Geosystems : an introduction to physical geography / Robert W. Christopherson, and Mary-Louise Byrne

Contents

1 Essentials of Geography
The Science of Geography
Geographic Analysis
The Geographic Continuum
Earth Systems Concepts
Systems Theory
Earth's four spheres
E.tc
Location and Time on Earth
Latitude
Latitudinal
E.tc
Maps, Scales, and Projections
The Scale of Maps
Map Projections
Remote Sensing and GIS
Remote Sensing
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

PART 1 ? The Energy? Atmosphere System
2 Solar Energy to Earth and the Seasons
The Solar System, Sun, and Earth
Solar System Formation and Structure
Dimensions and Distances
Earth?s Orbit

Solar Energy: From Sun to Earth
Solar Activity and Solar Wind
Solar Wind Effects
Weather Effects
Electromagnetic Spectrum of Radiant Energy 00
Incoming Energy at the Top of the Atmosphere 00
Solar Constant
Uneven Distribution of Insolation
Global Net Radiation

The Seasons 00
Seasonality 00
Reasons for Seasons 00
Revolution
Rotation
Tilt of Earth?s Axis
Axial Parallelism
Sphericity
Annual March of the Seasons 00
Dawn and Twilight
Seasonal Observations

Summary and Review 00

News Report 2-1: The Nature of Order is Chaos 00
News Report 2-2: Monitoring Earth Radiation Budget 00

3 Earth?s Modern Atmosphere 00

Atmospheric Composition, Temperature, and Function 00
Atmospheric Profile 00
Atmospheric Composition Criterion 00
Heterosphere
Homosphere
Atmospheric Temperature Criterion 00
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
Atmospheric Function Criterion 00
Ionosphere
Ozonosphere

Variable Atmospheric Components 00
Natural Sources 00
Natural Factors That Affect Air Pollution 00
Winds
Local and Regional Landscapes
Temperature Inversion
Anthropogenic Pollution 00
Carbon Monoxide Pollution
Photochemical Smog Pollution
Industrial Smog and Sulfur Oxides
Particulates
Benefits of the Clean Air Act 00

Summary and Review 00

News Report 3-1: Falling Through the Atmosphere?The Highest Sky Dive 00
News Report 3-2: 1995 Nobel Chemistry Prize for Ozone Depletion Researchers 00
Focus Study 3-1: Stratospheric Ozone Losses: A Worldwide Health Hazard 00
Focus Study 3-2: Acid Deposition: A Blight on the Landscape 00


4 Atmosphere and Surface Energy Balances 00
Energy Essentials 00
Energy Pathways and Principles 00
Insolation Input
Scattering
Refraction
Albedo and Reflection
Clouds, Aerosols, and the Atmosphere?s Albedo
Absorption
Conduction, Convection, and Advection

Energy Balance in the Troposphere 00
The Greenhouse Effect and Atmospheric Warming
Clouds and Earth?s ?Greenhouse?
Earth?Atmosphere Radiation Balance

Energy Balance at Earth?s Surface 00
Daily Radiation Patterns 00
Simplified Surface Energy Balance 00
Net Radiation
Sample Stations
The Urban Environment 00

Summary and Review 00

Focus Study 4.1: Solar Energy Collection and Concentration 00
News Report 4.1: Earthshine Studies?Possible Energy Budget Diagnostic


5 Global Temperatures 000
Temperature Concepts and Measurement 000
Temperature Scales 000
Measuring Temperature 000

Principal Temperature Controls 000
Latitude 000
Altitude 000
Cloud Cover 000
Land?Water Heating Differences 000
Evaporation
Transparency
Specific Heat
Movement
Ocean Currents and Sea-Surface Temperatures
Summary of Marine vs. Continental Effects

Earth?s Temperature Patterns 000
January Temperature Maps 000
July Temperature Maps 000
Annual Temperature Range Map 000
Record Temperatures Suggest a Greenhouse Warming

Summary and Review 000

High Latitude Connection 5.1: Overview of Trends in the Polar Regions 000
Focus Study 5.1: Air Temperature and the Human Body 000


6 Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulations
Wind Essentials 000
Air Pressure and Its Measurement 000
Wind: Description and Measurement 000
Global Winds 000

Driving Forces Within the Atmosphere 000
Pressure Gradient Force 000
Coriolis Force 000
Friction Force 000

Atmospheric Patterns of Motion 000
Primary High-Pressure and Low-Pressure Areas 000
Equatorial Low-Pressure Trough?ITCZ: Clouds and Rain
Subtropical High-Pressure Cells: Hot, Dry, Desert Air
Subpolar Low-Pressure Cells: Cool and Moist Air
Polar High-Pressure Cells: Frigid, Dry Deserts
Upper Atmospheric Circulation 000
Rossby Waves
Jet Streams
Multiyear Oscillations
North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)
Arctic Oscillation (AO)
Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)
Local Winds 000
Monsoonal Winds 000

Oceanic Currents 000
Surface Currents 000
Equatorial Currents
Upwelling and Downwelling Flows
Thermohaline Circulation?the Deep Currents 000

Summary and Review 000

News Report 6.1: Coriolis, a Forceful Effect on Drains? 000
News Report 6.2: Jet Streams Affect Flight Times 000
News Report 6.3: A Message in a Bottle and Rubber Duckies 000
Focus Study 6.1: Wind Power: An Energy Resource for the Present and Future 000


PART 2 ? The Water, Weather, and Climate Systems 000

7 Water and Atmospheric Moisture 000

Water on Earth 000
Worldwide Equilibrium 000
Distribution of Earth?s Water Today 000

Unique Properties of Water 000
Heat Properties 000
Ice, the Solid Phase
Water, the Liquid Phase
Water Vapor, the Gas Phase
Heat Properties of Water in Nature 000

Humidity 000
Relative Humidity 000
Saturation
Daily and Seasonal Relative Humidity Patterns
Expressions of Relative Humidity 000
Vapor Pressure
Specific Humidity
Instruments for Measuring Humidity

Atmospheric Stability 000
Adiabatic Processes 000
Dry Adiabatic Rate
Moist Adiabatic Rate
Stable and Unstable Atmospheric Conditions 000

Clouds and Fog 000
Cloud Formation Processes 000
Cloud Types and Identification 000
Fog 000
Advection Fog
Radiation Fog

Summary and Review 000

News Report 7-1: Breaking Roads and Pipes and Sinking Ships 000
News Report 7-2: Harvesting Fog 000


8 Weather

Weather Essentials 000

Air Masses 000
Air Masses Affecting North America 000
Air Mass Modification 000

Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms 000
Convergent Lifting 000
Convectional Lifting 000
Orographic Lifting 000
Frontal Lifting (Cold and Warm Fronts) 000
Cold Front
Warm Front

Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems 000
Life Cycle of a Midlatitude Cyclone 000
Cyclogenesis
Open Stage
Occluded Stage
Dissolving Stage
Storm Tracks
Analysis of Daily Weather Maps?Forecasting 000

Violent Weather 000
Thunderstorms 000
Atmospheric Turbulence
Lightning and Thunder
Hail
Derechos
Tornadoes 000
Tornado Measurement and Science
Recent Tornado Records
Tropical Cyclones 000
Hurricanes, Typhoons, Cyclones
Physical Strcuture
Hurricane Andrew?1992

Summary and Review 000

News Report 8-1: Mountains Set Precipitation Records 000
News Report 8.2: May 2003 Tornado Outbreak in Tornado Alley 000
Focus Study 8-1: Forecasting Atlantic Hurricanes 000
Career Link 8-1: Tracy Smith, Research Meteorologist 000


9 Water Resources 000
The Hydrologic Cycle 000
A Hydrologic Cycle Model 000
Surface Water 000

Soil-Water-Budget Concept 000
The Soil-Water Balance Equation 000
Precipitation (PRECIP) Input
Actual Evapotranspiration (ACTET)
Potential Evapotranspiration (POTET)
Determining POTET
Deficit (DEFIC)
Surplus (SURPL)
Soil Moisture Storage (( STRGE)
Drought 000
Sample Water Budgets 000
Water Budget and Water Resources 000

Groundwater Resources 000
Groundwater Profile and Movement 000
Aquifers, Wells, and Springs 000
Confined and Unconfined Aquifers
Wells, Springs, and Streamflows
Overuse of Groundwater 000
Overpumping
Collapsing Aquifers
Saltwater Encroachment
Pollution of Groundwater 000

Our Water Supply 000
Water Supply in the United States 000
Instream, Nonconsumptive, and Consumptive Uses 000
Desalination 000
Future Considerations 000

Summary and Review 000

News Report 9.1: Middle East Water Crisis: Running on Empty 000
News Report 9.2: Personal Water Use 000
Focus Study 9.1: Hurricane Camille, 1969: Water-Balance Analysis Points to
Moisture
Benefits 000
Focus Study 9.2: High Plains Aquifer Overdraft 000

10 Global Climate Systems 000
Earth?s Climate System and Its Classification 000
Climate Components: Insolation, Temperature, Pressure, Air Masses, and
Precipitation 000
Classification of Climatic Regions 000
Classification Categories
Global Climate Patterns

Tropical Climates (equatorial and tropical latitudes) 000
Tropical Rain Forest Climates 000
Tropical Monsoon Climates 000
Tropical Savanna Climates 000

Mesothermal Climates (midlatitudes, mild winters) 000
Humid Subtropical Climates 000
Marine West Coast Climates 000
Mediterranean Dry-Summer Climates 000

Microthermal Climates (mid- and high-latitudes, cold winters) 000
Humid Continental Hot-Summer Climates 000
Humid Continental Mild-Summer Climates 000
Subarctic Climates 000

Polar and Highland Climates 000
Tundra Climate 000
Ice Cap and Ice Sheet Climate 000
Polar Marine Climate

Arid and Semiarid Climates (permanent moisture deficits) 000
Desert Characteristics 000
Low-Latitude Hot Desert Climates 000
Midlatitude Cold Desert Climates 000
Low-Latitude Hot Steppe Climates 000
Midlatitude Cold Steppe Climates (BSk) 000

Global Climate Change 000
Global Warming 000
Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming
Methane and Global Warming
Other Greenhouse Gases
Climate Models and Future Temperatures 000
Consequences of Global Warming 000
Effects on World Food Supply and the Biosphere
Melting Glaciers and Ice Sheets
Changes in Sea Level
Political Action to Slow Global Warming 000
Mitigation Actions with ?No Regrets?

Summary and Review 000
News Report 10.1: What?s in a Boundary? 000
News Report 10.2: Coordinating Global Climate Change Research 000
News Report 10.3: The IPCC Process
High Latitude Connection 10.1: Climate Change in the Polar Regions
Focus Study 10.1: The El Niño Phenomenon?Record Intensity, Global Linkages000

Part 3 The Earth?Atmosphere Interface 000

11 The Dynamic Planet 000

The Pace of Change 000

Earth?s Structure and Internal Energy 000
Earth?s Core and Magnetism 000
Earth?s Mantle 000
Earth?s Lithosphere and Crust 000

The Geologic Cycle 000
The Rock Cycle 000
Minerals and Rocks 000
Igneous Processes 000
Intrusive and Extrusive Igneous Rocks
Classifying Igneous Rocks
Sedimentary Processes 000
Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Processes 000

Plate Tectonics 000
A Brief History 000
Sea-Floor Spreading and Production of New Crust 000
Subduction of the Lithosphere 000
The Formation and Breakup of Pangaea 000
Plate Boundaries 000
Earthquake and Volcanic Activity 000
Hot Spots 000

Summary and Review 000

High Latitude Connection 11.1: Isostatic Rebound in Alaska 000
News Report 11.1: Radioactivity: Earth?s Time Clock 000
News Report 11.2: Drilling the Crust to Record Depths 000
Focus Study 11.1: Heat from Earth?Geothermal Energy and Power

12 Tectonics, Earthquakes, and Volcanism 000

Earth?s Surface Relief Features 000
Crustal Orders of Relief 000
First Order of Relief
Second Order of Relief
Third Order of Relief
Hypsometry
Earth?s Topographic Regions 000

Crustal Formation Processes 000
Continental Shields 000
Building Continental Crust and Terranes 000

Crustal Deformation Processes 000
Folding and Broad Warping 000
Faulting 000
Normal Fault
Reverse (Thrust) Fault
Strike-Slip Fault
Faults in Concert

Orogenesis (Mountain Building) 000
Types of Orogenies 000
The Grand Tetons and the Sierra Nevada 000
The Appalachian Mountains 000
World Structural Regions 000

Earthquakes 000
Expected Quakes and Those of Deadly Surprise 000
Focus, Epicenter, Foreshock, and Aftershock 000
Earthquake Intensity and Magnitude 000
Moment Magnitude Scale Revises the Richter Scale
The Nature of Faulting 000

Earthquakes and the San Andreas Fault 000
Los Angeles Region 000
Earthquake Forecasting and Planning 000





Volcanism 000
Volcanic Features 000
Location and Types of Volcanic Activity 000
Effusive Eruptions 000
Explosive Eruptions 000
Volcano Forecasting and Planning 000

Summary and Review 000

News Report 12.1: Mount Everest at New Heights 000
News Report 12.2: A Tragedy in Kobe, Japan?the Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake 000
News Report 12.3: Seismic Gaps, Nervous Animals, Dilitancy, and Radon Gas 000
News Report 12.4: Is the Long Valley Caldera Next? 000
Focus Study 12.1: The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens 000
Career Link 12.1: Travis Heggie, Geographer/Park Ranger/Ph.D. Candidate
13 Weathering, Karst Landscapes, and Mass Movement 000
Landmass Denudation 000
Geomorphic Models of Landform Development 000
Dynamic Equilibrium View of Landforms 000
Slopes

Weathering Processes 000
Factors Influencing Weathering Processes 000
Physical Weathering Processes 000
Frost Action
Crystallization
Pressure-Release Jointing
Chemical Weathering Processes 000
Hydration and Hydrolysis
Oxidation
Carbonation and Solution

Karst Topography and Landscapes 000
Formation of Karst 000
Lands Covered with Sinkholes 000
Caves and Caverns 000

Mass Movement Processes 000
Mass Movement Mechanics 000
The Role of Slopes
Madison River Canyon Landslide
Classes of Mass Movements 000
Falls and Avalanches
Landslides
Flows
Creep
Human-Induced Mass Movements (Scarification) 000
Summary and Review 000
News Report 13.1: Amateurs Make Cave Discoveries 000
Focus Study 13.1: Vaiont Reservoir Landslide Disaster 000
Career Link: Gregory A. Pope, Geography Professor 000

14 River Systems and Landforms 000
Fluvial Processes and Landscapes 000
Base Level of Streams 000
Drainage Basins 000
Drainage Divides and Basins
Drainage Basins As Open Systems
Delaware River Basin
Internal Drainage
Drainage Density and Patterns 000
Common Drainage Patterns

Streamflow Characteristics 000
Exotic Streams 000
Stream Erosion 000
Stream Transport 000
Flow and Channel Characteristics 000
Stream Gradient 000
Nickpoints
Stream Gradient and Landscape Forms
Stream Deposition 000
Floodplains
Stream Terraces
River Deltas
Mississippi River Delta
Rivers Without Deltas

Floods and River Management 000
Rating Floodplain Risk 000
Streamflow Measurement 000
Hydrographs

Summary and Review 000
News Report 14.1: Scouring the Grand Canyon for New Beaches and Habitats 000
News Report 14.2: Rivers Make Poor Political Boundaries 000
News Report 14.3: The 1993 Midwest Floods 000
News Report 14.4: The Nile Delta Is Disappearing 000
News Report 14.5: What once was Bayou Lafourche?Analysis of a Photo.
Focus Study 14.1: Floodplain Strategies 000
Career Link: Julie Dian-Reed, Senior Service Hydrologist and Weather
Forecaster 000

15 Eolian Processes and Arid Landscapes 000
The Work of Wind 000
Eolian Erosion 000
Deflation
Abrasion
Eolian Transportation 000
Eolian Depositional Landforms 000
Loess Deposits 000
Overview of Desert Landscapes 000
Desert Climates 000
Desert Fluvial Processes 000
Desert Landscapes 000
Basin and Range Province 000
Desertification 000
Summary and Review 000
News Report 15-1: The Dust Bowl 000
Focus Study 15-1: The Colorado River: A System Out of Balance 000

16 The Oceans, Coastal Processes and Landforms 000
Global Oceans and Seas 000
Chemical Composition of Seawater 000
Ocean Chemistry
Average Salinity: 35?
Physical Structure of the Ocean 000

Coastal System Components 000
Inputs to the Coastal System 000
The Coastal Environment and Sea Level 000

Coastal System Actions 000
Tides 000
Causes of Tides
Spring and Neap Tides
Tidal Power
Waves 000
Wave Refraction
Tsunami, or Seismic Sea Wave

Coastal System Outputs 000
Erosional Coastal Processes and Landforms 000
Depositional Coastal Processes and Landforms 000
Beaches
Maintaining Beaches
Barrier Formations
Barrier Island Origin and Hazards
Biological Processes: Coral Formations 000
Coral Reefs
Coral Bleaching

Wetlands, Salt Marshes, and Mangrove Swamps 000
Coastal Wetlands
Marco Island

Human Impact on Coastal Environments 000

Summary and Review 000

High Latitude Connection 16.1: A Rebounding Shoreline and Coastal Features 000
News Report 16.1: Sea Level Variations and the Present MSL Increase 000
News Report 16.2: Engineers Nourish a Beach 000
Focus Study 16.1: An Environmental Approach to Shoreline Planning 000

17 Glacial and Periglacial Processes and Landforms
Rivers of Ice 000
Alpine Glaciers 000
Continental Glacier 000

Glacial Processes 000
Formation of Glacial Ice 000
Glacial Mass Balance 000
Glacial Movement 000
Glacial Surges
Glacial Erosion

Glacial Landforms 000
Erosional Landforms Created by Alpine Glaciation 000
Depositional Landforms Created by Alpine Glaciation 000
Glacial Drift
Moraines
Erosional and Depositional Landforms Created by Continental
Glaciation 000

Periglacial Landscapes 000
Geography of Permafrost 000
Continuous and Discontinuous Zones
Behavior of Permafrost
Ground Ice and Frozen Ground Phenomena 000
Frost Action Processes
Frost Action Landforms
Hillslope Processes: Gelifluction and Solifluction
Thermokarst Landscapes
Humans and Periglacial Landscapes 000

The Pleistocene Ice Age Epoch 000
Changes in the Landscape 000
Lowered Sea Levels and Temperatures 000
Paleolakes 000

Deciphering Past Climates: Paleoclimatology 000
Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age 000
Mechanisms of Climate Fluctuation 000
Climate and Celestial Relations
Climate and Solar Variability
Climate and Tectonics
Climate and Atmospheric Factors
Climate and Oceanic Circulation

Arctic and Antarctic Regions 000
Changes are Underway in the Polar Regions

Summary and Review 000

News Report 17.1: South Cascade and Alaskan Glaciers Lose Mass 000
News Report 17.2: An Arctic Ice Sheet? 000
News Report 17.3: Increase in Meltponds?Changing Surface Energy Budgets
Focus Study 17.1: GRIP, GISP-2, and Dome C: Boring Ice for Exciting History 000
High Latitude Connection 17.1: Climate Change Impacts Arctic Ice Shelf
Career Link 17-1: Karl Birkeland, Avalanche Scientist, Forest Service National
Avalanche Center 000
Part 4 Soils, Ecosystems, and Biomes 000

18 The Geography of Soils 000

Soil Characteristics 000
Soil Profiles 000
Soil Horizons 000

Soil Properties 000
Soil Color 000
Soil Texture 000
Soil Structure 000
Soil Consistence 000
Soil Porosity 000
Soil Moisture 000
Soil Chemistry 000
Soil Acidity and Alkalinity 000

Soil Formation Factors and Management 000
Natural Factors 000
The Human Factor 000

Soil Classification 000
Soil Taxonomy 000
Pedogenic Regimes
Diagnostic Soil Horizons 000
The 12 Soil Orders of the Soil Taxonomy 000
Oxisols
Aridisols
Mollisols
Alfisols
Ultisols
Spodosols
Entisols
Inceptisols
Gelisols
Andisols
Vertisols
Histosols

Summary and Review 000

News Report 18-1: Soil Is Slipping Through Our Fingers 000
News Report 18-2: Drainage Tiles, But Where to Go? 000
Focus Study 18-1: Selenium Concentration in Western Soils 000

19 Ecosystem Essentials 000

Ecosystem Components and Cycles 000
Communities 000
Plants: The Essential Biotic Component 000
Photosynthesis and Respiration 000
Net Primary Productivity
Abiotic Ecosystem Components 000
Light, Temperature, Water, and Climate
Life Zones
Other Factors
Elemental Cycles 000
Oxygen and Carbon Cycles
Nitrogen Cycle
Limiting Factors 000

Biotic Ecosystem Operations 000
Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers 000
Examples of Complex Food Webs 000
Efficiency in a Food Web 000
Ecological Relations 000
Concentration of Pollution in Food Chains 000

Ecosystems, Evolution, and Succession 000
Biological Evolution Delivers Biodiversity
Ecosystem Stability and Diversity 000
Agricultural Ecosystems
Climate Change
Ecological Succession 000
Terrestrial Succession 000
Succession Through the Ice Age
Wildfire and Fire Ecology
Aquatic Succession 000

Summary and Review 000

News Report 19.1: Earth?s Magnetic Field?An Abiotic Factor 000
News Report 19.2: The Dead Zone 000
News Report 19.3: Chinstrap Penguins and Their Short, Busy Summer.
News Report 19.4: Experimental Prairies Confirm the Importance of
Biodiversity 000
Focus Study 19.1: The Great Lakes 000

20 Terrestrial Biomes
Biogeographic Realms 000
Transition Zones 000
Terrestrial Ecosystems 000

Earth?s Major Terrestrial Biomes 000
Equatorial and Tropical Rain Forest 000
Deforestation of the Tropics 000
Tropical Seasonal Forest and Scrub 000
Tropical Savanna 000
Midlatitude Broadleaf and Mixed Forest 000
Needleleaf Forest and Montane Forest 000
Temperate Rain Forest 000
Mediterranean Shrubland 000
Midlatitude Grasslands 000
Deserts 000
Arctic and Alpine Tundra 000

Includes index