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Midterm Assignment Hector M. Medina Earth Science and Society GEOL-108

Mid Term

1. - Modern astronomy basically begins with the re-emergence of the heliocentric view of the universe by Copernicus. Who were the four other major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus? Explain what those contributions were. Finally, why did it take so long for the geocentric view of the universe to be overthrown and what does that tell us about scientific research and our society, even today? The other four major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus are: Galileo Galilei (15641642) he was credited with creating the early telescope that was able to enlarge objects up to 20 times. Assisted by his telescope, he was able to prove the heliocentric theory proposed by Copernicus. in his Letters on the Sunspots (1612), Galileo enumerated more reasons for the breakdown of the celestial/terrestrial distinction. Basically the ideas here were that the sun has spots (maculae) and rotated in circular motion, and, most importantly Venus had phases just like the moon, which was the spatial key to physically locating Venus as being between the Sun and the earth, and as revolving around the Sun. In these letters he claimed that the new telescopic evidence supported the Copernican theory. Certainly the phases of Venus contradicted the Ptolemaic ordering of the planets. Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), despite being a Danish noble, turned to astronomy rather than politics. he was of the opinion that the world-system of Copernicus: 1. The universe is spherical; 2. The earth is also spherical; 3. The earth forms a single sphere with water;

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment 4. The motion of the heavenly bodies is uniform, eternal, and circular or compounded of circular motions; 5. Does the earth have a circular motion? What is its position? 6. The immensity of the heavens compared to the size of the earth;

7. Why the ancients thought the earth was at rest at the middle of the universe as its center; 8. The inadequacy of the previous arguments and a refutation; 9. Can several motions be attributed to the earth? The center of the universe. He concluded that it was mathematically superior to that of Ptolemy, but physically absurd. His cosmology was geocentric, in opposition to Copernicus Granted the island of Hven in 1576 by Frederick II, he established Uraniborg, an observatory containing large, accurate instruments. Johannes Kepler (15711630) a convinced Copernican, Kepler was able to defend the new system on different fronts: against the old astronomers who still sustained the system of Ptolemy, against the Aristotelian natural philosophers, against the followers of the new mixed system of Tycho Brahe, whom Kepler succeeded as Imperial Mathematician in Prague, and even against the standard Copernican position according to which the new system was to be considered merely as a computational device and not necessarily a physical reality. While he attained immortal fame in astronomy because of his three planetary laws: 1. The orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. 2. A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. 3. The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

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Kepler also made fundamental contributions in the fields of optics and mathematics. He was one of the most significant representatives of the so-called Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) Newtons first major public scientific achievement was the invention, design and construction of a reflecting telescope. He ground the mirror, built the tube, and even made his own tools for the job. This was a real advance in telescope technology, and ensured his election to membership in the Royal Society. The mirror gave a sharper image than was possible with a large lens because a lens focusses different colors at slightly different distances, an effect called chromatic aberration. This problem is minimized nowadays by using compound lenses, two lenses of different kinds of glass stuck together, that errs in opposite directions, and thus tend to cancel each others shortcomings, but mirrors are still used in large telescopes. His monograph Philosophi Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, laid the foundations for most of classical mechanics. In this work, Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, which dominated the scientific view of the physical universe for the next three centuries: Law 1: Every body perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon Law 2: The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force impressed; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impressed. Law 3: To every action there is always opposed an equal and opposite reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts.

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment Newton showed that the motion of objects on Earth and that of celestial bodies is governed by the same set of natural laws: by demonstrating the consistency between Kepler's laws of planetary motion and his theory of gravitation he removed the last doubts about heliocentrism and advanced the scientific revolution. The Principia is generally considered to be one of the most important scientific books ever written, both due to the specific physical laws the work successfully described, and for its style, which assisted in setting standards for scientific publication down to the present time.

One reason why the geocentric model remained in popularity for so many years is because it did explain many observations made by the early Greeks. For example, the geocentric model explained why things fall toward Earth gravity as well why Venus seems to stay the same distance from Earth based on its unchanging brightness. As astronomers saw problems with the geocentric theory, they altered it in order to account for these discrepancies. Another reason why this model remained in popularity so long was because it went along with the Roman Catholic Churchs policy. As technology advanced, more problems surfaced facing the geocentric model. In the 16th century, the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus built on the work of earlier scientists and published his heliocentric theory in his book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies. In this book, he made some radical changes, such as asserting that the stars do not orbit the Earth and declaring that the Earths rotation is what makes it appear as if the stars orbit our planet. The irony is that after all the disputes over these different theories, neither one are necessarily correct. Einsteins Theory of Relativity upset both models. Einstein showed that Newton's laws

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were not the correct description of gravity, and they only worked fairly well for (and near) "low mass" objects like planets. Objects of higher masses and densities (stars and remnants of stars) require Einsteins theory of general relativity where the gravitational force is actually due to the curvature of empty space. New evidence has also shown that the Solar Systems center of gravity is not the exact center of the Sun. This means that either model is acceptable regardless of the fundamental differences between the theories. Astronomers use both the heliocentric and geocentric models for research depending on which theory makes their calculations easier. It definitely seems as if some things are relative after all.

2. - Explain the relationship of geography to other scientific disciplines. What is a good definition for geography or the geosciences in general? What are the strengths and weaknesses of geography as a discipline and how do you think that has influenced its development, or lack thereof? Geography is an integrative discipline connecting the social sciences, physical sciences and humanities in the study of the relations between humans and the earth. Within this framework, geographers examine virtually any social/physical issue, such as the linkages between international development and environmental conservation; the opportunities and problems associated with growth in Florida; monitoring the impact of hurricanes; transport navigation; consumer profiling; the debt crisis; military targeting; deforestation; conservation, and hunger, to name a few. With a geographic perspective, such issues become more than isolated events when they are placed in a broader context of global understanding. In an interdependent world where

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment decisions made in Tokyo or Iowa affect the lives of people in all societies, responsible citizenship requires a solid foundation in geographic knowledge.

We can also add that Geography is the study of place, or space, in the same sense that history is the study of time. The first question a geographer asks is "where are things located?" but even more important is "why are they located where they are?" and how do we map them? Geographers are concerned with interpreting and explaining the occurrence, distribution, and interrelationships in the physical and cultural realms. Because of the breadth of its focus, Geography is both a natural science and a social science. It forms an interdisciplinary bridge between the physical and cultural worlds, examining both humans and their environment. Some geographers specialize in environmental issues, including patterns of climate, vegetation, soil, landforms, resources, and hazards and their relations to humans. Economic, social, and political geographers investigate such issues as agricultural land use, settlement patterns, boundary disputes, and the trade areas of cities, cultural diffusion, perceptions of the environment, labor markets and international trade. While others focus on mapping these applications with computer software and global positing systems at ever improving accuracy and precision. As technology advances, it makes geography a more exact science by using resources that were not available when this discipline was in its infancy. The development of satellites, computer technology and all sorts of resources that allows geographers to have access to a wealth of data. It helps them to understand the changes in climate and other elements that will affect our society, our natural resources and the way we live every day. The advancement in the field nowadays has created a vast field of opportunities for professional geographers today who now often find employment in government, either at the local or state

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment

levels, or in a variety of federal agencies, the military, and in international organizations. Most positions do not carry a title of Geographer; rather, geographers fill such jobs as Cartographer, Intelligence Officer, Landscape Ecologist, Geographic Information Specialist, and Soil Conservationist. Another rapidly developing field is metropolitan and regional planning, in which geographers are engaged in monitoring environmental problems, land use changes, emergency planning, waste disposal, housing, transportation patterns, and poverty abatement.

3. - Weather and climate are separate, but related, terms. Provide a definition of each and then give an example of a concept related to both weather and climate. Additionally, since they are important issues when dealing with the subject of climate today, what is the greenhouse effect and global warming? Are they the same thing? If not, how are they different? What influence would global warming have on nature and our lives? Weather: is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere, and its short-term (minutes to weeks) variation. Popularly, weather is thought of as the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind. We talk about the weather in terms of "What will it be like today?", "How hot is it right now?", and "When will that storm hit our section of the country?" Climate: is defined as statistical weather information that describes the variation of weather at a given place for a specified interval. In popular usage, it represents the synthesis of weather; more formally it is the weather of a locality averaged over some period (usually 30 years) plus statistics of weather extremes.

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment We talk about climate change in terms of years, decades or even centuries. Scientists study climate to look for trends or cycles of variability (such as the changes in wind patterns, ocean surface temperatures and precipitation over the equatorial Pacific that result in El Nio and La Nia), and also to place cycles or other phenomena into the bigger picture of possible longer term or more permanent climate changes.

The greenhouse effect is the process by which thermal radiation from earths surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere; this produces an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases Radiation coming from the Sun at the frequencies of visible light largely passes through the earths atmosphere to warm the planetary surface, which then emits this energy at the lower frequencies of infrared thermal radiation. This infrared radiation then is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re-radiate much of the energy to the surface and lower atmosphere. This mechanism is named after the effect of that solar radiation has when passing through glass and warming a greenhouse, but the way it retains heat is fundamentally different as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow, isolating the warm air inside the structure so that heat is not lost by convection. Earths natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible. However, human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming.

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In contrast, Global Warming is defined by The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency definition of global warming as: an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earths surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns. Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common usage, global warming often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. There is a correlation between the Greenhouse effect and the Global Warming; this is mostly because humanity by burning fossil fuels and polluting the environment with all sort of chemicals, explosive urban development and the destruction of the rain forest among other manmade disasters are having a drastic effect in our planets climate change and temperature in a global scale. The results are not just merely warmer weather, but an erratic climate that if left unchecked could cause pervasive natural disasters and species extinction.

The concern is that global warming is increasing. The greenhouse gas emissions that cause the warming trend are likely to continue into the future. The projection is that the warming will increase by six to ten degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century.

While the international scientific community is in agreement about the reality of global warming, segments of the general public, particularly in the United States, are still skeptical.

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4. - Explain the pressure gradient force, the Coriolis Effect and the frictional force and their effects on the direction and speed of air at the surface and aloft in the atmosphere. Describe the wind and pressure systems (surface and aloft) that exist in the zone from the Equator to the North Pole in the Northern Hemisphere. There is a close relationship between atmospheric pressure patterns, wind zones and precipitation patterns. The global map of total annual rainfall shows great differences in precipitation received from place to place. Using at least 3 reasons, explain why this is so. Even when the definition of these terms can be applied in many ways, I am aiming my definition towards physical geography: Pressure Gradient Force: In the case of atmospheres, the pressure gradient force is balanced by the gravitational force, maintaining hydrostatic equilibrium. In the Earth's atmosphere, for example, air pressure decreases at increasing altitudes above the Earth's surface, thus providing a pressure gradient force which counteracts the force of gravity on the atmosphere. Coriolis Effect and frictional Force: Coriolis effect is in the large-scale dynamics of the oceans and the atmosphere. In meteorology and oceanography, it is convenient to postulate a rotating frame of reference wherein the Earth is stationary. In accommodation of that provisional postulation, the centrifugal and Coriolis forces are introduced. Their relative importance is determined by the applicable Rossby numbers (named for Carl-Gustav Arvid Rossby, is a dimensionless number used in describing fluid flow). Tornadoes have high Rossby numbers, so, while tornado-associated centrifugal forces are quite substantial, Coriolis forces associated with tornados are for practical purposes negligible.

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment Frictional Force:

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High pressure systems rotate in a direction such that the Coriolis force will be directed radially inwards, and nearly balanced by the outwardly radial pressure gradient. This direction is clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Low pressure systems rotate in the opposite direction, so that the Coriolis force is directed radially outward and nearly balances an inwardly radial pressure gradient. In each case a slight imbalance between the Coriolis force and the pressure gradient accounts for the radially inward acceleration of the system's circular motion.

5. - Compare/contrast the Mediterranean (Csa) climate found along the coast of southern California and the humid subtropical (Cfa) climate found in South Carolina. Considering that comparison, also explain why the western United States has dramatically different climates from the eastern United States. An important consideration when considering climate and climatic change today is the role of El Nino. Explain the ocean/atmosphere changes that take during an El Nino/ENSO cycle and the effects these changes have on our lives and societies. We can begin by describing the CSA weather in California as warm to hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. Mediterranean climate zones are associated with the five large subtropical high pressure cells of the oceans: the Azores High, South Atlantic High, North Pacific High, South Pacific High, and Indian Ocean High. These high pressure cells shift towards the poles in the summer and towards the equator in the winter, playing a major role in the formation of the world's tropical deserts and the Mediterranean Basin's climate.

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The South Atlantic High is similarly associated with the Namib Desert and the Mediterranean climate of the western part of South Africa. The North Pacific High is related to the Sonoran Desert and California's climate, while the South Pacific High is related to the Atacama Desert and central Chile's climate, and the Indian Ocean High is related to the deserts of western Australia (Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, and Gibson Desert) and the Mediterranean climate of southwest and south-central Australia. In contrast, CFA Precipitation is plentiful in the humid subtropical climate zone in North America. Although most areas tend to have precipitation spread evenly throughout the year, a somewhat monsoon-like pattern is seen in parts of the Southeast (in locales such as Augusta, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina), which experience dry winters (by humid subtropical standards) and warm springs, followed immediately by a long, hot, rainy and humid summer. The typical humid subtropical climate is best demonstrated by the American Deep South, because the summers are long and almost tropical, and temperatures reach freezing only a few times in the winter with rare snowfall, usually three inches or less. Summers in this zone are hot and humid, with daily averages above 25 C (77 F) with average daily maximums above 30 C (86 F). The physical geography on the Western United States plays an important role in the different types of climates throughout this region. The seasonal temperatures vary greatly throughout the West. Low elevations on the West Coast have warm to very hot summers and get little to no snow. The Desert Southwest has very hot summers and mild winters. While the mountains in the southwest receive generally large amounts of snow. The Inland Northwest has a continental climate of warm to hot summers and cold to bitter cold winters.

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Annual rainfall is greater in the eastern portions, gradually tapering off until reaching the Pacific Coast where it again increases. In fact, the greatest annual rainfall in the United States falls in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest. Drought is much more common in the West than the rest of the United States. The driest place recorded in the U.S. is Death Valley, California. Violent thunderstorms occur east of the Rockies. Tornadoes occur every spring on the southern plains, with the most common and most destructive centered on Tornado Alley, which covers eastern portions of the West, (Texas to North Dakota), and all states in between and to the east. We can define El Nino as a semi periodic climate pattern, not a storm, that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. The Southern Oscillation refers to variations in the temperature of the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean (warming and cooling known as El Nio and La Nia respectively) and in air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific. The two variations are coupled: the warm oceanic phase, El Nio, accompanies high air surface pressure in the western Pacific, while the cold phase, La Nia, accompanies low air surface pressure in the western Pacific. The Pacific is more important in this regard is that the fundamental driver of the whole ocean-atmosphere circulation is heat. The large width across the Pacific allows the existence of a huge pool of warm water in the west. The smaller distances across the Atlantic mean that the Atlantic warm pool is much smaller. The Pacific warm pool is a gigantic source of heat that is one of the main controls of the atmosphere. When the warm pool shifts east (during El Nio) or shrinks west (during La Nia), the effects reverberate around the world, causing the weather disruptions associated with this cycle. In the Atlantic, there is simply not enough of a warm pool to make that much difference to worldwide weather. So even if there is an analogue to El Nio in the Atlantic, it does not have the power to cause weather

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment disturbances that affect more than local conditions.

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A strong El Nio is often associated with wet winters over the southeastern US, as well as drought in Indonesia and Australia. Keep in mind that you aren't guaranteed these effects even though there is an El Nio going on; but the El Nio does make these effects more likely to happen. Mechanisms that cause the oscillation remain under study.

The extremes of this climate pattern's oscillations, El Nio and La Nia, cause extreme weather (such as floods and droughts) in many regions of the world. Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected. References: Reston, James Jr., 1994, Galileo: A Life. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. McMullin, Ernan (ed.), 1964, Galileo Man of Science. New York: Basic Books. J. Dreyer, Tycho Brahe: A Picture of Scientific Life and Work in the Sixteenth Century, Edinburgh 1890. Reprinted New York 1963 V. Thoren, The Lord of Uraniborg: A Biography of Tycho Brahe, Cambridge 1990 University of Tennessee's Dept. Physics & Astronomy: Astronomy 161 page on Johannes Kepler: The Laws of Planetary Motion. Caspar, M., 1993, Johannes Kepler, New York: Dover Publications.

Earth Science and Society Midterm Assignment Biography of Johannes Kepler, The Galileo Project, Rice University http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/kepler.html. Retrieved 2012-11-29

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Difference Between Geocentric and Heliocentric by Abby Cessna, Universe Today, August 2, 2009 http://www.universetoday.com/36487/difference-between-geocentric-andheliocentric/#ixzz2DxChL8tlhttp://www.universetoday.com/36487/difference-betweengeocentric-and-heliocentric/#ixzz2DxCDL3kP Christianson, G. E. In the Presence of Creation: Isaac Newton and His Times. New York: Free Press, 1984. The Fall of the Geocentric Theory, and the Rise of Heliocentrism, http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/tharriso/ast105/Ast105week04.html. Retrieved 2012-11-29 The discipline of geography, http://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/essentials/essentials_of_geography.ht ml. Retrieved 2012-11-29 FSU geography, whats Geography?. http://www.coss.fsu.edu/geography/Students/what_geography.html Retrieved 2012-11-30 Artic Climatology and Meteorology, National Snow and Ice Data Center, http://nsidc.org/arcticmet/basics/weather_vs_climate.html Retrieved 2012-11-30 Stephen H. Schneider, in Geosphere-biosphere Interactions and Climate, Lennart O. Bengtsson and Claus U. Hammer, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-521-78238-4, pp. 90-91.

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E. Claussen, V. A. Cochran, and D. P. Davis, Climate Change: Science, Strategies, & Solutions, University of Michigan, 2001. p. 373. NASA Earth Fact Sheet". Nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html