Physical Geography Chapter 1: Fundamentals

The Earth's Systems

• The Earth's systems consist of the atmosphere (a blanket of air), lithosphere (solid rock part), biosphere (living things), and hydrosphere (waters of Earth).

Physical Geography

• Physical geography is a spatial discipline that studies the Earth's physical features, processes, and relationships between them.
• It involves the study of the Earth's systems and their interactions.
• Objectives of physical geography include describing the difference between physical and human geography, explaining why geography is a spatial discipline, and discussing the concept of a geographic region.

Major Perspectives in Physical Geography

• The three major perspectives are:
  • Physical Science Perspective: studies the Earth's physical features and processes.
  • Spatial Science Perspective: examines the spatial distribution and patterns of physical features, and how they interact with each other.
  • Environmental Science Perspective: focuses on the natural environment, including weather, climate, landforms, rocks, soil, water, plants, and animals.

Spatial Science Perspective

• Characteristics of places: determines what physical features give a particular place its distinctive appearance.
• Spatial distribution: the extent of an area or areas where a feature exists.
• Spatial pattern: how multiple individuals of the same type are arranged over the Earth's surface.
• Spatial interaction: the process whereby different phenomena are linked or interconnected and impact each other through Earth space.
• Change over space and time: the Earth's features and landscapes change continually.

Environmental Science Perspective

• The environment is everything that surrounds us, including physical, social, and cultural aspects that affect our growth, health, and way of life.
• Ecosystems: communities of organisms functioning together through interdependent relationships with the environment.
• Ecosystems are dynamic, with their parts always changing.

Working with Models and Earth Systems

• Systems: boundaries that define the system and its component parts.
• Open systems: allow energy and materials to freely cross its boundaries.
• Closed systems: no substantial amount of materials can cross its boundaries.
• Earth is an open system for energy but virtually closed in terms of matter.
• Feedback: an adjustment in response to change, which can be negative (counteracts the initial change) or positive (reinforces the initial change).
• Feedback loops: a set of feedback operations that can be repeated as a cycle.

Test your understanding of the basics of physical geography, including the difference between physical and human geography, spatial disciplines, and geographic regions. Review key concepts and objectives from Chapter 1 of your Physical Geography course.