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54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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geography as a discipline has a unique set of perspectives. geographers look at the wold from the viewpoint of
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geographic space, synthesizing ideas from different disciplines, and techniques of multipulate spatial info.
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five major fields of physical geography
water resouces and hazards assessment are important applied fields |
climatology
geomorphology coastal & marine soil & biogeography |
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environmental change is produced by both natural & human processes. human activities are currently changing
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the earth's climate & global flows of carbon from earth to ocen to atmosphere
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the earth rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun. the rotation produces
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day-night cycle, while the revolution produces the seasons
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the direction of the earths rotation is counterclockwise when viewed from above the north pole
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west to east if viewed with the north pole up
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geographic grid consists of an orderly system of circles __ &__ that are used to locate position on the globe.
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meridians :north-south lines
parellels: east-west lines |
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latitude and longitude uniquely determine the postion of a point on the globe. latitude & longitude record
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latitude record: parallel
longitude record: meridian associated with the point |
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the Goode projection displays the relative areas of
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land masses correctly but disorts their shape-especially near the poles
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in the standard time system we keep global time according to
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nearby standard meridians that normally differ by one hour from each other
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the axis of the earths rotation is titled by ___ away from the ----
this tilt causes seasons |
23 1/2
plane of the ecliptic |
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at the june solstice the north pole is tilted toward the__
at the december solstice it is tiltied away from the___ |
toward sun
away sun |
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the suns declination describes the latitude of the subsolar point as it ranges from
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23 1/2 S. (december)
23 1/2 N. (june) throught the year |
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visible light includes colors ranging from __ to __ and spands the wavelength range of about __
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violet
red 0.4 to 0.7 |
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hotter objects radiate energy at ___ wavelengths than cooler objects. hotter objects also radiate more__
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shorter
energy than cooler objects |
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the intensity of solar radiation is greatest in___ portion of the spectrum. in this range most of the solar radiation___
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visible
penetrates the earths atmosphere to reach the surface |
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shortwave radiation refers to emitted by the___
longwave radiation refers to wavelengths emitted by___ |
sun
cooler objects like the earths surface |
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insolation refers to the flow rate of ___ solar radiation. it is high when the sun is __in the sky
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incomig
high |
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the path of the sun in the sky varies with___ and ___. in the summer the sun rises ___ in the sky for a longer part of the 24 hr. day
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latitude and season
higher |
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the tilt of the earths axis of rotation causes ___ to be distributed more evenly from __ to__ . on an annual basis the pole recives __
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insolation
pole to pole 40% of the insolation recived at the equator |
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nitrogen is the most abundant of the __ gases. oxygen is ___ to living tissue. water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb __ radiation and help warm the__
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atmospheres
essential heat atmosphere |
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sensible heat transfer refers to the flow of heat between the __and the__ by conduction or convection. _____ refers to the flow of heat carried by changes of state of water
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earths surface and the atmosphere
latent heat transfer |
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counterradiation from the atmosphere to the earths surface helps warm the surface and creates the____. it is enhabced by carbon dioxide, wateer droplets and____ in the atmosphere
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greenhouse effect
water vapor |
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poleward heat transfer moves heat from___ toward the poles. the heat transfer is in the form of__ &warm moist air that flows polewrdand is relaced by___
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the low latitudes
warm ocean water cooler water & cooler drier air moving equatorward |
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five key factors influence a stations air temperature , its daily variation & annual variation:
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1.insolation
2.latitude 3.surface type 4.coastal vs. interior location 5.elevation |
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surface air temp. is measured under standard conditions @ __ above ground. ___&__ temp. are typically recorded. the mean daily temp. is taken as the__
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4ft.
maximum & minimum average of the minimum and maximum temp/ |
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the daily cycle of surface air temp. is controlled by the__ during the day positive net radiation causes temp. to rise until afternoon highs are reached. at nigh__
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daily cycle of net radiation
negative net radiation causes air temp. to fall |
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urban sufaces lack moisture and so are __than rural surfaces during the day. at night urban materials conduct stored heat to the surface also keeping__
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warmer
temp. warmer |
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in the lower atmosphere air temp decreases with---. the average rate of temp decrease with height is termed the __
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increasing altitude
environmental temp lapes rate |
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the troposhere and statosphere are two lowermost atmospheric layers. -- -- phenomena occur in the
___. the statoshere is the home of__ |
clouds and weather
troposhere strong persistent winds that flow west to east |
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at high elevations air temp are generally __and show a greater __ range. both effects occur beacause the thickness and __ of the air column above decrease with elevation and therefore the __ is weaker at high elevations
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cooler
day to night density |
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a temp__ occurs when air temp increases with altitude . low level inversions typically occur on ____with still air and are often found over snow covered surfaces in winter
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inversion
clear cold nights |
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the annual cycle of net radiation which results from the variation of ___ with the seasons drives the annual cycle of air temp. where net radiation __ strongly with the seasons so does surface air temp
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insolation
varies |
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air temp at coastal locations tend to be more__ than at interior continental locations because water bodies
air temp at coastal locations tend to be more __ than at interior continental locations because water bodies __and__ more slowly than the land surfaces |
constant
heat and cool |
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because water bodies heat & cool more slowly than land surfaces monthly temp __&__ occur later in the year at coastal ststions than @inteior stations
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maximum & minimum
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__ are lines of equal temp drawn on a map. maps of isotherms show centers of __&__ temp as well as temp gradents
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isotherms
high & low |
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the global pattern of annual temp range shows that ___ have the smallest range while __continental interiors show the largest ranges
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tropical oceans
northern hemisphere |
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geenhouse gases act to warm the atmosphere and enhance the greenhouse effect. co2 is the most important __ gas
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greenhouse
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the last decade has brought a succession of very warm years including the warmest year of the last thousand yr 1998. most scientist agree that __primarliy released greenhouse gases to the atmosphere is responsible for the__
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human activity
warming trend |
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water exists in __ __ &__ states as ice water and water vapor. __ heat energy is released or absorbed as water change from one state to another
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solid
liquid gaseous |
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the hydrologic cycle describes the global flow of water to and from _,__&__. water is exchanged between the atmosphere and the oceans and atmosphere and land by __&__. water moves from land to ocean by runoff
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oceans, land,& atmosphere
evaporation & precipitation |
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the dew-point temp of a mass of air is the temp at which __ will occur. the more water vapor in the air the higher is the __ temp
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saturation
dew-point |
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humidity refers to the amount of __ present in air. warm air can hold much more water vapor than __
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water vapor
cold air |
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relative humidity depends on both the water vapor content & the __ of the air. it compares the amount of water held by air to the maximum amount that can be held at that __
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temperature
temp |
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the adiabatic principle states that compression warms a gas while expansion cools it. in an __ the temp of a gas change in pressure not from an __ or __ of heat
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adiabatic process
inflow or outflow |
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rising air cools less rapidly when ___ is occuring , owing to the release of __. this explains why the wet adiabatic cooling rate has a lesser value than __
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condensation
the dry adiabatic cooling rate |
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a cloud consists of __,__, or __. these form on tiny condensation nuclei which are normally minute specks of sea salt or dust
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water droplets
ice particles mixture of both |
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there are 2 major classes of clouds:__&__. cumulonimbus clouds are dense tall clouds that produce thundershowers
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stratiform (layerd)
cumuliform (globular) |
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in warm clouds experiencing strong uplift, water droplets grow by condensation then collide and coalesce to form __. in colder clouds ice particals grow from collisions with supercooled __that freeze on contact
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raindrops
water droplets |
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raindrops form in warm clouds by collision and coalescence. snow forms in cool clouds as water droplets __ and are deposited as ice crystals
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evaporate
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__ types of precipitation are orograpgic , convectional, cyclonic and convergant
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four
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in oograpghic precipitation moist air is forced up and over a __ barrier producing cooling condensation and __
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mountain
precipitation |
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in convectional preciptiation moist air is warmed at the surface expands becomes less__ than surrounding cooler air and is buoyed __. at the lifting condensation level clouds begin to form
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dense
upward |
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unstable air: can produce abundant convectional precipitation. it is typical of hot summer air masses in the central and southern us
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warm moist and heated by the surface
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a thunderstoem is an intens local stoem associated with tall __ clouds in which there are strong updrafts of air. thunderstorms can produce both __ and clould-to-ground lighting
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cumlonimbus
hail |
