DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

GES 1301: INTRODUTION TO PHYCAL

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
BSc Human Geography/B. Urban and Regional Planning

SALEMANE MALLANE
ISAS 103
[email protected]
[email protected]
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Chapter 1.1: Introduction to Geography

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GEOGRAPHY

• The word Geography is derived from two Greek words „Geo’ and
„Graphien’

– Geo means Earth

– Graphien means to write

• Geography may therefore be simplified as “The spatial study of the

earth and everything that happens on it.”

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The study of Geography began with the questions…

• What?
• Where?
• When?
• How?
• Why?
• Why there?
Geography answers questions such as:
VOLCANOg
What is this?
How does it occur?
Where does it occur?
Why does it occur there?
How does it affect humans and the landscape?

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GEOGRAPHY

• Geography is a science that studies

physical features of the earth and its
atmosphere, and human activities as they
affect and are affected by these features,
including the distribution of populations
and resources and political and economic
activities.
• Geographers study places and their
physical properties, and relationships
between people and their environments.
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GEOGRAPHY
• Geographers study the world, its people and the landscapes they
create.
• The landscape of a certain place is rendered unique by the human
and physical features & activities in it.

How are landscapes created?

1)Historically, the earth‟s physical features have influenced where

human settlements develop.
2)The on-going development of historical settlements (eg. through
urbanisation) have led to the formation of megacities 11
Johannesburg, South Africa

Started as a mining town due to the

discovery of Gold - Gauteng

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Cape Town, South Africa

Started as a port, the Dutch and

other Europeans would dock
their ships here to refill, as a
half-way point to India

Developed into a Tourist City

over the years

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London, England

First developed due to presence

of the River Thames. Before
modern water reticulation systems
people had to settle close to rivers
to access water and improve
livelihoods
 Aspen, Colorado, USA

Developed as a recreational
town where tourists visit in order
to Skii
DUBAI, THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

DEVELOPED AS A HOLIDAY
DESTINATION FOR THE WEALTHY
DUBAI, THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

DEVELOPED AS A HOLIDAY
DESTINATION FOR THE WEALTHY
RATIONALE FOR STUDYING GEOGRAPHY
• Geography provides humans with a holistic knowledge of our planet
and its systems in order for them to make informed decisions
– Geographers are in a better position to understand, anticipate and explain
critical issues that affect our planet such as climate change, global warming,
extreme weather events, earthquakes and volcanology, natural disasters,
water pollution, environmental degradation, regional and seasonal tourism
trends, population migration patterns, regional political turmoil, etc
• Geography has been called “the mother of all sciences” - it was one
of the first fields of study and academic disciplines developed as
humans sought to find out what existed in and beyond their land.
Exploration of the planet led to the discovery of the different
landscapes and their valuable resources. These discoveries and
their own requirements led to the development of other sciences. 18
SUB-FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY
The Natural The Human
Environment GEOGRAPHY Society
SUB-FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY

• Physical Geography – Studies the physical characteristics of the

environment, such as soils, water bodies, landforms, etc…
• Human and Cultural Geography – Studies human groups, their
cultures, their activities, and their distribution
• Cartography – generates and studies maps
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) – uses computers to
generate data, and then analyze and display the data as digital
maps.
– GIS is a modernized sub-branch of Cartography

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SUB-FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY
• Geography as a Natural Science
– Natural science Geographers ask questions about how the world works
– They gather and interpret data on physical characteristics of the earth
– Data is collected using visual observations and scientific instrumentation

• Geography as a Social Science

– Social science Geographers study people and their relationships amongst
themselves
– They gather and interpret data about people and their everyday lives, and
how those people relate to the environment they live in.
– Data is collected through questionnaires used to ask about people about
their lives 23
CHAPTER 1.2: THE EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

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 THE SOLAR SYSTEM

EARTH

SUN
The Solar System
 A planet… in a solar system… in a galaxy
A planet is located in a solar system. OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

Sun
(source of gravity)

PLANET EARTH

THE MILKY WAY

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A solar system is located within in a galaxy
The Milky Way
• The Solar System as we know it is located in located in an outer
spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy

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THE MILKY WAY
• The Milky Way is a galaxy that incudes our solar system
• A galaxy is a huge collection of billions of stars and their solar
systems, asteroids, gas and dust, all held together by gravity.
• Because a galaxy is often held together by gravity, usually galaxies
are circular or spiral in shape
• A galactic centre is the central point around which the galaxy rotates
• The Milky Way‟s galactic centre is a phenomenon called a black
hole, and it acts as a massive source of gravity around which the
stars revolve.
• The milky way is estimated to contain up to 400,000,000,000 stars
(400 billion), and way over 400billion planets orbiting those stars
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• Our Sun is one of the 400billion stars in the Milky Way
 A planet is located in a solar system.

A solar system is located in a galaxy

How big is
the
Universe?

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Hundreds of galaxies

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Millions of galaxies
Formation of
The Solar
System

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 Origin of the Solar System
a) A flattened solar nebula disk exists after
cloud spins & contracts
b) Condensation nuclei form clumps that
grow into moon-size planetesimals
c) Solar wind from star formation (Sun
forming – star ignites and explodes
outward) blow out the rest of the gas and
smaller particles as the star ignites
d) Planetesimals collide & grow
e) Planetesimals form the basic planets over
hundred million years
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
• The Solar System consists of the Sun as its central star and the
main gravitational centre, and 8 planets that orbit the Sun
– 8 planets in their order away from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
• A number of moons orbit some of the bigger planets due to the
planets‟ own gravitational pull
• The Solar System also has:
– dwarf planets:- minor planets – Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Makemake, & Haumea
– asteroids:- small to very large rocks floating in space
– Meteoroids – small asteroids (size: grain-sized up to a metre)
– comets:- celestial bodies made of ice, dust and rock fragments, that release
gas as they warm up from the sun‟s heat 35
 Smaller Objects of the
SOLAR SYSTEM

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THE SUN
• The Sun is a star that forms a gravitational centre for the entire solar
system – all the other objects in the solar system orbit around it
• The Sun is so massive that it accounts for 99.86% of the total weight
of all objects in solar system objects
• It accounts for over 99.99% of the energy on planet earth, thereby
supporting human, plant and animal life. Less than 0.001 comes
from the internal structure of the earth and that which is generated
by human beings.
• The Sun‟s energy comes from nuclear fusion deep within its core,
where 600 billion kilograms of Hydrogen are continuously being
converted into Helium, a process that generates immense heat and
light energy that ultimately reaches the earth and sustains life on it. 40
PLANET EARTH
• Thus far, the only planet in the universe known to support life
• 71% of the planet is water while 29% is land
– The presence of water in liquid form helps support life
– The oceans help regulate the planet‟s temperatures, and they are a major
source of water in the global water cycle
• The earth has a life supporting atmosphere around it
– The atmosphere promotes the global water cycle (eg. precipitation)
– It also shields living things from harmful radiation coming from the sun
– Animals breathe in Oxygen from the atmosphere
• The planet has one satellite (the moon) orbiting around it
– The moon‟s gravity slows down the earth from a day of 8 hours to 24 hours
– Its gravity also stabilizes the earth‟s rotation, leading to a stable climate 41
PLANET EARTH – Size and Shape
• The spin of the earth during rotation causes the planet to slightly
bulge out at the equator and to flatten at the poles
– Equatorial diameter – 12,756 km Earth as a Geoid

– Polar Diameter – 12,712 km

• This means that the earth is not perfectly spherical
• The more accurate representation of the
Earth‟s shape is a GEOID

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PLANET EARTH - Motion
• The Earth is one of the planets revolving around the sun on an
imaginary pathway referred to as an orbit
• It orbits (on average) stands around 150million kilometres away from
the sun‟s centre
• The earth‟s revolution results in four different seasons of the year
• 1 full revolution around the sun takes 366 days (1 year) on the orbit
that is 940 million kilometres long. That means the earth revolves
around the sun as the speed of 100,000km/hr
– For reference, the fastest bullet travels at only 3,000km/hr
• The earth also rotates (spins) on an imaginary axis, resulting in
different areas of the planet facing the sun at different times, which
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leads to days and nights
PLANET EARTH - Motion

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PLANET EARTH - Rotation

• The planet rotates around an

imaginary axis once every 24
hours
• This results in days on the half
facing towards the sun and
simultaneously in nights on the
half facing away from the sun
• The earth‟s axis of rotation is
tilted at an angle of about 23.5º
• Tilt results in the 4 different
seasons as we know them
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PLANET EARTH - Rotation

• Rotation occurs from West to

East, that‟s why the Sun seems
to rises from the East and sets in
the West

• The speed of rotation is fastest at the equator and slows

down towards the poles
• We don‟t feel the speed because we are small in
comparison to the earth, and due to the earth‟s
atmosphere which moves at the same speed as the 46
planet
Angular Orbits of Revolution for
other planets
PLANET EARTH - Revolution

• The Earth takes 365¼ days (1

year) to revolve around the
Sun
• Due to the earth‟s tilt,
revolution results in opposite
seasons of the year for the
Southern and the Northern
Hemispheres

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PLANET EARTH - Revolution
• The earth‟s orbit around the sun is not perfectly circular – it is oval-
shaped. This means that the earth‟s distance from the sun varies
throughout the year
• Perihelion – when the earth is
farthest from the sun
• Occurs on January 5
• Earth is 147million km from the sun‟s
centre
• Aphelion – when the earth is
farthest from the sun
• Occurs on July 5
• Earth is 152million km from the sun‟s 49
centre
 PLANET EARTH – The Four Seasons
• The earth experiences four different seasons as it revolves around
the sun – Summer, Autumn, Winter & Spring
• Seasons occur due to the tilt of the
earth‟s axis:-
– Different places receive different
amounts of solar radiation
– Areas that are tilted towards the sun
receive the most radiation, resulting in
warm to hot conditions, hence the
Summer season
– Areas tilted away from the sun receive
the least solar radiation, resulting in
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lower temperatures, hence the Winter
PLANET EARTH – The Four Seasons

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PLANET EARTH – Solstices and Equinoxes
• Solstices mark the shortest and the longest days of the year
– Winter Solstices mark the shortest day of the year, and they occur on the
21st June in the Southern Hemisphere and 21st December in the Northern
Hemisphere
– Summer Solstices marks the longest day of the year, and they occur on the
21st December in the Southern Hemisphere and 21st June in the Northern
Hemisphere
• Equinoxes mark the day when the days are equal to the nights, and
they occur in Spring and Autumn
– Spring equinoxes occur on the 21st September in the Southern Hemisphere
and 21st March in the Northern Hemisphere
– Autumn equinoxes occur on the 21st March in the Southern Hemisphere and
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21st September in the Northern Hemisphere
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SOLSTICES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

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CHAPTER 1.3: THE WORLD GEOGRAPHIC GRID

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CHAPTER 1.3: THE WORLD GEOGRAPHIC GRID

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PLANET EARTH – World Geographic Grid
• The world has been divided into 4 hemispheres for geographical
purposes

Northern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere Eastern Hemisphere

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Four Hemispheres of the Earth PRIME MERIDIAN

EQUATOR

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Four
Hemispheres
of the Earth

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PLANET EARTH – World Geographic Grid
• The World Geographic Grid is made up of imaginary lines drawn on
the World Map
• These lines are referred to as Lines of Latitude (Parallels) and Lines
of Longitude (Meridians)

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PLANET EARTH – Lines of Latitude
• Shown on a map (or globe) as east-west running lines parallel to the
Equator
• They are used to show the location of a place relative to the Equator
eg. Maseru is around 29º South of the Equator
• Equator
– Divides the earth horizontally into the northern hemisphere and the southern
hemisphere
– As the main Line of Latitude, designated 0º North/South
– Other Lines of Latitude run around the earth parallel to the Equator, North or
South of the Equator
– Other main Lines of Latitude are at 15º, 30º, 45º, 60º, 75º North or South of
the Equator.
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– The North Pole is at 90º North and the South Pole at 90º South
PLANET EARTH – Lines of Latitude

New Orleans
is 30º North

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PLANET EARTH – Names of the main Lines of Latitude

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PLANET EARTH – Lines of Longitude (Meridians)
• Shown on a map (or globe) as vertical, north-south running lines
starting and ending at the poles
• They show the location of a place relative to the Prime Meridian
– eg. Maseru is around 27º East of the Prime Meridian
• Prime Meridian (Greenwich Meridian)
– Divides the earth vertically into the Eastern and the Western Hemisphere
– As the central Line of Longitude, it is designated 0º East/West
• Other main Meridians start at 15º East and West of the Prime
Meridian and end at 180º respectively
– Intervals between two successive main meridians is 15º (eg, 45º E and
60ºE, 105ºW and 120ºW)
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PLANET EARTH – Lines of Longitude

New Orleans
is 90º West

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PLANET EARTH – World Geographic Grid
• The Earth has been divided into the
geographic grid for location purposes
– Using the grid the location of any place on
the surface of the earth can be determined
• Lines of latitude and longitude pinpoint
the exact location of a place where
they cross each other
– When the location of a place is given using
the geographic grid values (in degrees, xº),
the numbers are called coordinates.
• For example, the coordinates of
Denver are 39º North, 103º West
– Or commonly, 39ºN, 103ºW 71
PLANET EARTH – Null Island
• The intersection between the Equator and the Prime Meridian

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…on the Equator

BRAZIL

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PLANET EARTH – World Geographic Grid
• The Earth has been divided into the
geographic grid for location purposes
– Using the grid, the location of any place on
the surface of the earth can be determined
• Lines of latitude and longitude pinpoint
the exact location of a place where
they cross each other
– When the location of a place is given using
the geographic grid values (in degrees, xº),
the numbers are called coordinates.
• For example, the coordinates of
Denver are 39º North, 103º West
– Or commonly, 39ºN, 103ºW 75
(END)
PLANET EARTH – Longitudes and the Determination of Time
• Lines of Longitude are used to determine location when used in
conjunction with the lines of Latitude
• Longitudes can also used to determine time at any location on earth
– Every location‟s time is determined with reference to the Prime Meridian (0°)

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30° interval between longitudes 10° interval 15° interval, used to determine time
15° = 1 hour
PLANET EARTH – Longitudes and the Determination of Time

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 PLANET EARTH – Longitudes and the Determination of Time
• Because the earth rotates once in 24hours (1 day), the world has been divided into 24
Time Zones, which all experience different times simultaneously
• 1 Time Zone = 1 Hour = 15°
 Difference between any two Meridians that are 15° apart is 1 hour
o Eg., Difference between 30° and 45° is 1 hour
Difference between 107° and 122° is 1 hour
 Difference between any two Meridians 30° apart is 2 hours;
Eg. 60° & 90°

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PLANET EARTH – Determining Time
• The World rotates from the West to the East (Anti-Clockwise)
• This means that Time Zones to the East of the Prime Meridian
are ahead in time while those to the West are behind
 For example, when the Sun rises in countries on the African Continent (between 0° to 40° East),
it is already around mid-day to afternoon in the countries East of the Greenwich Meridian in the
Asian Continent (80° East to 180° East - Japan, China, India, Russia, Korea) while it is still night
in the countries located in the West of the Greenwich Meridian (USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico)

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TIME ZONES
• Telling time before Time Zones (before 1878): All major towns and
cities had their own clocks located at the city/town square or centre
and also commonly at train stations (eg., there were over 300 local
times in over 300 towns in the USA alone)
• This means that two cities close to each other (eg. Maseru and TY)
would have two different times, leading to problems in establishing
schedules and coordinating operations between the two towns.
• In 1878 a Canadian Engineer, Sir Sanford Fleming, proposed the
use of worldwide time zones for reasons of convenience and
standardization of time for adjacent places.
– The zones would be based on the observation that the earth rotates 15°
every hour, and since a day is 24 hours, this led to the 24 Time Zones
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Places on the same color
along similar longitude
use the similar time

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Places on the same color along
similar longitude use the same time:
Example: GMT +2/UTC +2 countries:
Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana,
Zambia, eastern half of DR Congo,
Sudan, Egypt, Israel, Finland,
Bulgaria, Greece, western parts of
Russia, Ukraine are all 2 hours
ahead of the GMT/UTC 85
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 Time Zones: The GMT and the UTC
• GMT – Greenwich Mean Time
– The GMT used to be a time standard, but since
1972 GMT is now an independent TIME ZONE at
the Prime Meridian, 0°
• UTC – Coordinated Universal Time
– The UTC is a 24 hour TIME STANDARD… A certain time decided upon by
various nations, used as a reference globally, and kept in precision by output
of 400 very precise, accurate atomic clocks located in different countries
– Universal Time was created in 1884 at the International Meridian Conference
in New York, where nations decided on 1 time from which all other watches‟
time would be derived.
– The Greenwich Meridian Time Zone was selected as the World‟s time
reference point, meaning the Prime Meridian is the starting point when 87
determining the time of all other locations.
 Time Zones: The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
• When describing time zones, the UTC is utilized as the reference point
– Eg., the 15E° - 30E° Time Zone is 2 hours ahead of the GMT Zone, so the
zone is designated as UTC +2

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