Geography Project: Earth

Topic: Spheres.Chapter: 1 Introduction to Earth.Page: 7Date: November, 7, 2010location: Woodbridge lake, Irvine.Description: Picture includes the four spheres: Biosphere, Atmosphere, Lithosphere and HydrosphereAnalysis:
The earth is made up of four different spheres that interact with each other. They are the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere.
The lithosphere is made up of the rocks on the earth crust and the minerals present in them. The continental plates are part of the lithosphere and keep on moving in different directions.
The hydrosphere is the surface of the earth covered by the water bodies. It occupies 70% of the earth surface and the oceans and seas constitute its largest part.
The part of the earth where life is sustained is called the biosphere. It includes the upper part of the water bodies where life is possible. The various ecosystems like grassland, forest, desert, water etc constitutes the biosphere.
The atmosphere is the air content in the earth space. This is made up of various gases with different concentrations. Nitrogen is the most abundant gas, followed by oxygen and the rest are in trace amount.Topic: Air pollutionChapter: 3, Introduction to the AtmospherePage: 59Date: November 16, 2010location: Around Irvine Valley CollegeDescription: Air pollution cause by cars exhaustsAnalysis:
Air pollution is one of the most common forms of pollution that causes health hazards to human and other living organisms. The pollution may be from vehicles, industrial exhaust or domestic use of fossil fuels. Respiratory and cardio pulmonary disorders usually result from this kind of pollution.
The increase in the use of cars has led to increased air pollution. The fuel used by the cars contains hydrocarbons that are not completely combustible thus emit oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur that cause air pollution. Ozone is also produced by cars and unlike the atmospheric ozone that prevents against uv radiation, this ozone cause global warming. These effects can be decreased by use of clean fuels such as methane designing vehicles with better combustion systemTopic: ReflectionChapter: 4, Insolation and TemperaturePage: 73Date: October 22, 2010Location: Laguna Niguel.Description: A lake view showing the reflection of the sky and the hillsAnalysis:Reflection refers to the ability of an object to repel electromagnetic waves without altering either the object or the wave. Reflection is more in light colored objects, snow and ice whereas dark colored objects absorb the sun rays and are poor reflectors. The amount of the sun rays reflected back depends on the cloud cover and particles present in the environment. It occurs via electromagnetic waves and also visible light. It occurs in water due to the difference in refractive index. The angle of incidence greatly determines how much light is reflected. The water reflects sunlight in different directions. Water is a good transmitter as it allows electromagnetic waves to pass completely through it. Some of the solar radiation is reflected back unchanged whereas the rest is absorbed by objects leading to heating of the earth surface.Topic: Movement of Ocean WaterChapter: 9, The HydrospherePage: 240Date: October 23, 2010location: San Clemente Beach, OCDescription: Wet rocks and sands caused by tidesis an evidence of TidesAnalysis:
The movement of ocean water is due to factors such as currents, waves and tides. Waves cause up and down movement of water while currents due to wind cause steady water movements. Tides are the most common causes of water movements and are caused by the gravity of the moon and sun. Due to gravity the tides causes the levels of water to rise or fall during high and low tides respectively. Each of these takes about six hours. The coastline shape and the coastal floor determine the height of a tide. When the tides meet the shore they are sent back and they wet the rocks in the shore. Tides also carry with them sand and deposit it forming the beach. When the tides are receding they sweep away the sand in the beach.Topic: Wind PowerChapter: 5, Atmospheric Pressure and WindPage: 104Date: November 12, 2010location: Woodbury, Irvine Description: Electricity generating wind turbinesAnalysis:Wind power is the energy generated from wind by use of turbines.This energy can be also used to operate mills and pump water.The wind energy is clean and does not cause environmental pollution. It is an alternative to fossil fuels as source of energy.It is readilly available and evenly distributed. The wind speed is the main determinant of the amount of energy generated. This varies in different locations. After the generation of energy from wind through turbines, it is then converted into electric power.
The wind power generation has certain disadvantages. It is only available when the wind speed is high. In low altitudes the the generated capacity is lower than in high altitudes. Not all the wind that blows is converted into power,only part of it.The energy generated has to be converted into electricity and this requires high technological equipments.Topic: CloudsChapter: 6, Atmospheric moisturePage: 141Date: November 25, 2010location: IrvineDescription: cumulus clouds over IrvineAnalysisClouds are made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals. The water from the earth surface evaporates and cools to form water droplets and under low temperatures the droplets become ice crystals. The accumulated water droplets and ice crystals form the clouds. There are four major types of clouds i.e. cumulus, cumulonimbus, cirrus and stratus. They are classified depending on their appearance when viewed from the ground and their height from the base.
The cumulus is a low altitude cloud. They have the appearance of cotton bundles. They usually develop vertically and seen either in singles or groups. Their edges are clearly visible. They are made up of water droplets but ice crystals may be seen in winters.
Cumulonimbuses are clouds that traverse different altitudes. They are associated with heavy rain, thunder storm and lightning. They are so tall and dark grey in color.
Topic: LakesChapter: 9, The HydrospherePage: 246Date: October 13, 2010Location: Woodbridge lake, IrvineDescription: LakeAnalysis:A lake is a water body with either fresh or salty water and is surrounded by land. The water in the lake is not flowing and lakes are not interconnected with the oceans. They can be natural or manmade. Natural lakes are present in mountain areas. The artificial lakes are constructed for human use in agriculture, domestic purposes, power generation etc. The lakes may be having streams and rivers as inlets or outlets. Some lakes lack outlets thus regulates the amount of water in them by evaporation or underground seepage.
Many lakes are freshwater lakes and usually distributed in higher latitudes. Natural lakes are formed by natural processes such as plate tectonics, melting of glaciers an...