The Physical Environment

by Michael E. Ritter

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This online physical geography textbook is for students to gain a basic understanding of physical geography. It is an introduction to the processes and patterns of the physical environment and demonstrates connections between human activities and the Earth system. The text makes physical geography dynamic through active learning and multimedia integration. Formative and summative assessments encourages student learning as they progress through the text.

Description from LibreTexts.

Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Subjects
Geosciences, Geography (Physical)
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0, as LibreTexts states it
Who can read
Tweens profiles and older, judged from its title and subjects

Contents

LibreTexts writes equations in TeX, and here they show as TeX; the PDF has them typeset.

  1. Front Matter
  2. TitlePage
  3. InfoPage
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Licensing
  6. 1: Essentials of Geography
  7. 1.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 1
  8. 1.2: The Discipline of Geography
  9. 1.2.1: Principles of Geography
  10. 1.2.2: Geography as a Spatial Science
  11. 1.2.3: The Continuum of Geography
  12. 1.2.4: Geography and the Scientific Method
  13. 1.3: Tools of the Geographer
  14. 1.3.1: Maps
  15. 1.3.2: Aerial Photographs and Remote Sensing
  16. 1.3.3: Geographic Information System
  17. 1.3.4: Models in Geography
  18. 1.3.5: Graphs and Statistics
  19. 1.3.6: The Global Positioning System (GPS)
  20. 1.4: Locational Systems
  21. 1.4.1: Latitude and Longitude
  22. 1.4.2: Geographical Zones
  23. 1.5: Time
  24. 1.6: Future Geographies
  25. 1.7: Review and Additional Resources
  26. 2: The Earth System
  27. 2.1: The Earth System
  28. 2.1.1: Birth of the Solar System
  29. 2.1.2: The Sun
  30. 2.1.3: Earth Origin
  31. 2.1.4: Size and Shape
  32. 2.1.5: The Earth in Space
  33. 2.1.6: Seasons
  34. 2.1.7: Day Length and Seasons
  35. 2.1.8: The Continents
  36. 2.1.9: The Oceans
  37. 2.2: Looking Back - The Earth
  38. 2.3: Natural Systems
  39. 2.3.1: Components of the Earth System
  40. 2.3.2: Types of Systems
  41. 2.3.3: Sources of Energy
  42. 2.3.4: System Regulation
  43. 2.3.5: Feedbacks
  44. 2.4: Looking Back - Natural Systems
  45. 2.5: Biogeochemical Cycle
  46. 2.5.1: Nitrogen Cycle
  47. 2.5.2: Oxygen Cycle
  48. 2.5.3: Carbon Cycle
  49. 2.5.4: The Hydrologic Cycle
  50. 2.6: Getting Ready for Chapter 2
  51. 2.7: Future Geographies- Feedbacks Driving Global Warming and Environmental Change
  52. 2.8: Looking Back
  53. 2.9: Review and Additional Resources
  54. 3: The Atmosphere
  55. 3.1: Atmospheric Composition
  56. 3.2: Atmospheric Structure
  57. 3.3: Greenhouse Effect
  58. 3.4: Future Geographies - Predicting Atmospheric Composition
  59. 3.5: Review and Additional Resources
  60. 3.6: Getting Ready for Chapter 3
  61. 4: Energy and Radiation
  62. 4.1: Energy and Heat
  63. 4.1.1: The Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation
  64. 4.1.2: Radiation as Particles
  65. 4.1.3: Selective Absorption by the Atmosphere
  66. 4.2: Insolation
  67. 4.3: Radiation and Energy Balance of the Earth System
  68. 4.3.1: The Radiation Balance
  69. 4.3.2: The Energy Balance
  70. 4.4: Global Patterns of Insolation, Net radiation, and Heat
  71. 4.5: Getting Ready for Chapter 4
  72. 4.6: Global Patterns of Sensible and Latent Heat Transfer
  73. 4.7: Future Geographies - Radiative Forcing and the Earth's Heat Balance
  74. 4.8: Review and Additional Online Resources
  75. 5: Air Temperature
  76. 5.1: Temperature
  77. 5.2: Controls over Air Temperature
  78. 5.3: Explaining Patterns of Air Temperature
  79. 5.4: Getting Ready for Chapter 5
  80. 5.5: Future Geographies - Global Warming and Regional Temperature Patterns
  81. 5.6: Review and Additional Resources
  82. 6: Atmospheric and Ocean Circulation
  83. 6.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 6
  84. 6.2: Air Pressure
  85. 6.3: Controls over wind direction and speed
  86. 6.4: Cyclones and Anticyclones
  87. 6.5: Local Scale Wind
  88. 6.6: Regional Scale Winds - The Monsoon
  89. 6.7: Global Scale Circulation
  90. 6.8: Wind and Pressure Aloft
  91. 6.9: Ocean Circulation and Atmospheric Circulation
  92. 6.10: Future Geographies - Atmospheric Pressure and Winds
  93. 6.11: Review and Additional Resources
  94. 7: Atmospheric Moisture
  95. 7.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 7
  96. 7.2: Phases of Water
  97. 7.2.1: Evaporation
  98. 7.2.2: Transpiration
  99. 7.2.3: Humidity
  100. 7.2.4: Condensation
  101. 7.3: Adiabatic Temperature Change and Stability
  102. 7.4: Clouds and Precipitation
  103. 7.4.1: Fog
  104. 7.4.2: Clouds
  105. 7.4.3: Precipitation Process
  106. 7.5: Global Patterns of Precipitation
  107. 7.5.1: The Equator to the Subtropics
  108. 7.5.2: Midlatitudes to the Poles
  109. 7.6: Future Geographies - Global Precipitation Patterns
  110. 7.7: Looking Ahead
  111. 7.8: Review and Additional Resources
  112. 8: Weather Systems
  113. 8.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 8
  114. 8.2: Air Masses
  115. 8.3: Fronts
  116. 8.4: Wave Cyclones (Cyclogenesis)
  117. 8.5: Weather and Wave Cyclones
  118. 8.6: Severe Weather
  119. 8.6.1: Thunderstorms
  120. 8.6.2: Lightning
  121. 8.6.3: Tornadoes
  122. 8.6.4: Hurricanes
  123. 8.7: Future Geographies - Severe Weather and Global Warming
  124. 8.8: Review and Additional Resources
  125. 9: Climate Systems
  126. 9.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 9
  127. 9.2: The Elements of Climate
  128. 9.3: Climate Classification
  129. 9.4: Low Latitude Climates
  130. 9.4.1: Tropical Rain Forest
  131. 9.4.2: Tropical Monsoon Climate
  132. 9.4.3: Tropical Wet/Dry (Savanna) Climate
  133. 9.4.4: Tropical Steppe Climate
  134. 9.4.5: Tropical Desert Climate
  135. 9.5: Midlatitude and Subtropical Climates
  136. 9.5.1: Mediterranean or Dry Summer Subtropical Climate
  137. 9.5.2: Midlatitude Desert Climate
  138. 9.5.3: Midlatitude Steppe
  139. 9.5.4: Humid Subtropical Climate
  140. 9.5.5: Humid Continental Climate
  141. 9.5.6: Marine (Humid) West Coast Climate
  142. 9.6: High Latitude Climates
  143. 9.6.1: Subarctic Climate
  144. 9.6.2: Tundra Climate
  145. 9.6.3: Ice Cap Climate
  146. 9.7: Urban Climate
  147. 9.8: Future Geographies - The Evidence for Climate Change
  148. 9.9: Review and Additional Resources
  149. 10: The Hydrosphere
  150. 10.1: The Hydrosphere
  151. 10.2: The Hydrologic Cycle
  152. 10.3: The Water Balance
  153. 10.3.1: Computing a Soil - Moisture Budget
  154. 10.3.2: Soil Moisture Seasons
  155. 10.4: Future Geographies - Water Resources and Climate Change
  156. 10.5: Review and Additional Resources
  157. 11: Soil Systems
  158. 11.1: Soil Development
  159. 11.2: Horizon Development Processes
  160. 11.3: Soil Properties
  161. 11.4: Soil Profiles
  162. 11.5: Factors Affecting Soil Development
  163. 11.6: Soil Forming (Pedogenic) Processes
  164. 11.7: Soil Orders
  165. 11.8: Review and Additional Resources
  166. 12: Biogeography of the Earth
  167. 12.1: Fundamentals of Biogeography and Ecology
  168. 12.1.1: Biogeography and ecological systems
  169. 12.1.2: Habitat Occupation
  170. 12.1.3: Principle of Limiting Factors
  171. 12.2: Ecology of Vegetation and Plant Succession
  172. 12.3: Energy Flow Through Ecosystems
  173. 12.4: Review and Additional Resources
  174. 13: Earth Biomes
  175. 13.1: Patterns of the Biosphere
  176. 13.2: The Forest Biome
  177. 13.2.1: Tropical Forests
  178. 13.2.2: Midlatitude Forests
  179. 13.2.3: Northern Forests
  180. 13.3: Savanna Biome
  181. 13.4: Grassland Biome
  182. 13.5: The Desert Biome
  183. 13.6: Tundra Biome
  184. 13.7: Review and Additional Resources
  185. 14: Earth Materials and Structure
  186. 14.1: The Earth's Interior
  187. 14.2: Forces that Shape the Surface of the Earth
  188. 14.3: Orders of Relief
  189. 14.4: Minerals
  190. 14.5: Rocks
  191. 14.5.1: Rocks and the Rock Cycle
  192. 14.5.2: Igneous Rocks
  193. 14.5.3: Sedimentary Rocks
  194. 14.5.4: Metamorphic Rocks
  195. 14.6: Review and Additional Resources
  196. 15: Tectonics and Landforms
  197. 15.1: Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift
  198. 15.2: Plate Boundaries
  199. 15.3: Crustal Deformation
  200. 15.3.1: Folding and Faulting
  201. 15.3.2: Types and Geographic Patterns of Faults
  202. 15.3.3: Tsunamis
  203. 15.4: Review and Additional Resources
  204. 16: Volcanic Processes and Landforms
  205. 16.1: Features of Volcanoes
  206. 16.2: Distribution of Volcanoes
  207. 16.3: Types of Volcanoes and Landscapes
  208. 16.4: Volcanic Hazards
  209. 16.5: Review and Additional Resources
  210. 17: Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Movement
  211. 17.1: Weathering
  212. 17.2: Mass Movement
  213. 17.3: Water Erosion
  214. 17.4: Review and Additional Resources
  215. 18: Fluvial Systems
  216. 18.1: The Stream System
  217. 18.2: Channel Geometry and Flow Characteristics
  218. 18.3: Geologic Work of Streams
  219. 18.4: Stream Gradation
  220. 18.5: Landforms of Alluvial Rivers
  221. 18.6: Fluvial Processes in Dry Regions
  222. 18.7: Review and Additional Resources
  223. 19: Glacial Systems
  224. 19.1: Glaciation
  225. 19.2: Geologic Work of Glaciers
  226. 19.3: Landforms of Continental Glaciation
  227. 19.4: Landforms of Alpine Glaciation
  228. 19.5: Digging Deeper-The Fate of Permafrost in a Warming World
  229. 19.6: Review and Additional Resources
  230. 20: Eolian Systems
  231. 20.1: Eolian Processes
  232. 20.2: Depositional Forms
  233. 20.3: Review and Additional Resources
  234. 21: Ocean and Coastal Systems
  235. 21.1: Water in Motion
  236. 21.2: Coastal Landforms and Processes
  237. 21.3: Types of Coasts
  238. 21.4: Review and Additional Resources
  239. Back Matter
  240. Index
  241. Glossary
  242. Detailed Licensing