INTRODUCTORY PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. This is NOT a class about remembering the names, locations, or measures of physical features and natural phenomena around.

INTRODUCTORY PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY


This is NOT a class about remembering the names, locations, or measures of physical

features and natural phenomena around the world. Instead you will learn the physical

explanation for their presence, location and magnitude through the application of simple

laws of physical science. This will create a knowledge base which you can apply to a variety

of future and past scenarios, as well as build upon to better understand issues facing our

global physical environment.


Course Objectives.

1. To understand the nature of solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth, and its temporal and global variability.


Course Objectives.

2. To understand the nature and origin of energy arriving at the surface of the Earth from within the planet, the mechanisms of this energy transfer, and their geographic distribution.


Course Objectives.

3. To understand how the interactions of oceans, continents and atmosphere transfer energy from places experiencing excess energy to those of deficit energy, and how this gives rise to the typical climate of a location.


Course Objectives.

4. To understand why energy from within the Earth arrives at specific, restricted geographic locations, and how these patterns give rise to the macro-scale geography of our planet.


Course Objectives.

5. To understand the processes by which the competing forces driven by energy derived from the climate system and those from within the Earth interact to produce typical landscapes.


Course Objectives.

6. To indicate the ways in which all of the above impinge upon human behavior, our interaction with our environment, and in turn, how our behavior may impact our environment.


Course Content.

The course is divided into three portions:• The first half deals with the Earth’s climate

system.• The third quarter considers the nature and

distribution of energy from within the Earth.• The final quarter examines the interaction of

the two former sets of forces in shaping landscapes.

WHAT IS GLOBAL CLIMATE AND ITS STUDY, GLOBAL CLIMATOLOGY?

Weather: Highly variable from location to location, time period to time period,week to week, day to day, hour to hour. Very erratic and very hard to forecast accurately any more than a day or two ahead


Climate: Weather aggregated over many years

Day of Year

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

Tm

ax (

°F)

60

70

80

90

60

70

80

90

Daily Mean Tmax

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Aug Sep OctJul Nov Dec

Average Daily MaximumTemperatures.Lake City, Florida, 1893-2010

Why is it hot is June –August and cool December- February?

Why do max. temps appear to “plateau” in summer, but not in winter?



Average Daily MaximumTemperatures, and measureof variability.Lake City, Florida, 1893-2010

Day of Year

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

Tm

ax (

°F)

50

60

70

80

90

50

60

70

80

90

Daily Mean Tmax

Mean - 1St. devMean + 1 St. dev


Why is the range of likely maximum daily temperatures so much larger in winter than in summer?



Day of Year

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360

Tm

ax (

°F)

50

60

70

80

90

50

60

70

80

90

Daily Mean Tmax

Mean - 1St. devMean + 1 St. dev97oF

P(T

max

>97

°F)

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

Computed Daily Prob.11-day running mean


97°F

Average Daily MaximumTemperatures, and measureof variability.AND risks of temperatures greater than 97°F!Lake City, Florida, 1893-2010

Why do the risks of exceeding 97°F peak in June, then plateau through July and August, before declining in the Fall?



Average maximum annual temperature, °F 1949 - 2000

VARIATIONS IN SPACE TOO!TIME AND SPACE!

• Why are the highest annual maxima found in North Florida?

• Why are maximum temperatures greater inland compared to the coast?

1 0

1 3

1 5

1 8

2 0

2 3

2 5

2 8

3 0

3 5

5 0 0

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

5 0 0

PERCENTAGE OF MEAN ANNUALPRECIPITATION OCCURRING

IN WINTER.1949 - 2000

TIME SCALES - Seasonal

• Why does NW Florida receive a higher % of its annual precip. in winter?

• Why does S Florida experience such a low % in winter?

-88 -87 -86 -85 -84 -83 -82 -81 -8025

26

27

28

29

30

31

-88 -87 -86 -85 -84 -83 -82 -81 -8025

26

27

28

29

30

31

-88 -87 -86 -85 -84 -83 -82 -81 -8025

26

27

28

29

30

31

COLD PHASE ENSO – La Niña

NEUTRAL PHASE ENSO

WARM PHASE ENSO – El Niño

Proportion of annual precipitation duringwinter under variousENSO phases.

TIME SCALES – Interannual – globalConnections.

Why does a change in sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific impact the precip. in Florida?

-88 -87 -86 -85 -84 -83 -82 -81 -8025

26

27

28

29

30

31

Differences in Proportionof annual precipitation

During winterWarm phase - Cold phases.

TIME SCALES – Interannual

Why areas of Florida can anticipate the greatest changes in rainfall dependent upon the equatorial Pacific?

TIME SCALES – Interdecadal

Number of Heat Waves Per YearLake City Florida, 1905-1994.

Number of Heat Waves (98°F+) per Year

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pro

port

ion

of Y

ears

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

1905-25 (average = 1.5) Cold AMO1926-64 (average = 2.2) Warm AMO1964-94 (average = 1.1) Cold AMO

How do the risks of the number of heat waves annually change with long-term changes in the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean?


“Climate is what you expect,……..”

Includes average, variability and extremes


“Climate is what you expect,……..”

Includes average, variability and extremes

“………. Weather is what you get!”

HOW ARE WE GOING TO STUDY IT?

HOW ARE WE GOING TO STUDY IT?

Flows of Energy and Mass.

Movements of Energy and Mass within the Earth’s Atmospheric System

WHAT’S THE BASIC PROBLEM?


Source of Energy:SUN



Target Planet of Interest:

EARTH




EARTH

1. About 92.6 million miles (150 million Km)




EARTH


2. Target rotating anti-clockwise

around own axis once every 24

hrs.




EARTH


2. Target rotating anti-clockwise

around own axis once every 24 hr.

3. Target revolving around

source once every 365.25 dy

INTRODUCTORY PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. This is NOT a class about remembering the names, locations, or measures of physical features and natural phenomena around.

Documents

global climate

global physical environment

physical explanation

global climatology

energy transfer

distribution of energy

global variability

typical climate