1. The Science of Geography... What and Why And who cares?

2. How big is the Universe? Hubble Deep Field View  http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/relea ses/2004/07/image/a http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/relea ses/2004/07/image/a http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/relea ses/2004/07/image/a  The Hubble Telescope was pointed at a ‘dark’ part of the sky  Located in the constellation Fornax, the region is so empty that only a handful of stars within the Milky Way galaxy can be seen in the image.  http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof 10/ http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof 10/ http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof 10/

5. The Great galaxy in Andromeda… a spiral galaxy similar to our own

6. Our sun is but one single middle sized and middle aged star hanging out along the edge of an average sized galaxy

7. Our Sun, the source of life on Earth is but one of millions…. X-ray image from Dec. 2002

9. Our Earth is planet # 3 in a system of Nine Planets

10. Comparative orbits of the local solar system. Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is a broad band of material, the asteroid belt.

11. Images of the ‘inner’ planets… relative sizes are shown. The image of Venus is from a RADAR mapping mission as the Venusian surface cannot be seen through the thick atmosphere.

12. Comparatively, we are dealing with a very small part of a very big system…..

13. The atmosphere behaves like a fluid, with currents and eddies. Weather is a product of these atmospheric movements.

14. The Atmosphere of the Earth is only about 20 miles thick. Were the Planet the size of a peach the lower atmosphere (3 miles) would be thinner than the ‘fuzz’ of that peach. The Earth's atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with traces of argon, carbon dioxide and water.

16. The lower atmosphere is where life is possible and where weather occurs.

18. Hydrosphere: 71 Percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water. Earth is the only planet on which water can exist in liquid form on the surface.

20. At ‘diverging’ margins… new crust is being created. At converging margins the crust is re- melted. The continents ‘float’ like chocolate chips on the tectonic ‘cookie’

21. The Biosphere consists of all living organisms on Earth. Animals exist in very close relationship with plant communities

22. Vegetation of the conterminous United States as shown in a false color infra-red (healthy vegetation is shown in shades of red) AVHRR composite.

24. So here we have our Earth, fundamentally the only planet we have explored… GEOGRAPHY Is the science of describing this planet… literally, “Writing about Earth”

25. Geography   From the Greek Language   “geo” = Earth   “graphia” = description or depiction   Eratosthenes, a 3rd century B.C. Greek Scholar and chief librarian at the famous Library of Alexandria was perhaps the first person to use the term “Geography.”

26. What is Geography?  “ A science that deals with the natural features of the earth and the climate, products and inhabitants.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, 1997. 318

27. DEFINITIONS The world and all that is in it. Spatial perspective on people, places and environment. Geography is a social science that focuses on the spatial distribution of human and physical phenomena. The science and art of understanding the spatial relations among people, place, and environment. Geography is the study of pattern and processes associated with the Earth. The focus of the geographer is on spatial patterns and how phenomena that share common space interact spatially.

28. DEFINITIONS contd. The world and all that is in it. Spatial perspective on people, places and environment. Geography is a social science that focuses on the spatial distribution of human and physical phenomena. The science and art of understanding the spatial relations among people, place, and environment. Geography is the study of pattern and processes associated with the Earth. The focus of the geographer is on spatial patterns and how phenomena that share common space interact spatially.

29. Earth System Science (ESS) ...” The Earth system science concept pioneered by NASA has changed the way our research is conducted, transitioning from a compartmentalized to interconnected view of Earth..... aims to acquire a deeper scientific understanding of the major components of the Earth system, their interactions, and the consequences of changes for life on Earth....”  (insert crude word here) ESS is the recognition by NASA (and others) that deconstruction of the world into little parts doesn’t always work and they need a GEOGRAPHIC perspective!

30. DEFINITION Geography is the study of people, places and environments. But more than that, it is a way of looking at the world and asking why it works ( or doesn’t work ) and the way it does work. It is more than where, but why there. It is looking at issues from a spatial perspective and inquiring about them.

31. Why What is Where? and Who Cares? An alternative definition of ‘geography’ developed by Dr.s McKnight and Strong during a snowball fight along the empty streets of Washington DC.

34. Climatology  The difference between meteorology and climatology....  Time.....  Weather (Meteorology) is the study of the state of the atmosphere ant a given time and place.  Climate (Climatology) is based on accumulated observations over time.

35. The News….  Heat Wave Continues; Deaths Rise to 50  By DUNCAN MANSFIELD  The Associated Press Wednesday, August 22, 2007; 7:35 PM  Over 1,000 Displaced by Midwest Flooding Thursday August 23, 2007 2:16 PM  By JOHN SEEWER  Associated Press Writer  Dean raises flood fears in Mexico  The remnants of Hurricane Dean have brought torrential rain to Mexico, raising fears of floods and mudslides.  Reuters 23 August 2007  Drought declared a disaster by the U.S.  BBC News 23 August 2007  Extreme heat has contributed to 'exceptional' drought Lake levels have dropped sharply, stream flows are reaching record lows  MIKE MORRIS The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 08/23/07

38. http://www.atmos. uiuc.edu/~jewett/s at_mgm.html

39. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=slc

40. “ Climate is the sum of all statistical weather information that helps describe a place or region”

41. http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/extremes/2000/december/extremes1200.html

42. Global climatic zones....

43. “ Statistics: the basis for understanding climate.

44. Decade by decade change...  Average height for a Man was 5-foot-8 in 1960 and 5-9½ in 2002  average height for women increased from slightly over 5-3 in 1960 to 5-4 in 2002.  The average weight for men rose from 166.3 pounds in 1960 to 191 pounds in 2002.  Women went from 140.2 pounds in 1960 to 164.3 pounds in 2002.  http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/041027 _america_size.html http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/041027 _america_size.html http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/041027 _america_size.html

45. Changing climate?  Does the climate ‘change’ based on which time window you use to collect data?  The statistical ‘tails’.... Variations and extremes are part of the data set.

47. Cycles in Climate?  Obviously, there is variation in weather day to day minute to minute....  The seasons are one cycle caused by orbital parameters of the earth-sun system  Are there other cycles?  Long term cycles (ice ages)  Meso-scale cycles (ENSO)

49. ENSO El Nino.... http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/el nino/impacts.html#part5b

51. The “Great American Desert” Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains: performed in the years 1819 and '20 Stephen H. Long

52. “...faulty characterization...”?  The [map], based on Long's own explorations and earlier surveys, corrected many geographical errors made by previous expeditions. Boldly blazoned, however, on the southern plains is Long's faulty characterization," Great American Desert."  http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/lewisandclark/lewis-after.html http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/lewisandclark/lewis-after.html

53. The ‘dust bowl’?

55. Climate and Agriculture

56. ‘Extreme’ weather events....  Normal, but worthy of special study....tornadoes, blizzards, heat waves, cyclones etc....

57. Tropical Storms.... More of them ? Katrina

58. A Changing climate?

59. What happened to the Anasazi and Freemont peoples?

63. Sunspot Cycles…