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A LIVING PLANET
Ch. 2
Intro to
Geography
THE EARTH INSIDE OUT
 The Solar System
 Earth is the 3 rd planet from the Sun in the Milky Way galaxy
 There are 8-9 planets and many other celestial bodies that orbit the Sun
 Dwarf planets, comets, asteroids
 The Structure of the Earth
 3 layers of Earth
 Core
 Inner core is solid
 Outer core is liquid
 Mantle
 Crust
 Miles thick
 Outside the crust is 4 layers
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Atmosphere
Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
biosphere
 Continental Drift
 Earth was once a supercontinent – Pangaea
 The supercontinent divided and slowly drifted away from each other
 Many millions of years ago
 They crashed and split apart several times before they came to there current positions
INTERNAL FORCES SHAPING THE EARTH
 Plate Tectonics
 There are dozens of plates on the Earth’s surface that move
 Plates move in 1 of 4 ways
 Spread or move apart
 Divergent boundary
 Subduction; diving under another plate
 Convergent boundary
 Collision; crash
 Convergent boundary
 Sliding past each other
 Transform
 Creates folds and faults
 Earthquakes
 Plates slips by each other
 Seismograph detect earthquakes
 Earthquakes generally occur at plate boundaries, but can occur at
any location
 Earthquakes are measured on the Reichter Scale
 Earthquakes can cause tsunamis
 Volcanoes
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Found along plate boundaries
Lava, gases, ash, dust, and rocks erupt out of volcanoes
Inactive and active volcanoes
Ring of Fire
 Found in the Pacific Ocean
 8 plates meet in this location
 Volcanoes and earthquakes are frequent here
EXTERNAL FORCES SHAPING THE EARTH
 Weathering
 Process, both physical and chemical processes that change the
characteristics of rock on or near the earth’s surface.
 Occurs slowly
 Erosion
 Weathered material is moved by the action of wind, water, ice, or
gravity
 Building Soil
 Weathering and erosion are part of the process of froming soil.
CLIMATE AND
VEGETATION
Ch. 3
Intro to
Geography
SEASONS AND WEATHER
 The Earth is tilted at a 23 ½ degree angle in relation to the
sun.
 The Earth’s revolution and tilt allow different parts of the earth to
receive direct rays of the sun for more hours at certain times in the
year.
 This causes the changing seasons on the earth.
 Seasons
 Solstice – day on which the sun’s rays shine directly overhead at
noon
 Summer – Northern Hemisphere is the longest day of the year
 Winter – Shortest day of the year
 Equinox – the days and nights all over the world are equal in length.
 Mark the beginning of spring and fall.
 Diagram p. 49
 Weather
 The condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and time.
 Climate
 Term for weather conditions at a particular location over a long period of
time.
 Precipitation
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Rain
Snow
Hail
Sleet
 Weather Extremes
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Hurricanes or Typhoons
Tornadoes
Blizzards
Droughts
Floods
CLIMATE
 Factors af fecting climate
 Wind currents
 Help to distribute the sun’s heat from one part of the world to another
through the upward motion of the air in the atmosphere.
 Ocean currents
 Move in large circular systems with warm water flowing to the poles and
cold water flows toward the Equator.
 Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift currents help keep the continent of
Europe at a moderate climate.
 Zones of Latitude
 3 general zones
 Low or tropical – either side of the equator
 Middle or temperate – between the tropics and polar
 High or polar – North and south pole
 Elevation
 Rises in altitude or elevation drops the temperature
 Topography
 Landforms affect climate
 Changes in Climate
 Changes in temperature and precipitation
 Some are natural others are the result of human activities.
 El Nino/La Nina
 Natural change in climate
 El Nino brings more rain to the Americas
 La Nina brings more drought like conditions
 Global Climate Change – p. 58
 Global warming is caused by the greenhouse effect
 Some say this is just part of earth’s natural cycle
 https://youtu.be/NXMarwAusY4 - Inconvenient Truth (2006)
 Global warming cartoon explanation – An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
 https://youtu.be/OqVyRa1iuMc
 The Melting of Greenland – An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
 https://youtu.be/02NRKzemXYE
 Ocean water level
 https://youtu.be/dPOT5TRRL3E
WORLD CLIMATE REGIONS
 There are 5 general climate regions. Within the 5 regions there
are variations that geographers divide into smaller zones.
Tropical
 Wet
 Wet and Dry
 Dry
 Semiarid
 Desert
 Mid-latitude
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Mediterranean
Marine west coast
Humid subtropical
Humid continental
 High-latitude
 Subarctic
 Tundra
 Ice Cap
 Highland
SOILS AND VEGETATION
 Soil Regions
 Soil is a thin layer of weathered rock, humus, air, and water
 Food supplies depends on how good the soil of an area is
 Certain factors determine type of vegetation that can grow in a
particular area.
 P. 65 – Table
 Vegetation Regions
 These are the natural environments that provide the stage for human
activities, like farming, raising livestock, and producing timber.
 Soil, temperature, and moisture influence the type of vegetation that
thrives naturally in a region.
 Ecosystems are supported by vegetation patterns
 Independent community of plants and animals
 Ecosystem of a region is referred to as a biome
 Biomes can be divided into forest, grassland, desert, and tundra
 Forestland
 Categorized by the types of tress they support
 Broadleaf
 Deciduous trees – maple, oak, birch, and cottonwood
 Rainforest have an abundant amount of broadleaf trees
 Needleleaf
 Coniferous trees – pine, fir, and cedar
 Mixed forest region have both broad and needle leaf trees
 Grasslands
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Flat regions dotted with a few trees
Called savannas in tropical areas
Steppe/prairie in the Northern Hemisphere
Pampas in the Southern Hemisphere
 Desert and Tundra
 Tundra
 Plants that hug the ground – mosses
 Desert
 Plants that can conserve water and withstand heat – cacti (cactus),
sagebrush
 Human Impact
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Building dams
Irrigation systems
Planting food
Slashing and burning