...Deserts, Glaciers, and Climate: Landscapes and Changes Deserts, Glaciers, and Climate: Landscapes and Changes It is no great mystery that the Earth is always changing. Talk of global warming is inescapable, making it a moral imperative to become educated about the Earth’s climate cycles and watch for changes and signs in Earth’s diverse landscapes. The following is a brief sketch of desert and glacial landscapes, as well as a look at historical and future climate changes. Deserts VS Glacial Landscapes Desert and glacial landscapes are very much on opposite sides of the landscape spectrum; however in terms of adjective depiction they are related: “abstract, beautiful, immense, remote ... and vulnerable” (Murck, Skinner, & Mackenzie, 2008, p. 376). Deserts The desert landscapes are primarily fashioned by wind and sand, however they are truly defined by the region’s annual rainfall. The landscapes in the desert are full of sand, alluvial fans, playas, oases, arroyos as well as deposits of salt. Eolian, better known as wind erosion, is the type of erosion seen in the desert. Desert is constantly altered and changing based on the direction of the wind. A highly noticeable example of a changing geological feature in a desert landscape would be the dunes. Dunes are hills or ridges of sand that are produced when the wind blows. These mounds of sand are irregular, yet they come in five common types, barchan, transverse, star...
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...no such thing as life. We can’t survive without water, and this is the specific way we are able to understand how water moves in the world. The hydrologic cycle is the process that transports water between the sky, land and oceans all driven by the sun’s energy. The purpose of this paper is to explain the cycle, and relate it to the particular region of my residence in Colorado, but also provide an insight to how it differs from something such as a desert landscape. Having the benefit of being exposed to many different climates through out my short adventures, it’s fascinating to see the effect of the water cycle in multiple regions. Hydrologic Cycle To better understand the water cycle, we need to look at the reservoirs where the water is stored. These can come in many different forms such as oceans, glaciers, icecaps as well as the atmosphere. When talking about the water, it is crucial to remember we are talking about the chemical substance H2O, which include liquid, solid, and gaseous form (NESTA, 2008). The climate changes produce many different variations in the hydrologic cycle, and the different routes the water takes between these reservoirs as mentioned are called the pathways or flows. The main ways of travel between the various types of reservoirs are evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and surface and underground flow (Egger, 2003). These more specific pathways or flows are evaporation, precipitation and snowmelt runoff. The evaporation transports...
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...continental crust causing the creation of a volcano on land. (Andean Type) * India collided with Asia because the lithosphere was subducting beneath Asia bringing the two closer together * These two had the same density when they collided; India was stronger so it remained intact and subducted below Asia as Asia started to rise. (Alpine-type [Himalayas]). Mass, Wasted by Gravity 3) How would you classify mass wasting by gravity? * Type of motion (flow, slide, fall), rate of motion (fast, slow), and type of moving material. **(REFER TO SLIDES)** Flowing Water * The Earth The Earth Distribution of water * Oceans (96.5%) * Freshwater (2.5%) * Groundwater (30.1%) * Glaciers and Ice Sheets (68.6%) * Lakes (20.1%)...
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...[pic] Course Syllabus GLG/101 Geology with Lab Please print a copy of this syllabus for handy reference. Whenever there is a question about what assignments are due, please remember this syllabus is considered the ruling document. Copyright Copyright ©2009 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. University of Phoenix© is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft©, Windows©, and Windows NT© are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix© editorial standards and practices. Facilitator Information Michael Gutierrez gofiguretravel@email.phoenix.edu (University of Phoenix) gofiguretravel@q.com (Personal) 602-301-2633 (mountain) Facilitator Availability I am available from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Mountain Time on most days, but I attempt to reserve Saturday for my family. On Sundays, I tend to be online in the late evening only. If these times are not convenient for you,...
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...Earthquakes I Earth’s composition Earth is a dense, stratified planet with many layers: core (inner and outer), mantle and crust Inner core: most dense material, solid iron and nickel Outer core: second most dense, liquid, iron and nickel Mantle: composed of oxygen, silicon, magnesium, aluminum Crust: composed of sodium and potassium rich silicate rocks Upper 100-350 km of upper mantle makes up asthenosphere: fluid layer due to heating from core Plate tectonics Earth’s uppermost layer, the lithosphere, broken up into 7 plates due to movement of asthenosphere underneath Plate tectonics- name for dynamic interactions of these plates Plate boundaries 3 types: divergent, covergent, and transform Divergent boundaries: tension from deep earth pulls two plates away from each other, allowing lava to upwell through the cracks and create new seafloor Covergent boundaries: two plates coming together as stress pushes plates toward each other- one plate forced under another in a subduction zone Transform boundaries: two plates slide past each other horizontally-frequent cause of destructive forces like earthquakes The nature of earthquakes Cause = abrupt movements on faults Fractures in earths lithosphere Normal fault- block above the fault has moved downward relative to the black below Reverse fault- upper block, above the fault plane, moves up and over the lower block (aka thrust fault) Right lateral strike slip fault- two blocks slide past one another Earths crustal...
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...Assignment: Climate Change Proposal SCI/245 Axia College University of Phoenix June 17, 2012 Will Romine Assignment: Climate Change Proposal June 17, 2012 Dear Senator Lugar, I know you are a very busy man and I also understand that this is your last year as a senator for this wonderful state of Indiana. Therefore I believe that it is you that can help make a change in the senate. You would be speaking for everyone around the world who will be affected by global climate change. I do not pretend to be an environmentalist but I do know that global warming is real. The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is very likely human-induced and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented in the past 1,300 years. In recent years there have been more and more devastating storms, many of magnitudes not seen in many areas. The climate is changing and we need to do what we can now to either slow that change down or stop it altogether. Glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. The Himalayas are sometimes called the world's "third pole" because they are covered with thousands of glaciers. Water from those glaciers helps feed some of the world's most important rivers, including the Ganges and the Indus. As those glaciers melt, they will contribute to rising sea levels. Nepal alone has more than 2,300 glacial lakes, and experts say at least 20 are in danger of bursting. Glaciers are not the only thing in danger of melting, if the ice cap of Greenland...
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...that it doesn't have a particular "thing" it studies. Botanists study plants, while geologists are interested in rocks. Geography is defined by its approach or methodology. Geographers describe their discipline as a spatial science. By "space" we aren't talking about celestial space. Geographers are concerned with answering questions about how and why phenomena vary across the surface of the Earth. For instance, geographers investigate patterns of vegetation as they relate to distributions of climate, soils, and topography. Geographers recognize the dynamic nature of Earth's physical systems. The physical geography of Earth changes in response to variations in weather and climate, the shifting of continents, and and the sculpting of coastlines by wave action. By recognizing the Earth system is dynamic, geographers take time into consideration when looking at the spatial patterns of Earth phenomena. Therefore, geographers are playing important roles in understanding the effects of climate change on earth systems. The role of geographers in assessing patterns of environmental change is a theme that reoccurs throughout this book. Figure 1.1 Folded Appalachian Mountains Linear folds of the Appalachian Mountains can be easily seen in this satellite image. (Source: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team) Geographers study both the form and processes acting at the surface of the earth, the principal domain of geographic study. Examine the landscape of the Appalachian mountain range in North America...
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...Climate change From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For current and future climatological effects of human influences, see global warming. For the study of past climate change, see paleoclimatology. For temperatures on the longest time scales, see geologic temperature record. [pic] |Atmospheric sciences | |[pic] | |Aerology | |Atmospheric physics | |Atmospheric dynamics (category) | |Atmospheric chemistry (category) | |Meteorology | |Weather (category) · (portal) | |Tropical cyclone (category) | |Climatology | |Climate (category) | |Climate change (category) | |Global warming (category) · (portal) | |v · d · e | Climate change is a long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average (e.g., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region or may occur across the whole Earth. |Contents ...
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...Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions, or in the distribution of weather around the average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent climate change, often referred to as "global warming". Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and theoretical models. A climate record — extending deep into the Earth's past — has been assembled, and continues to be built up, based on geological evidence from borehole temperature profiles, cores removed from deep accumulations of ice, floral and faunal records, glacial and periglacial processes, stable-isotope and other analyses of sediment layers, and records of past sea levels. More recent data are provided by the instrumental record. General circulation models, based on the physical sciences, are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data, make future projections, and link causes and effects in climate change. Terminology The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods...
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...Vojta Rousar Mrs. Rothstein Comp/Lit 11 (2) 13 October 2009 Global Warming The Earth's climate is constantly changing over time. Many climatologists believe that the temperature of the Earth slowly fluctuates over time. In fact, several scientists estimate that between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago the Earth was covered by large sheets of ice. This period of time was known as the Ice Age. As the temperature of the Earth began to rise 7,000 years ago, the Ice Age came to an end. The first theory of global warming came in 1824 when French mathematician Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier discovered that the Earth's temperature was slowly increasing. Fourier argued that the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation and reflects it back toward the earth. In the late 19th century Fourier's theory was labeled the "greenhouse effect" when Nobel Laureate Svante Arrhenius coined the term to explain how carbon dioxide traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere. Today, scientists disagree on the effects of global warming while some deny the phenomena all together. Despite these arguments many historians point out the direct relationship between man and the environment, often referencing the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s, where large scale soil erosion reduced parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to arid deserts. Currently, many governments and corporations are working to reduce fuel emissions and produce "Earth friendly" products such as hybrid cars. Yet, many scientists...
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...of the continent averages 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) thick. West Antarctica, on the other hand, is a series of frozen islands stretching toward the southern tip of South America, an extension of the Andes Mountains prominent on the warmer continent. The two regions are separated by the Transantarctic Mountains, a range that stretches across the entire continent, although sometimes covered by ice. The ice of Antarctica is not a smooth sheet but a continuously changing expanse. Glaciers inch across the continent, cracking and breaking the ice. Crevasse fields with cracks hundreds of feet deep span the continent, hidden by only a shallow layer of snow. Icebergs fall along the coast, where shelves and glaciers break off into the sea. Despite its thick ice, Antarctica is classified as a desert because so little moisture falls from the sky. The inner regions of the continent receive an average of 2 inches (50 millimeters) of precipitation—primarily in the form of snow—each year. More rain falls in the Sahara desert. The coastal regions receive more falling moisture, but still only average 8 inches (200 mm) annually. Unlike most...
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...Chile is located in South America, bounded on the east by the Andes, the world's longest mountain range, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Peru borders Chile on the North; Bolivia forms the northeast border. Chile’s size is roughly similar to Turkey, considering only the continental territory. Chile includes three geographical zones. The first is so-called continental zone, which includes territory from the west coast to the high mountains in the east. Chile’s continental zone is a long and thin strip of 4,270 kilometers-length and 445 kilometers-width at its widest point. As the Nobel-Prize poet, Gabriela Mistral, lyrically pointed out, Chile “comes to seem like a beach between the mountains and the sea, a parenthesis whimsically set between...
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...warming. Over the last few decades climate change have lead scientist to develop a theories that human beings are the major contributors to the global warming crisis. Many theories suggest that different types of issues contribute to the warming of the planet but the mitigation strategies to slow this process down vary as well. When speaking of this topic there are two basic types of climate change, natural and anthropogenic. Main contributor in the climate change or global warming can be referred to as greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are derived from water vapor, Methane, Chlorofluorocarbons, and Carbon dioxide. Anthropogenic theory state that the development and consumption of fossil fuels for human life has generated and released a large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. According to this theory the excess carbon dioxide is the main cause of climate change around the world. This process prevents heat from earth to escape naturally into space and hence cool the earth. The theory known as the natural theory states that the earth is going through one of the many peaks and valleys of changes. This of course being a peak of warm temperatures, in the span of the earth’s life, could last for many years until the peak ends. Basically the natural climate change theory attempts to analyze questions such as “to what extent is the warming? Has this phenomena happened before? Could the excess in greenhouse gases simply be a symptom of climate change?” (Dr. Clarinn 2013). While...
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...Urbana area. * Sangamon River CHAPTER 6, 11, 12, 14 * Flood probability is constant over time while risk of future eq is very low right after major eq and then will increase slowly as pressure builds CLIMATE CHANGE Climate- Long term average of daily weather conditions. Extremes * Early Earth = Very Warm * End of Paleozoic = Very Cold * End of Mesozoic = Very Cold * End of Ceonzoic = climate oscillations from very cold to very ward Importance of Studying Climate Change A.) Effect on sea level- * If current glaciers were to melt, that water would drain into oceans and cause sea levels to rise (result in flooding) Alternatively if glaciers were to become much larger, water from oceans gets transferred to ice on leand and reduces sea level B.) Large Change in Climate- * If significant global warming occurs, some areas will become much drier (others wetter) causing deserts and also possibly worse severe weather and greater disease. If glaciers advance over large areas, it will force some people to migrate C.) Glaciers’ effect on landscapes/floods- * formed great lakes, flattens landscapes in other areas, rich soil of Midwest due to deposition of glacial debris. Can cause catastrophic floods. D.) Predict Future Climate- * Understand geologic past to help predict future (Inverse uniformitarianism) * Gas by abundance * Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Others * All objects emit e-m radiation, nature...
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...is depleting our ozone, causing severe hurricanes, major flooding, and intensifying desertification, meaning “reduction or destruction of the biological potential of the earth which can create the conditions analogous to a natural desert" (Desertification and Hazard Assessment, 2010). Although human activity is commonly blamed for the problem, there is some debate among experts regarding the severity of global warming, and whether the cause is a natural phenomenon or in fact a result of mankind’s environmental negligence. A. Impetus discussion: 1. Global warming is fiction: Although it is agreed that an increase of Co2 levels are causing a green house effect, according to Brown, there is no consensus among scientists to explain the true cause of global warming (2010). Some scientists believe the warming temperatures and rising sea levels is a natural event which has been going on since the last Ice Age. Their position is there is no proof that the issue is directly related to human actions, and that sea levels have risen and fallen at various degrees over the last 10,000 years. They claim there is too much hype regarding the immediate danger if we don’t act quickly to change it. They feel that as naturally as climate changes occur, and sea...
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