Physical Geography 101
Reading Material

Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington

The following is a list of links to reading material from a variety of sources. Use of some of this material is password protected and restricted to use by students currently enrolled in Physical Geography 101. This material may only be used for the purpose of completing the required reading assignments. All copyright laws apply. Electronic copying and distribution of this material is prohibited.

Some of the articles below may be password protected on Canvas.

Earth Rotation and Revolution

Chapter 6h. Earth-Sun Geometry - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Earth's Rotation - A Polaris Project web page.
Earth-Sun geometry - by Michael Pidwirny - The Encyclopedia of Earth web page.
Precession of the Equinox - Skywise Unlimited web page.

Time

A Walk through Time - A NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory Presentation web page.
Astronomical Time Keeping - The Munich Astro Archive web page.
Time of Day - Skywise Unlimited web page.
The Seasons - Skywise Unlimited web page.

The Sun and Electromagnetic Radiation

The Solar Sea - Annenberg Learner: Transcripts for the Planet Earth video. PDF file.

Global Radiation Balance

Chapter 6i. Earth-Sun Relationships and Insolation - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7j. Global Heat Balance: Introduction to Heat Fluxese - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Global Energy System

Chapter 7i. Net Radiation and the Planetary Energy Balance - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Composition of the Atmosphere

Earth's atmosphere - by Milton Beychok - The Encyclopedia of Earth web page.
Chapter 7a. Atmospheric Composition - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7e. The Ozone Layer - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Air Temperature

Chapter 7k. The Concept of Temperature - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7l. Daily and Annual Cycles of Temperature - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7w. Introduction to Applied Climatology - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Temperature Structure of the Atmosphere

Chapter 7b. The Layered Atmosphere - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Greenhouse Effect

Chapter 7h. The Greenhouse Effect - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Global Warming

Global Warming: A Short Discourse - by Richard Harwood
Climate Change: Evidence & Causes - The Royal Society & U.S. National Academy of Sciences PDF file.
Our Changing Planet - Dr. Stephen A. Nelson, EENS1110 web page
Chapter 7x. Earth's Climatic History - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7y. Causes of Climate Change - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Hydrosphere and Hydrologic Cycles

1. Water - A Maverick Compound - Chapter 1 from Water, by Luna B. Leopold and Kenneth S. Davis, Time-Life Books Life Science Library, 1966.
Chapter 8a. Physical Properties of Water - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 8b. The Hydrologic Cycle - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 8d. Condensation, Freezing, and Deposition - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Humidity, Clouds, Fog

Chapter 8c. Atmospheric Humidity - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 8e. Cloud Formation Processes - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 8f. Precipitation and Fog - Read the "Fog" section - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Precipitation

Chapter 8f. Precipitation and Fog - Read the "Precipitation" section - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Pollution

History of Air Pollution - Enviropedia.org web page.
Changing Air Quality & Clean Air Acts - Enviropedia.org wweb page.
The Key Air Pollutants - Enviropedia.org wpage.
Dimming the Sun - NOVA Transcript.
What is Global Dimming? - CFF: Conserve Energy Future web page.

Atmospheric Pressure, Pressure Gradients

Chapter 7d. Atmospheric Pressure - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Winds

Chapter 7n. Forces Acting to Create Wind - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Global Wind Patterns

Tropical Cyclones - Read "Atmospheric Circulation" section - Dr. Stephen A. Nelson, EENS3050 web page
Chapter 7p. Global Scale Circulation of the Atmosphere - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

High Altitude Winds

Chapter 7q. Upper Air Winds and the Jet Streams - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7n. Forces Acting to Create Wind - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Tornadoes

Tornadoes & Other Severe Weather - Dr. Stephen A. Nelson, EENS3050 web page
Chapter 7t. Thunderstorms and Tornadoes - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Cyclones and Anticyclones

Chapter 7n. Forces Acting to Create Wind - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7r. Frontal Transitional Zones - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7s. The Mid-Latitude Cyclone - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Tropical Weather Systems

Chapter 7u. Tropical Weather and Hurricanes - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Tropical Cyclones - Dr. Stephen A. Nelson, EENS3050 web page

Poleward Transport

Chapter 7j. Global Heat Balance: Introduction to Heat Fluxese - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 8q. Surface and Subsurface Ocean Currents - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Gyres Background - NASA OceanMotion.org web page.
Ekman Transport Background - NASA OceanMotion.org web page.
Upwelling and Downwelling Background - NASA OceanMotion.org web page.

Climate Classification

Chapter 7v. Climate Classification and Climatic Regions of the World - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 7r. Air Masses - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Climates

Chapter 7v. Climate Classification and Climatic Regions of the World - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Plant Successions

Chapter 9a. Origin and Definition of Life - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 9i. Plant Succession - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Soil

Chapter 10t. Introduction to Soils - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 10u. Soil Pedogenesis - PhysicalGeography.net web page.
Chapter 10v. Soil Classification - PhysicalGeography.net web page.

Richard Harwood's Courses