chapter 1: introduction to earth. introduction to earth physical earth is dynamic and constantly...
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction to Earth
• Physical earth is dynamic and constantly changing – never static– Everything is connected to everything else
• Processes– Fast– Slow– Large– Small– Regular– Irregular
Geography as aField of Learning
• Greek Meaning - “earth description”– Fundamental questions:
• “Why is what where?”• “So what?”
• Spatial Distributions• What is Physical Geography?
– Distribution & explanation of processes & features of natural origin
– How/why physical processes have shaped Earth’s surface
• “Why the earth is the way it is”
“Where are the four corners of the earth?”
• Interrelationships among elements
• Physical– Examines Earth
elements which are natural in origin
• Cultural (Human)– Looks at
elements of human endeavor
Elements of Geography
Science and Geography
• The Scientific Method– Observe phenomena– Formulate a hypothesis
• Design an experiment• Predict the outcome of
the experiment• Conduct the experiment
– Draw conclusions• Theory
• Scientific “proof”
The Environmental Spheres
• Physical earth is dynamic & constantly changing• Break the real world up into parts to better understand it.
– Simplified parts = systems (spheres)
• Everything is connected to everything else
• Four primary spheres1. atmosphere—“air”
2. lithosphere—“stone”
3. hydrosphere—“water”
4. biosphere—“life”
2 3
1
4
Interactions between the spheres
The Solar System
• Formation of the Solar System– Formed 4.5-5 billion years ago– 8 planets
• 4 terrestrial planets • 4 gas giants
• Sun– Medium sized star– Makes up over 99% of the
solar system’s massFigure 1-4
The Size and Shape of the Earth
• Earth’s Physical Characteristics
• Not perfectly round– Oblate spheroid– Equatorial diameter
~ 12,756 km– Polar diameter
~ 12,714 km– Circumference of
40,000 km
Figure 1-7
The Size and Shape of the Earth
• Maximum relief– Mt. Everest = 29,035 ft.– Mariana Trench = 36,198 ft.
• Surface differences– Land = 29%– Oceans = 71%– Northern Hemisphere: “Land
Hemisphere” (39% land)– Southern Hemisphere: “Water
Hemisphere” (19% land)
Figure 1-6
The Geographic Grid
• Location on Earth– Need an accurate location on Earth to describe geographic
features– Use Earth’s rotation axis to base location on the surface– North Pole and South Pole– Plane of the Equator
• Halfway between poles & perpendicular to Earth’s surface
– Graticule
Figure 1-9
The Geographic Grid
• Great Circles– Cuts the sphere into 2 equal
halves (hemispheres)– Must pass through the
sphere’s center– Example: Circle of
illumination– Small circles
Figure 1-10
The Geographic Grid
• Latitudes– 0º-90º N/S– Parallels
• Connects points of equal latitude
• 69 miles or 111 km apart
– Angle north or south of the equator
Figure 1-11
• Latitudes– 7 important latitudes:
– Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N)– Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S)– Equator (0°)– North Pole (90° N)– South Pole (90° S)– Arctic (66.5° N)– Antarctic Circles (66.5° S)
The Geographic Grid
Figure 1-12
The Geographic
Grid• Longitudes
– 0°-180° E/W– Meridians– Prime Meridian (0°
longitude) located at Greenwich, England
• Longitude is measured E/W of this point
– Angle east or west of the Prime Meridian
– Converge at the poles• Not parallel to one another
Figure 1-16
Earth-Sun Relations
• Rotation of the Earth– 24 hours for 1 rotation
• Rotation velocity varies with latitude– At Equator = 1037 mph– At Poles = 0 mph
– Rotation is counterclockwise relative to North Pole (West to East)
– Rotational influences• Diurnal transition from light to
darkness (daylight/darkness)• Tidal effects from Moon & Sun• Coriolis Effect Figure 1-18
Earth-Sun Relations
• Earth’s Revolution around Sun– One revolution takes
365 ¼ days• 365 days, 5 hrs,
48 min, & 48 sec • (365.242199 days)• Leap Year
– Elliptical orbit– Aphelion
– During N. Hemisphere summer (~July 4)
– Perihelion– During N. Hemisphere winter (~Jan 3)
– Perihelion/Aphelion are NOT important factors in seasonal variations
Figure 1-19
Earth-Sun Relations
• Orbital Properties– Plane of the Earth’s orbit is the
plane of the ecliptic– Inclination
• Earth’s axis tilted at 23.5°
– Plane of ecliptic is not parallel to equatorial plane
• Polarity of Earth’s axis– Parallelism
• North Pole always points toward Polaris (“North Star”)
Figure 1-20
Circle of Illumination
• Because Earth is a sphere, only 50% can be illuminated by the sun at once
• If the axis was perpendicular to the sun’s rays, all points on earth would have 12 hours of daylight/darkness each day
• Because of Earth’s tilt, most places experience varying amounts of daylight & darkness throughout the year
Solar Declination & Solar Altitude
• Solar Declination: latitude where sun’s rays strike earth at 90° angle– 23.5 N to 23.5 S (Tropics)
• Solar altitude: angle sun’s rays hit Earth at noon– Only 1 pt on earth receives Sun’s direct
rays at a time– 0 when sun is on horizon – 90 when sun is directly overhead– Varies by day/season
• Omaha: ~25° in Dec; ~72 ° in June
1.
2.
3.
1. Solar altitudes at 50 N (Canadian-US border)2. Solar altitudes at equator
3. Solar altitudes at South Pole
Analemma
• Figure-8 shaped scale to determine latitude of the vertical rays of noon sun for every day
• 2 main purposes:– Determine solar altitude
(angle of the noon sun above the horizon)
– Shows fluctuations in the arrival of the overhead sun
Changes in Daylight
• All locations spend 50% of time in daylight & 50% in darkness• Daylight equally distributed every day at equator
– Distribution becomes more unequal as you move poleward
• Period of daylight varies throughout the year– Shortest day about Dec 21
(Winter solstice)– Longest day about June 21
(Summer solstice)– Opposite in Southern Hemisphere
• Day length & solar angle of sun’s rays determine amount of insolation received at any location
The Annual March of the Seasons
• Three important conditions– Declination of the Sun– Solar altitude– Length of day
• Two solstices– June solstice– December solstice
• Two equinoxes– March equinox– September equinox Figure 1-22
The Annual March of the Seasons
• June solstice– Approximately June 22– Sun is directly overhead
at 23.5° N latitude (Tropic of Cancer)
– Antarctic Circle (66.5° S) to South Pole (90° S) in 24 hours of darkness
– Arctic Circle (66.5° N) to North Pole (90° N) in 24 hours of daylight
Figure 1-22
The Annual March of the Seasons
• December solstice– Approximately December 22– Sun is directly overhead
at 23.5° S latitude (Tropic of Capricorn)
– Arctic Circle (66.5° N) to North Pole (90° N) in 24 hours of darkness
– Antarctic Circle (66.5° S) to South Pole (90° S) in 24 hours of daylight
Figure 1-22
The Annual March of the Seasons
• Equinoxes– Approximately March
21 & September 21– Day length is 12 hours
worldwide (“equinox”)– Sun is directly
overhead at the equator
Figure 1-22
The Annual March of the Seasons
• Day length– Always 12 hours at the
equator– In the Northern Hemisphere,
day length increases after March equinox
– Maximum day length during June solstice in Northern Hemisphere
– Opposite for Southern Hemisphere
SP
NP
0º
40º N
15h n9h d
Circle of illumination
(C.i.)
23½ºS
66½º N – Arctic Circle 24h n
23½º S – Tropic of Capricorn
66½º S – Antarctic Circle 24h d
0º - C.i. bisects
12h n12h d
Direct (90º) Rays
66½º N24h n
66½º S
24 h d
– 4 Key Days - Day 1: Dec. 21 – Winter Solstice in N.H.
= 90º - (40 +/- 23½)
SP
NP
0º
40º N
15h n9h d
23½º S
12h n12h d
+ = 90º - 63½ = 26 ½ º
66½º S
24h d
LP is Latitude of PlaceLS is Latitude of Sun
ANS = 90º - (Arc b/t LP & LS)
66½º N24h n
Direct (90º) Rays
– Dec. 21 (cont.)
Direct (90º) Rays
SP
NP= 90º - (40 - 0)= 90º - 40 = 50º
0º
66½º S
66½º N
40º N12h d
12h d
12h d
12h n
12h n
12h n
ANS = 90º - (Arc b/t LP & LS)
– Day 2: Mar. 21 – Spring Equinox in NH
SP
NP
0º
Direct (90º) Rays
66½º S
66½º N
40º N23½º N
= 90º - (40 - 23½ )= 90º - 16½ = 73½ º
15h d9h n
24h n
24h d
ANS = 90º - (Arc b/t LP & LS)
23½º N – T. of Cancer
– Day 3: June 21 – Summer Solstice in NH
Direct (90º) Rays
SP
NP
0º
66½º S
66½º N
40º N
40º S
ANS = 90º - (Arc b/t LP & LS)= 90º - (40 - 0)= 90º - 40 = 50º
12h d
12h d
12h d
12h n
12h n
12h n
– Day 4: Sept. 21 – Fall Equinox in NH
Latit
ude
23½º N
23½º S
0º
Time
Dec. 21
Sept. 21
Mar. 21
June 21
Mar. 21
The Annual March of the Seasons
– Spread of solar rays over small & large areas
– Tropical latitudes consistently warmer
– Polar latitudes consistently cooler
– Large seasonal variations in temperature in midlatitudes
• Significance of seasonal patterns
Telling Time
• 3 physical measures of time– Tropical year– Lunar month– Solar day
• Solar noon– Sun casts the shortest shadow
• Ante-meridian (AM—“before noon”)• Post-meridian (PM—“after noon”)
Figure 1-23
Telling Time
• Current time system (24 time zones)– 1 Earth day = 24 hours & 1 full Earth rotation = 360°– Time zones are
15° or 1 hour apart
• Ex: 2 points 1 hour apart = 15° apart
• Ex: 2 points 15° apart = 1 hour apart
Figure 1-24
Telling Time
• Current time system– Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is standard– Prime meridian 0° longitude– Universal Time
Coordinated (UTC)
– 180° meridian = International Date Line– Cross going east ,
go to preceding day– Cross going west,
go to next day
Figure 1-24
Telling Time
• Daylight-saving time– Move clocks ahead by an
hour during the summer months
– Originally done by Germans during WWII; now practiced by many nations
– Conserves lighting energy by providing an extra hour of daylight
Figure 1-25
Summary
• Geography is the study of the distribution of physical and cultural attributes of Earth• Many sciences have branched off of geography• The scientific method is important when doing scientific studies• Earth has four primary spheres: the atmosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere,
and the atmosphere• The solar system formed 5 billion years ago and consists of 8 planets• Earth is an imperfect sphere• A latitude and longitude grid help identify locations on Earth’s surface• Earth rotates on its axis in 24 hours• Earth revolves around the Sun in 365 ¼ days• Tilt of Earth’s axis causes seasons• Equinoxes and solstices help identify when a seasonal transition occurs• Time zones were established to have a uniform global time system• Daylight-saving time was devised to conserve energy by adding an hour of daylight