‘GEOG 227: Our Vulnerable Planet
Unit 1 - Important Things to Know
Unit 1: Intro to Systems and Intro to Anthropogenic Hazards
Geography – the study of the Earth’s surface and processes that shape it, both human and
physical
Human Geography – Also known as Cultural Geography, it is the study of the
spatial expression of culture, and culture is a learned behavior of society
Example- urbanization, agriculture, mining/resource extraction
Physical (Natural) Geography – the study of the Earth’s physical processes to
learn how they work, how they affect humans, and how they are affected by humans
in return
Examples- natural disasters, erosion, weather, plate tectonics
- Technical Geography – data collection, cartography, GIS (geographic
information systems), can work in human or physical geography
Systems:
System – a group of interacting or interdependent parts that form a complex whole. Systems
exist at a varying scale (microscopic, small, large)
Examples – hurricane, ecosystem, solar system
Earth System Science – the Earth is a system made up of numerous interacting parts or
subsystems
4 subsystems:
1. Atmosphere
The gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth, the air
2. Hydrosphere
Water (in liquid form)
3. Geosphere (Lithosphere)
Solid earth
4. Biosphere
All life on earth, all living things
Riparian Habitat- where water and land meet
Closed system - system in which energy can pass through the boundary but matter cannot
Example: saucepan with a lid – energy can leave as heat, but steam and sauce are contained
Open system – system in which both energy and matter can pass through the boundary
Example- saucepan without a lid – energy, steam, and matter can escape
,Anthropogenic Hazards
Car emissions
Mining/resource extraction
Pesticide runoff
Population growth
Nuclear waste/ testing
Air and water pollution
deforestation
Outside Materials:
Video: Open and Closed Systems
Closed System: no mass crosses system boundary
Open System: mass can pass through, may gain or lose mass or mass may simply pass through
Photo Essay: Can photography help us through an environmental crisis?
Photographs were called a “terrible beauty”
Video: Documenting human environmental impacts through photography.
, GEOG 227: Our Vulnerable Planet
Unit 2 – Important things to know
Unit 2. Climate Change
Atmosphere:
blanket of air, composed of various gases, that envelops the Earth. Air is the mixture
of gases where the composition is variable
Characteristics of the atmosphere
insulator – maintains the temperature
shield – blocks out harmful UV rays (ozone layer in stratosphere)
protects – meteors burn on entry
maintains hydrologic cycle – condensation/evaporation
diffuses sunlight
extends approximately 300 miles above earth’s surface
density of oxygen decreases with altitude, the highest concentration is at sea level
air has mass – atmospheric pressure – there is more pressure at the surface
temperature decreases with elevation (different temperatures in upper
atmosphere)
air molecules allow for sound waves to travel
Composition of the atmosphere
1. nitrogen
2. oxygen
3. argon
4. carbon dioxide
5. water vapor
6. ozone
particulates in the atmosphere
small solids in the atmosphere
example- volcanic ash
variable gases in the atmosphere
water vapor – felt as humidity
ozone occasionally – bad at surface, good in the atmosphere
Carbon dioxides role in the atmosphere –
warms the atmosphere
radiation – process by which heat energy is emitted from a body
energy is transmitted from one place to another in the form of waves
How do the greenhouse gases work? –
They absorb the long wave heat energy that is emitted from the earth when the short-wave light
energy from the sun strikes it and causes it to warm up
Unit 1 - Important Things to Know
Unit 1: Intro to Systems and Intro to Anthropogenic Hazards
Geography – the study of the Earth’s surface and processes that shape it, both human and
physical
Human Geography – Also known as Cultural Geography, it is the study of the
spatial expression of culture, and culture is a learned behavior of society
Example- urbanization, agriculture, mining/resource extraction
Physical (Natural) Geography – the study of the Earth’s physical processes to
learn how they work, how they affect humans, and how they are affected by humans
in return
Examples- natural disasters, erosion, weather, plate tectonics
- Technical Geography – data collection, cartography, GIS (geographic
information systems), can work in human or physical geography
Systems:
System – a group of interacting or interdependent parts that form a complex whole. Systems
exist at a varying scale (microscopic, small, large)
Examples – hurricane, ecosystem, solar system
Earth System Science – the Earth is a system made up of numerous interacting parts or
subsystems
4 subsystems:
1. Atmosphere
The gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth, the air
2. Hydrosphere
Water (in liquid form)
3. Geosphere (Lithosphere)
Solid earth
4. Biosphere
All life on earth, all living things
Riparian Habitat- where water and land meet
Closed system - system in which energy can pass through the boundary but matter cannot
Example: saucepan with a lid – energy can leave as heat, but steam and sauce are contained
Open system – system in which both energy and matter can pass through the boundary
Example- saucepan without a lid – energy, steam, and matter can escape
,Anthropogenic Hazards
Car emissions
Mining/resource extraction
Pesticide runoff
Population growth
Nuclear waste/ testing
Air and water pollution
deforestation
Outside Materials:
Video: Open and Closed Systems
Closed System: no mass crosses system boundary
Open System: mass can pass through, may gain or lose mass or mass may simply pass through
Photo Essay: Can photography help us through an environmental crisis?
Photographs were called a “terrible beauty”
Video: Documenting human environmental impacts through photography.
, GEOG 227: Our Vulnerable Planet
Unit 2 – Important things to know
Unit 2. Climate Change
Atmosphere:
blanket of air, composed of various gases, that envelops the Earth. Air is the mixture
of gases where the composition is variable
Characteristics of the atmosphere
insulator – maintains the temperature
shield – blocks out harmful UV rays (ozone layer in stratosphere)
protects – meteors burn on entry
maintains hydrologic cycle – condensation/evaporation
diffuses sunlight
extends approximately 300 miles above earth’s surface
density of oxygen decreases with altitude, the highest concentration is at sea level
air has mass – atmospheric pressure – there is more pressure at the surface
temperature decreases with elevation (different temperatures in upper
atmosphere)
air molecules allow for sound waves to travel
Composition of the atmosphere
1. nitrogen
2. oxygen
3. argon
4. carbon dioxide
5. water vapor
6. ozone
particulates in the atmosphere
small solids in the atmosphere
example- volcanic ash
variable gases in the atmosphere
water vapor – felt as humidity
ozone occasionally – bad at surface, good in the atmosphere
Carbon dioxides role in the atmosphere –
warms the atmosphere
radiation – process by which heat energy is emitted from a body
energy is transmitted from one place to another in the form of waves
How do the greenhouse gases work? –
They absorb the long wave heat energy that is emitted from the earth when the short-wave light
energy from the sun strikes it and causes it to warm up
