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INTRODUCTION

A. WHY STUDY PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY?

Geography: study of spatial patterns and the underlying causes of those patterns

• What are places like? Why are they like that?
  

  
  Photos (1) R. Schukar, (2) and (3) K.A. Lemke. Used with permission.
  

• Where do we find things? Why are they there?

  Geographic distribution of earthquakes
  Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a001200/a001290/

• Human geography: spatial patterns to human landscape (social science)

• Physical geography: spatial patterns to physical landscape (physical science)

• Characteristics of a place impact humans living there and humans impact characteristics the place where they live

Physical geography

• atmosphere: weather and climate

• hydrosphere: water in all its phases

• biosphere: living organisms

• lithosphere: solid ground we stand on; landforms

Tools of geography

cartography (map-making) geographic information systems (GIS) computer modeling

remote sensing (satellite imagery) statistics

Science: observation, experimentation, logical reasoning, skepticism

• scientific hypotheses are testable; experiments must be repeatable and repeated

• scientific theory

  • overarching framework tying together many scientific facts and processes into a coherent body of knowledge

  • body of knowledge repeatedly shown to be true based on available evidence

  • NOT hunches or speculations; NOT based on pronouncements of "authority figures"

  • available evidence may change (e.g. as technology improves) and then theories must be modified, but the overarching framework of the theory often remains

B. COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the semester you should be able to:

• describe the geographic patterns to the earth’s physical environment, including global patterns of climate, ecosystems, soils, and landforms;

• explain basic environmental processes operating in the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere that produce geographic patterns;

• give examples of connections between the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere;

• apply some of the technical skills required for the study of geography and the environment; and,

• use the skills and knowledge gained over the course of the semester to predict the characteristics of different places and to solve problems or analyze situations related to physical geographic processes.

C. WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Climate: long term average temperature and precipitation, and seasonal extremes of temperature and precipitation

Weather: daily or short term changes in temperature, precipitation, humidity, winds, cloud cover, humidity

D. GLOBAL PATTERNS

January temperature patterns

Image source: http://www-airs.jpl.nasa.gov/News/Features/FeaturesNewGlobalMaps  

July temperature patterns

Image source: http://www-airs.jpl.nasa.gov/News/Features/FeaturesNewGlobalMaps

E. CONTROLS OVER TEMPERATURE

• earth-sun relations

• heat capacity

• radiative energy transfers

• heat energy transfers

• atmospheric structure & composition

• atmospheric & oceanic circulation patterns

About your instructor

Grew up on Long Island about 30 miles outside of New York City

BS in Geography and German from Bucknell University, Pennsylvania

PhD in Geography from the University of Iowa

Taught at UWSP since 1989: physical geography, geomorphology, glacial geology, applied statistics in geography; research interests: fluvial geomorphology, good teaching practices in undergraduate education

Favorite place to canoe: Quetico Provincial Park, Canada

Favorite place to scuba dive: Bonaire

Favorite place to ride my bike: Green Circle Trail, Stevens Point

Favorite place in my garden: the raspberry patch

Favorite authors (fun reading): Jodi Picoult, Barbara Kingsolver, David Baldacci