PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: CONCEPTS AND

PERSPECTIVES

• Geography (geo, graphein) – Study of locations and distributions of phenomena on earth, and their interrelationships.

What are geographic questions? What (Classification),Where (Locations / Distributions) → Descriptive Geography

Why and How (Explanations, Generalizations, Theory) → Analytic Geography

What Implications/Consequences (Finding Solutions) → Applied Geography

Geographic Questions?A Famous Illustration: (John Snow’s Map)

• What?Cholera cases

• Where? (When?)London’s Soho

District, (1854)• Why?

Concentration around a particular Water Pump• How?

Association/Link :contaminated water and cholera incidence• What Implications?

Need to Fix Pumps(Improve Sanitation)

Fig. 1-1, p. 4

Branches or Subfields of Geography:

Geographers study all kinds of phenomena, both Physical and Human

• Physical Geography – Physical Sciences

• Human Geography – Social Sciences

• Regional Geography – Encompasses both Physical and Human Geography

Not defined by phenomena studied, but by the Spatial Approach(Geography is a meta discipline like History, which is defined by its temporal approach)

Known as a holistic/integrative discipline

Major Perspectives and Concepts Spatial Science Perspective → Spatial refers to the

nature, character and attributes of physical or geographic space.

Location: Absolute Location, Relative Location

36◦ 59’ 56.3150” N109◦ 02’ 42.6210” W

Area, Place, and Region: Formal or Uniform Regions (Single-feature, Multiple-feature)

vs. Functional or Nodal Regions

Spatial Distributions (Extent of Spread over an Area) ↔ implies Movement; of people, goods, ideas, etc.

Spatial Patterns (Arrangements of features in space) → Generalizations about – regular, random, clustered, dispersed?

Spatial Interactions: Spatial Links among features and phenomena, Interconnectedness, Mutual Impacts → also signifies Human-Environment Interactions

Changes – Spatial and Temporal

Five Spatial Themes of Geographic Science:(NGS, 1986)

1. Location

2. Place

3. Region

4. Movement

5. Human-EnvironmentInteractions(or Human-Earth Relationships)

Physical Science PerspectiveScience… is the systematic and organized inquiry into the natural world and its phenomena. Science is about gaining a deeper and often useful understanding of the world.

Emphasizes the

Scientific Method – Observation – Hypothesis – Test Hypothesis

(Support/Reject) – Explanation – Theory

The Physical Science Perspective also views earth as – a dynamic System → any ordered, interrelated set of things, linked by

flows of energy and matter, as distinct from the surrounding environment.

– The Earth System – its components are variables (energy and matter) that interact through various processes, creating a functioning unit ← Feedbacks

(negative & positive)

– Subsystems: Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere– Overlapping subsystems, not discrete

Geographers use Models – Physical, Pictorial/Graphic, Mathematical/Statistical, Conceptual Models – to study and analyze Systems

Equilibrium in the Earth System(The Hydrologic Cycle)

Geographers apply Systems Theory and Systems Analysis to the Earth System

Open vs. Closed Systems

Planet Earth or the Earth System is essentially a Closed System

– so is the Hydrosphere

Most Earth Subsystems are Open Systems, e.g., a Stream

Environmental Science Perspective

Views earth as an Ecosystem (Ecological System)

-- Human Ecosystem

Human-Environment Interactions (Earth Impacts, Human Impacts)

Combines Environmental Science and Systems Perspectives

Natural Events System vs. Human Use System (Hazards, Disasters)

A Life-support System – Human Use (natural resources) and Abuse (pollution, etc.) of the environment

– Need for Sustainable Development

Physical Geography and YOU Characteristics of the Physical Environment

Affect Our Lives Every Day

Physical Geography Knowledge Helps Us Make Informed Choices and Decisions: in our personal situations, e.g., adjusting to

anticipated weather conditions, and

in job situations where maps and spatial analytical skills are prized

Tools of the Physical Geographer

Data Gathering: surveying, fieldwork, aerial photos, GPS, Remote Sensing (Satellite and Radar Imagery)

Data Analysis and Display: Physical Models Pictorial/Graphic Models, including Maps and

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mathematical/Statistical/Conceptual Models

The Little

Blue PlanetIncredible environmental diversity: an oasis of life in the vastness of space!