values range from 90 degrees north south Longitude run North South but give East West location starts at Prime Meridian prime meridian 0 degree longitude mark Geography 2051 decided to put it in Greenwich England held the royal observatory at the time was science seat of the world values from 180 degrees East West Map Projections can t flatten a 3D object to 2D without distorting it distance better shown by a Mercator projection but distorts area how large regions are proximity what s next to what Projection Families Mercador projection ex of a cylindrical projections look for pics online Standard line all attributes are