GEOG 2050 Chapter : GEOG 2050
Document Summary
A science that deals with the description, distribution, land interaction of the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of earth"s surface. The 4 spheres: atmosphere climatology and meteorology, hydrosphere hydrology, biosphere biogeography, lithosphere geology and geomorphology. Meteorology: hurricanes, tornadoes, weather systems, air masses. Geology: rock cycle, plate tectonics, earth structure, volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains. Geomorphology: chemical weathering, fluvial geomorphology, aeolian processes. How do we study geog: location, region, human-earth relationships, movement, place, geographers utilize spatial analysis tools to bring together topics from many fields. The idea is to create an integrated whole-earth concept. Geographers analyze the differences and similarities among those 5 spatial themes. Environmental systems theory: system: network of relationships, systems: open vs. closed, feedback loops: positive vs. negative. A closed system often runs out of resources as there is no exchange with an outside source. These concepts serve the basis to understanding physical geography.
