![Systems Science
► What is a “system”?
A system is “a set of things, structures,
processes, [or] activities…[that are] associated
and interconnected, forming and functioning as
a complex whole through a regular set of
relations….”
--Audrey N. Clark’s Dictionary of Geography
43](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/pglecture01-whatisgeography-120824132825-phpapp01/75/GEOG100-Lecture-01-What-is-Geography-42-2048.jpg)
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GEOG100--Lecture 01--What is Geography?
This document introduces physical geography and some of its key concepts. It begins with an overview of what geography is, including its Greek roots and some of the earliest geographers. It then discusses the five fundamental concepts of geography - location, place, movement, human-environment interactions, and regions. The document outlines the main subfields of physical geography, human geography, and geomatics. It introduces concepts of systems science, including open and closed systems, feedback, equilibrium, and Earth's four spheres of atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
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GEOG100--Lecture 01--What is Geography?
- 1. Welcome to Physical Geography With Angela (Skinner) Orr Lecture #1 1
- 2. What is Geography? Youmight have thought, before taking this course, that Geography is all about:
- 3. What is Geography? Youmight have thought, before taking this course, that Geography is all about: ► Maps
- 4. What is Geography? ►Where things are in the world
- 5. What is Geography? ►The study of Earth
- 6. What is Geography? ►Earth’s landforms
- 7. What is Geography? ► How humans and the environment interact with one another
- 8. What is Geography? ►(What else?)
- 9. What is Geography? Ifyou thought geography was about any of these, you are correct. Geography is about all of these things… …AND MORE!!!
- 10. The most important questionin Geography is: Why is it there?
- 11. Where did “Geography”come from? Geo- comes from Greek “ge” = “Earth” geoid geology geometry -graphy comes from Greek “graphe” = “writing” or “description” (Does it remind you of “graph”?)
- 12. Who were thefirst geographers? The Greeks were not the first to “do” Geography… Mesopotamian land ownership map on a clay tablet
- 13. Who were thefirst geographers? Egyptian gold mine map on papyrus
- 14. Who were thefirst geographers? ► The Greeks codified it, broadened it, deepened it, named it, lived it ► These were the first geographers in the Western tradition, and their ideas have been handed down over thousands of years ► The real reason we follow in the Greeks’ footsteps? The ideas contained in their works survived and were translated into other languages
- 15. A Brief Historyof the Early Development of Geography ► Western Geography—Greece and Rome Development of geometric principles Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Strabo and Ptolemy
- 16. Asian Geography ► Academicknowledge was highly-prized ► Japan, Korea, and China all were engaging in extensive trade long before European explorers
- 17. China ► Expansion ofthe Chinese empire Needed to know what was IN that empire (resources, cultures, wealth, areas of potential political threats or alliances, etc.) ► Chinese geographers created extensive maps, wrote detailed descriptions of culture groups and physical environments
- 18. Muslim Geographers ► One of the tenants (the 8 “pillars”) of Islam is that every able-bodied Muslim must make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca (in what is, today, Saudi Arabia) at least once in a lifetime ► Pilgrimages to Mecca offered opportunities for observation and description, from Africa to Spain to India and throughout Southwest Asia ► As these pilgrims traveled, they wrote about what they saw and experienced, and mapped out land and seas
- 19. Immanuel Kant—18th Centuryphilosopher ► Order out of chaos He proposed three Categories of Academic Disciplines…
- 20. Immanuel Kant—18th Centuryphilosopher ►Categories of Academic Disciplines: 1. Systematic Sciences—orderly, methodical, subject matter is easily classified (Physics, Geology, Botany, Zoology, etc.) 2. Temporal Sciences—the dimension of time (History, Archaeology, Paleontology) 3. Spatial Sciences—the dimension of space (Geography, Geophysics*, Astronomy) The map is a geographer’s primary spatial tool
- 21. The Fundamentals ► Every study of Geography incorporates one or more of the following 5 Fundamental Concepts in Geography: 1. Location 2. Place 3. Movement 4. Human-Environment Interactions 5. Region
- 22. The 5 FundamentalSpatial Concepts of Geography ► 1. Location—study of where something is found in Earth space
- 23. The 5 FundamentalSpatial Concepts of Geography ► 2. Place—study of the site and situation characteristics of a particular portion of space
- 24. The 5 FundamentalSpatial Concepts of Geography ► 2. Place—study of the site and situation characteristics of a particular portion of space “Sense of Place” is an important geographical concept
- 29. sense of place anartist’s interpretation
- 30. JIMMY BUFFETT “MARGARITAVILLE” GLADIATOR ? THE PERFECT VACATION Sense of Place some “imaginary” places
- 31. The 5 FundamentalSpatial Concepts of Geography ► 3. Movement—study of the circulation of objects, people, and ideas, and their distribution (spatial patterning) on Earth’s surface
- 32. The 5 FundamentalSpatial Concepts of Geography ► 4. Human-Earth Interactions—study of how humans perceive, use, and alter the planet, and how the environment affects and changes humans, in return 32
- 33. The 5 FundamentalSpatial Concepts of Geography ►5. Region— study of an area on Earth’s surface that exhibits some form of spatial cohesion reflected by a homogeneity of specific features or functional linkages to a central node (WHAAAA???)
- 34. Functional linkages toa central node Homogeneity of specific features
- 35. Geography is holistic ►Interested in interrelationships ► Informed by many other sciences Geography is actually the Mother of many other fields of science ► Test your professor: Name a field which cannot in some way be studied by a geographer
- 36. AAG Specializations ► AAG:Association of American Geographers' M http://www.aag.org/cs/membership/specialty_g roups
- 37. The Subdivisions ofGeography ► Geography can be divided into any number of subfields. The main divisions are: Physical Geography ►Biogeography is sometimes considered a part of physical geography Human Geography Geomatics (Technical Geography)
- 38. Physical Geography ► Physicalgeography is the study of Earth’s natural systems, their spatial distributions, and interactions. It is the study of the natural and human-induced processes that shape the surface of our planet. Subfields include geomorphology, climatology, hydrogeography, etc. Maintains connections with other physical sciences
- 39. Biogeography ► The studyof the spatial distribution of plants and animals. Subfields include phytogeography, zoogeography, pedology (cross-over with physical geography), etc. Often considered a subfield of Physical Geography
- 40. Human Geography ► Thestudy of how people use the land, how they perceive it and relate to it; the spatial variations between human groups Subfields include: cultural geography, economic geography, urban geography, political geography, ethnic geography, geodemography, religious geography, geolinguistics, proxemics, etc. Maintains connections with all other social sciences
- 41. Geomatics/Technical Geography ► Allof the technical specialties within the field which assist geographic studies. Cartography (GIS) Remote sensing Statistical studies Maintains connections with information technologies, mathematics, computer sciences, etc.
- 42. Systems Science ► Whatis a “system”? A system is “a set of things, structures, processes, [or] activities…[that are] associated and interconnected, forming and functioning as a complex whole through a regular set of relations….” --Audrey N. Clark’s Dictionary of Geography 43
- 43.
- 44. Systems Science ► Flowsystem—matter and/or energy moving around Open system—has inputs and outputs Closed system (also called a cycle)—constantly transforming and reusing what’s already there; nothing ever leaves 45
- 45. Systems Science ► Feedback Positive feedback ►When the result of a process causes conditions which strengthen that process and increasingly amplify its results Feedback from an amplifier Arctic ice melting Negative feedback ►When the result of a process causes conditions which weaken the process and reduce its effects An air conditioning system More water in Earth’s atmosphere creating more clouds that reflect and scatter sunlight 46
- 46. Systems Science ► Timecycles--systems operate on all different scales, including time scales, large and small 47
- 47. Systems Science ► Earth’ssystems are always attempting to achieve equilibrium, in which exchanges of matter and/or energy are equal, in and out ► Equilibrium is difficult to attain and even more difficult to maintain over long time cycles 48
- 48. Systems Science ► Sometimesa series of slight changes might result in a larger change that pushes the system over a threshold, a point at which the same state can no longer be maintained 49
- 49. Earth’s 4 Spheres Atmosphere Biosphere Lithosphere Hydrosphere 50
- 50. Atmosphere 51
- 51. Lithosphere 52
- 52. Hydrosphere 53
- 53. The Lone Cypress PebbleBeach, CA Biosphere 54
- 54. Congratulations! You just finishedLesson #1…. Are you ready for some review questions to test how well you’ve understood everything we’ve covered so far? 55
- 55. Quick Review 1. What is the most important question in Geography? 2. Who were the first geographers in the Western tradition? Was theirs the only culture to produce good geographic studies? 3. Which of the Categories of Academic Disciplines does Geography fit into? 4. Name the 5 fundamental spatial concepts of geography. What one word or phrase defines each of these? 56
- 56. Quick Review 5. What does it mean when we describe Geography as being holistic? 6. What is a system? 7. What is the difference between an open system and a closed system? 8. What is the difference between positive feedback and negative feedback? 9. Name Earth’s four “spheres”. 57
- 57.
- 58. Homework Buy athree-ring binder and a notebook just for this class (preferably one with tear-out pages and binder holes) Read Chapter 1 and work on the Chapter 1 Study Guide Find a cool, geography-related video online; post the name of the video and the link on the class blog, in the Comments Buy an atlas
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- #62 Every artist sees a landscape in a different way. Each brings to the canvas a sense of the place they are trying to interpret.\n
- #63 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #64 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #65 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #66 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #67 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #68 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #69 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #70 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #71 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
- #72 -Filmmakers must also understand sense of place--every film has a setting, right? I like to think of film as VISUAL GEOGRAPHY.\n-Even musicians can give you a sense of a place. Where is “Margaritaville”?\n-In creating ads, advertising agencies play on your sense of place to build an image, a feeling.\nOften these places are “imaginary”--based on real places, but not actually “real” at all.\n
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