Download GEOG 1 - Midterm I Review Chapters 1

GEOG 1 ‐ Midterm I Review Chapters 1‐6 Christopherson Ch. 1 Earth’s four spheres Latitude and Longitude (parallels and meridians) Latitude – tropics and circles 23.5 and 66.5 degrees north and south Earth’s tilt, Plane of the Ecliptic (orbital plane), paralellism – 23.5 degree tilt Great Circles and Small Circles – airplane routes Prime Meridian – why through London? Standard Time and U.S. Time Zones – 1 hour = 15 degrees of longitude International Date Line (how it works) – travel east across it to next day (east = sunrise, new day) Maps – projections, distortion Large scale and small scale Mercator Projection ‐ critique GIS and GPS Ch. 2 Electromagnetic Radiation – spectrum, sun’s output: insolation Solar Radiation and Terrestrial Radiation – shortwave vs. longwave, visible light, heat Constant – earth is able to maintain its temperature (energy budget) Global net radiation: poles, mid‐latitudes, tropics The Seasons – 2 Equinoxes and 2 Solstices (chart – know this!) – also why seasons? Day length, solar angle, 24‐darkness or 24‐daylight, Circle of Illumination – on each of four dates Relationship between solar angle and intensity of insolation Energy budget – know where there is a surplus and deficit Ch. 3 Earth’s atmosphere – 4 layers, which are warmer/colder at high altitude? “Lapse rate” ‐ 3.5 or 3.6 degrees F cooler for every 1000 feet in the Troposphere What holds atmosphere to earth, where is most of atmosphere’s mass? Ozone layer – where, what it does, good and bad ozone, CFC’s, Montreal Protocol, what is the ozone hole and what causes it, what bad effects Ion layer – Thermosphere, Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) Gasses in the atmosphere, also particulates and water vapor CO2 – problems, increased its concentration, heating of the atmosphere, anthropogenic changes Methane – cattle, agriculture, melting permafrost Kyoto Protocol, Greenhouse effect (natural) and how humans have changed the balance of “Greenhouse Gasses”, Terrestrial Radiation (longwave) gets trapped by Greenhouse Gasses and water vapor due to selective wavelength transmission Smog – phytochemical pollution (smog), inversion layer, acid rain, particulates, Clean Air Act Ch. 4 Energy pathways: Absorption, reflection, scattering, transmission Absorption and reflection = opposites, absorption heats up the substance Reflection – albedo (reflectivity) snow and ice high albedo, dark surfaces = low albedo Scattering – blue sky, red sunset (path length and visible light spectrum) – know how it works Clouds – shield from sun daytime (cooler), absorb terrestrial radiation nighttime (warmer) Global dimming – particulates in atmosphere due to pollution, aerosols, clouds = cooling Conduction and convection – conduction=touching, convection=moving Atmosphere is heated from below by conduction and convection Daily radiation patterns – graphic p.101, because atmosphere heated from earth’s surface, lag between noon and highest daily temp, lowest always right before dawn Urban areas – lots of dark materials and metal, “Urban Heat Island” effect, reflection/absorption greater and disruption in wind patterns, warmer, more particulates, more precipitation Energy budget – tropics – surplus, midlatitudes – even, poles – deficit Ch. 5 Temperature – measuring heat, thermometer Temperature scales – Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin (know boiling/ice/room/body in F and C) Earth’s highs and lows, hemisphere differences, land/water differences Principal Temperature Controls: latitude, altitude (elevation), cloud cover, land/water heating differences, air currents and ocean currents Earth’s temperature patterns – isotherms, land/water differences in summer and winter Hemisphere differences – northern hemisphere more land, southern hemisphere more water Temperature range – lowest in tropics, highest in upper latitudes over land (N. hemisphere) Sensible temperature – how the body “feels” temperature, wind chill, heat index Ch. 6 Wind – horizontal movement of air, anemometer Air pressure – measurement, barometer, record highs and lows, average at sea level Pressure gradient force, coriolis force, friction force = spiral at ground level Pressure gradient determines wind speed Coriolis Force – due to earth’s rotation, zero at the equator, maximum deflection at poles, to the right in northern hemisphere, to the left in the southern hemisphere, circulating storms Cyclone – counterclockwise in northern hemisphere, rain Anti‐cyclone – clockwise in northern hemisphere, no rain Isobars – lines connecting areas of equal air pressure, closer spacing = higher wind speed General Circulation of the Atmosphere – know the chart page 155! Winds: Trades (easterlies), Westerlies (midlatitude), Polar Easterlies Pressure zones (rising or subsiding air): ITCZ (equator – low), STH (sub‐tropical high), Polar Front (low) High – rising air Low – sinking air Hadley Cell – trade winds converge at equator, rising air causes clouds/rain, anti‐trades, subsiding air at STH (dry, desert regions), continuous circulating pattern Two places always cloudy – equator and polar low (about 65‐70 degrees north and south) Dry/desert at STH – areas centered on 30 degrees north and south Jet stream – high altitude, high speed winds, can “push” westerlies north or south (Rossby Waves) Local winds: land/sea breezes, mountain/valley breezes, Santa Ana winds, Katabatic winds Ocean currents – winds push water, brings warm water from equator to poles, brings cool water from poles to equator (surface currents) – diagram p. 167 Thermohaline circulation – deep ocean currents, driven by salinity, possible role in climate change All air and water movement helps even out the earth’s heat distribution