Contact Dr. McCluskey Contact Dr. McCluskeyCOURSE SYLLABUS: AN OVERVIEW OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY INCLUDING COURSE CONTENTS AND POLICY
SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHIC STUDY: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY AS A DISCIPLINE
GEOGRAPHY AS A SPATIAL SCIENCE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE DYNAMICS OF GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY BASED UPON AN EXAMINATION OF A FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHY.
THE STUDY OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: A SYSTEMS APPROACH: A BASIC OVERVIEW OF THE USE OF THE SYSTEMS APPROACH IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY INCLUDING AN INTRODUCTION OF THE CONCEPTS OF "SPACESHIP EARTH" AND INTERLOCKING RELATIONSHIPS.
METHODS OF LOCATION: AN INTRODUCTION TO LAND SURVEY SYSTEMS AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL GRID (LINES OF LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE).
DISTRIBUTION OF LAND AND WATER: AN EXAMINATION OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF LAND AND WATER ON THE EARTH'S SURFACE. ADDITIONALLY, VARIATIONS IN THE EARTH'S SURFACE CONFIGURATION ARE CONSIDERED.
MAP ESSENTIALS: THE BASIC MARGINAL INFORMATION THAT IS REQUIRED OF WELL DESIGNED MAPS ARE CONSIDERED, INCLUDING: TITLE, DATE, CARTOGRAPHER, LEGEND, SCALE, MAP PROJECTION, ORIENTATION, AND GRID SYSTEM.
INTRODUCTION TO THE ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES: AN OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE AND THE RELATED ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES INCLUDING METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY.
ORIGINS OF THE ATMOSPHERE: AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE: A DISCUSSION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ROLE THAT THE CONSTANT GASES, VARIABLE GASES, AND PARTICULATE MATTER PLAY IN AFFECTING WEATHER AND CLIMATE AND HOW THEY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION.
THE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION: AN OVERVIEW OF SEVERAL OF THE MAJOR AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS FACING THE WORLD TODAY, INCLUDING: GLOBAL WARMING, OZONE DEPLETION, ACID RAIN. CONSIDERATION IS ALSO GIVEN TO THE MAJOR SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION AND THE GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN MAJOR AIR POLLUTION PROBLEMS.
STRUCTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE: THE ZONES OF THE ATMOSPHERE ARE IDENTIFIED AND DISCUSSED, INCLUDING: TROPOSPHERE, STRATOSPHERE, MESOSPHERE, AND THERMOSPHERE. VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE PATTERNS WITH ALTITUDE ARE ALSO CONSIDERED.
MONITORING THE ATMOSPHERE: EXAMINES HOW VISUAL OBSERVATIONS, BALLOONS, PLANES, SATELLITES, RADAR, AND OTHER DEVICES ARE USED TO MONITOR ATMOSPHERIC PROCESS.
PART IV: ATMOSPHERIC AND CLIMATIC CONTROLS
MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EARTH'S ROTATION ON ITS AXIS AND REVOLUTION AROUND THE SUN
EARTH/SUN RELATIONSHIPS: CONSIDERATION OF THE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHANGING OF THE SEASONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EARTH'S ROTATION AROUND THE SUN
GLOBAL HEAT BALANCE: DISCUSSION OF THE DRIVING MECHANISM OF PLANETARY WEATHER
TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS: CONSIDERATION OF THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATION IN THE EARTH'S TEMPERATURE, THE INSTRUMENTS TO USED TO MEASURE TEMPERATURE, TEMPERATURE DATA, AND THE APPLIED USE OF TEMPERATURE DATA
GLOBAL MODELS -- ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AND PRECIPITATON: AN EXAMINATION OF HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE, GLOBAL PRESSURE SYSTEMS, AND GLOBAL WIND PATTERNS
GLOBAL MODELS -- WINDS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GLOBAL PRESSURE SYSTEMS AND GLOBAL WIND BELTS IS EXAMINED
GLOBAL MODELS -- OCEAN CURRENTS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GLOBAL WINDS AND OCEAN CIRCULATION IS CONSIDERED AND THE MAJOR CLIMATIC INFLUENCES OF WARM AND COLD WATER CURRENTS ARE DISCUSSED.
MOISTURE IN THE ATMOSPHERE: REVIEW OF THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE, FORMS AND TYPES OF PRECIPITATION, AND CLOUD TYPES.
AIR MASSES AND FRONTS: INTRODUCTION TO AIR MASSES OF NORTH AMERICA, WARM FRONTS, COLD FRONTS, OCCLUDED FRONTS, AND STATIONARY FRONTS AS WELL AS THE WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH EACH.
ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES: AN OVERVIEW OF ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES, INCLUDING: THUNDERSTORMS, EXTRATROPICAL STORMS, TORNADOES, AND HURRICANES.
THUNDERSTORMS: AN OVERVIEW OF THE LIFE CYCLE, STRUCTURE, AND GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THUNDERSTORMS.
EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONIC STORMS: AN OVERVIEW OF LOWS AND HOW THEY AFFECT THE WEATHER OF THE UNITED STATES.
TORNADOES: AN OVERVIEW OF TORNADOES AS THEY OCCUR IN THE UNITED STATES.
HURRICANES: AN OVERVIEW OF HURRICANES AS THE OCCUR ALONG THE EAST AND GULF COASTS OF THE UNITED STATES.