The Relationship of Geography and Science - Essay Example

? Final Exam Final Exam Question Nicolaus Copernicus established the heliocentric system in 1543. The system considered the sun and the moon as the cause of planetary motions. Tycho Brahe proposed a hybrid model of the sun and the moon orbiting the earth and the other planets. Brahe claimed these moved around the sun. He therefore acknowledged the need of epicycles for the accurate description of the orbiting of the sun and moon. He maintained the concept that planets and the sky encircle a motionless Earth. This contradicts Nikolas Baer who held that the Earth rotates. Brahe also considered the nature of comets as objects of the translunar space and not a phenomenon of the atmosphere as postulated by Aristotle. He established this nature of comets by severally measuring the lower limit of the lunar distance for a given comet. He observed a supernova and proved stellar skies are not impossible to change as was previously depicted (Goddu, 2010). Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer used the Mars observations made by Brahe to establish the movement of planets around the sun on elliptical orbits. Kepler derived his three laws relating to motions of the planets. The first law was that each planet’s orbit is an ellipse with the sun in a single focus. The second law concerned the radius vector from the planet to sun that sweeps equal areas every time. This means that the movement of the planet is faster when it is close to the sun. The third law affirms that the average distance from the sun in relation to all the planets is proportional to the squares of the periods of revolution (Goddu, 2010). Galileo Galilei, an Italian astronomer discovered Jupiter’s four bright satellites. These include the mountains on the moon, the spots on the sun and Saturn’s rings. Additionally, he found the nebula as a cluster of stars. Galileo’s discoveries followed the invention of telescopes that enabled him make these observations of the sky. Based on Kepler’s laws, it was evident that the sun generates some force that acts on planets. Isaac Newton provided the understanding of this force through the law of gravity. This formed ground of the development of celestial mechanisms to sophisticated science. The gravitational force accounts for the failure of planets to fall into the moon and the crashing of the moon into the earth (Goddu, 2010). The geocentric view was popular for long because it explained many observations made by the early Greeks. The geocentric model explained the reason behind things falling towards the earth and the reason for Venus maintaining the same distance from the earth based on the unchanging brightness. The geometric view is due to inadequate technology to facilitate effectiveness of research in astronomy. This implies that science relies heavily on technological advances (Goddu, 2010). Question 2 The relationship of geography and science lies in the nature of the environment, diversity and social decision-making. Geography provides a theoretical basis for understanding nature and development. Geography is the study of the earth with its related features, general research and effects of human activities. It includes study of the climate, soil, topography and vegetation. Geosciences comprise of all the sciences that study the evolution, structure and dynamics of earth and resources. The strength of geography comes from its functional interrelationship to other disciplines. However, geography promotes a holistic understanding that is simple and does not provide vital details of cause and effect to a phenomenon (McEntire, 2007). Question 3 Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere at a given geographical location and time. It varies greatly over hours, days, weeks and distance. Climate is the average weather conditions prevailing in a region over a long period (Ahrens & Samson, 2010). Climate change relates to both greenhouse effect and global warming. Global warming is the global average temperature of the surface. Greenhouse effect is a natural system that regulates the earth’s temperature. The atmosphere traps the heat of the sun close to the surface of the earth through the heat trapping characteristics of particular greenhouse gases. The clouds and molecules of greenhouse gases absorb the radiated energy in the lower atmosphere. The clouds and molecules re-radiate this energy in all directions and molecules in higher atmosphere absorb this energy. This process of re-emission and absorption continues until energy escapes to space from the atmosphere. This natural process forms the greenhouse effect (Ahrens & Samson, 2010). Global warming has major effects to nature and humankind. These include the disappearance of polar ice and glaciers, rising sea level, changes in wildlife distribution, damaged coral and increased disease vectors. These effects pose danger to the economy, human health and to the ecosystem upon which human beings and other species rely on (Faust, 2009). Question 4 The pressure gradient force, Coriolis force and frictional force are determinants of wind. The movement of pressure gradient force is from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. This force acts at right angles to the isobars and proportionally to pressure gradient. This force initiates the motion of air and originates partially from the variations of air temperature and the concentration of water vapor. Uneven heating is one of the causes of low and high-pressure areas (Allaby, 2009). The Coriolis Effect is a force that results from the North-South and East-West direction. This effect caused by the movement in the North-South results from the concept of the earth rotating under objects moving in the air. The Coriolis Effect deflects wind to the left of the preliminary direction in the southern hemisphere and right in northern hemisphere. However, at the equator this deflective force is zero. The force increases as one moves away from the equator and reaches its maximum at the poles. The force is important in large-scale circulation systems. The Coriolis force, which is necessary to create the effect, is proportional to the site of the latitude and speed of an object in motion (Allaby, 2009). Frictional force results from the roughness of a surface. The obstacles present on the surface of the earth reduces the speed of wind by breaking it into turbulent eddies. Frictional force depends on the terrain and the type of surface, speed of movement and the roughness of a surface. These affect the direction and speed of wind within on the earth’s surface (Allaby, 2009). Precipitation over a region is not uniformly distributed. This is due to factors such as the patterns of atmospheric pressure, wind zones and global pressure system. Precipitation at the equator is high due to the influence of inter-tropical convergence. This is because of dominance of convection and low-pressure that lift air during the year. Precipitation reduces as one moves away from the equator because of the presence of high-pressure system. However, in the mid-latitudes precipitation increases due to collision of the contrasting air mass. However, precipitation decreases on approaching the poles due to the cold temperature and low point of saturation (Allaby, 2009). Question 5 The Mediterranean (Csa) climate along the coast of southern California experiences long, hot, dry summers and rainy winters. The subtropical high pressure during summer affects climate producing arid conditions. The Westerlies and cyclonic storms cause wet winter to occur. In winter, there is annual surplus of water and a deficit during long summer. The Sclerophyl forest is greatly associated with the Cfa climate. The humid subtropical (Cfa) climate in South Carolina is humid and hot during long summer and the short winter is humid and cool. The polar air masses cause the cold spells in winter. Dominance of frontal precipitation exists during winter, caused by cyclonic storms. During summer, the convectional precipitation replaces the frontal precipitation. The Mid-Latitude Decidous Forest influences the Cfa in this region (Corn, 2005). Climate change heavily influences Eastern and Western United States. This is because of human activities such as buildings, vehicle, carbon emissions and industrial pollution in the west making it hot. The high temperatures in the east cause the thinning of forests. This climate change puts forests at risk of wildfires, drought and disease outbreaks. El Nino greatly affect climate. This is a large scale warming of the ocean in the tropical Pacific Ocean that leads to climate change. The El Nino influences the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) characterized by changes in tropical sea level pressure in the Eastern and Western Pacific. The weakening and strengthening of easterly trade winds above the tropical Pacific cause these changes. Anomalies relating to initial positive temperatures of the ocean surface in the equatorial pacific reduce the east-west sea surface temperature (SST) gradient. This increases the Walker circulation causing the weakening of trade winds around the equator. These weak trade winds cause changes in ocean circulation and reinforce the anomalies of the SST. The positive ocean atmosphere feedback causes the equatorial pacific to be warm (Sarachik, 2010). References Ahrens, C. D., & Samson, P. J. (2010). Extreme weather and climate. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Allaby, M. (2009). Atmosphere: A scientific history of air, weather, and climate. New York, NY: Facts on File. Corn, J. (2005). Weather & climate. North Mankato, Minn: Smart Apple Media. Faust, D. R. (2009). Global warming: Greenhouse gases and the ozone layer. New York: PowerKids Press. Goddu, . (2010). Copernicus and the Aristotelian tradition. Education, reading, and philosophy in Copernicus's path to heliocentrism. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV. McEntire, D. A. (2007). Disciplines, Disasters and Emergency Management: The Convergence and Divergence of Concepts, Issues and Trends from the Research Literature. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD. Sarachik, E. S., & Cane, M. A. (2010). The El Nin?o-Southern oscillation phenomenon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More