Question #1 - Final

The geosphere is associated with the states of terrestrial matter: solid (earth), liquid (water), gas (air), and plasma (fire). The atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass. The hydrosphere is the collective mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of a planet. Finally, the biosphere is the part of the Earth, including air, land, surface rocks, and water, within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. The hydrosphere is essential for life, in that case the biosphere would not be around unless we had the hyrosphere. Plants would also not be able to grow if there were no geosphere, and if there were not plants there would be no life. So, it is essential that we have every one of these major systems. A concern is climate change, such as global warming caused by anthropogenic releases of greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide, and their interactions with humans and the natural environment. I will used this information in the future because now I know that we would not be here unless we had every one of the major systems. We need to changed our ways, like cut down polluion, so that we can keep these. Common good supports this cause I would be doing a good thing for the world, keeping it going. People would argue that it'll be hard to change this much, but it'll be worth it to save the planet.

Sources:
1. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
24 May 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemonic_major_system
2. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
20 May 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environment

Pictures:
1. Image:Devils Punchbowl Waterfall, New Zealand.jpg
2. Image:Seawifs global biosphere.jpg

Question #6 - Final

Converging plate boundries are the ones that move together, these are in the form of trench and island arc systems. Diverging pull apart from eachother, mid-ocean ridges are created as magma from the mantle upwells through a crack in the oceanic crust and cools. Transform are plate material is neither created nor destroyed at these boundaries, but rather plates slide past each other, these boundries are where the spreading centers are offset by transform faults anywhere from a few meters to several kilometers in length. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along plate boundaries. In the case of earthqueakes these happen by transform or convergent type plate boundaries, which form the largest fault surfaces on earth, they will move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the boundary that increase the frictional resistance. Three major types of valcanos are shield valcano, stratovolcano, and cinder cones. Shield volcanos are large with shallow-sloping sides. Stratovolcanoes are tall, conical volcano composed of many layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. Cinder cones are steep conical hill of volcanic fragments that accumulate around and downwind from a volcanic vent. The Ring of Fire is an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and plate movements. I'll use this information in the future because now I know all about how the plates effect the earth. Before I never knew how much of an impact it had on the earth. Others might say that is doesn't matter, but it does because the reason the earth is like this today is because of the plates moving. Common good would supports this because now I know and I can inform everyone about it.

Sources:
1. Maggi Glasscoe
9/8/98
http://scign.jpl.nasa.gov/learn/plate4.htm
2. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
8 June 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

Pictures:
1. Image:Tectonic plate boundaries.png
2. Image:Pacific Ring of Fire.png

Question #3 - Final

Renewable energy means using natural factors such as wind or solar effectively. Nonrenewable energy means using natural factors like oil or nuclear supplies that can't be used again. Both renewable and nonrenewable can change form, this is an example of the conservation of energy. This law states that energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. There is the same amount of energy here on Earth as there was 25 years ago, the only difference is it's in a different place or form. Nonrenewable resources is the overall cost of he earths energy is major pollution in the air and the benefit are that we have energy which makes our everyday lives easier. For renwable resources H2O is 70% of the Earth’s surface and 80% of fruit and vegetables are made of water. Our bodies are 50 - 70% water and we lose about 2.5 liters through urine and feces, skin and lungs. In the long run though using renewable resources can do good for out planet. For example, groundwater could be removed from an aquifer at a rate greater than the sustainable recharge. I will use this information in the future because now I know what I can do to help the planet. I can use better resources to produce less pollution. Eventhough it will be hard because you will have to change a lot of things, still you will be helping the planet be a better place for everyone. Common Good is a core democratic value to support this. I will be helping the plants and everyone living on it.

Sources:
1. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
9 June 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy
2. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
10 June 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_resource

Pictures:
1. Image:Global Carbon Emission by Type to Y2004.png
2. Image:Windenergy.jpg

WES D

Today we learned that winds affect the currents on the surface of the water. If the winds are blowing one way then the surface of the water will go the same way. Also, the wind can bring in cold or warm air depending on the temperature of the water. So, this mean that the area can be warmed or cooled by the wind. This relates to my topic because a cyclone is spiraling wind. There can be tropical cyclone which only happen in warm climates where warm water is. Then just regular cyclones which can happen wherever, but most common place is in tropical climates. This activity to me was pretty common sense like. I mean, if the wind is blowing in one direction of course the water will go with it. If the wind is strong enough, it can direct whatever it feels. If you go to the beach you notice the closer you get to the water the colder it gets because the water is making the wind cold. Sometimes on days when the water is calm the wind is usually warmer.

I got my information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone

Activity 4

Today we did an activity on how the sun effects the temperature of dirt, sand, and water. We had six bottles, two with dirt, two with sand, and two with water. One of each dirt, sand, and water bottle had paint on the top to slow down the effect of the sun getting through the bottle. A lamp was put over the bottles for 20 minutes and the temperature was taken. The end result was that the bottles without the paint had a higher temperature then the bottles with the paint. Out of the bottles without the paint the sand had the highest temperature, then the water, and last the dirt with the lowest temperature. This relates to my topic because tropical cyclones when it's hot at the water evaporates from the sun hitting the water and it creates a tropical cyclone. I thought, before we did this activity, that the dirt would have the highest temperature and the water the lowest because the dirt is dark so it would absorb more light and the water would reflect more. After the activity it made sense that the sand would have the highest temperature because it's packed together more so it can hold in more heat, rather than heat which is just loose together so heat can escape.

I got my information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone

Two Page Paper

A cyclone is an area of low atmospheric pressure, characterized by inward spiraling winds and rotate counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere of the Earth. Cold-core cyclones form due to the nearby presence of an upper level trough, which increases divergence over an area that induces upward motion and surface low pressure. Warm-core cyclones can have their initial start sue to nearby upper trough, but after formation of the initial disturbance, depend on a storm-relative upper level high to maintain or increase their strength. Cyclones can produce extremely strong winds, tornadoes, torrential rain, high waves, and storm surges. Also, heavy rains and storm surges can produce extensive flooding. When these things happen it is devastating on the human populations and also destroys homes, land, and forests. Cyclones can also be beneficial by relieving drought conditions and carry heat away from the tropics. Cyclones are predicted the same way hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, cyclonic storms, and tropical depression are because they are often mistaken for those. Warnings are issued because they can kill people and ruin land, also tornadoes and flooding occur during the process, which causes even more damage. There are different types of cyclones such as polar polar low, extratropical, subtropical, tropical, and mesoscale. Polar cyclones, also know as arctic cyclones, are vast areas of low pressure and usually spanning 1,000-2,000 kilometers. Polar low is a small-scaled, short-lived atmospheric low-pressure system and scale less than 1,000 km. Extratropical is a synoptic scale low-pressure weather system that has neither tropical nor polar characteristics. Subtropical is a cyclone that has the same characteristics of a tropical and extratropical cyclone’s. It can form in a wide band of latitude, from the equator to 50 degrees. Tropical cyclone is a storm system fueled by the heat released when moist air rises and the water vapor in it condenses. Mesoscale is a cyclonic vortex of air, between approximately 2 to 10 km diameter within a convective storm. Since cyclones produce from the water vapor, when the temperature changed in the ocean it is easier for them to produce. For example, when the ocean gets warmer tropical cyclones produce because the heat releases moister into the air. When cold and warm fronts cross the low and the wind ciculates around the low, a cyclone forms. Depending on the storm-relative upper level high depends if it maintains its strength or increases. The three parts of a cyclone are an eye, eyewall, and a rain band. An eye is a region of mostly calm weather that is in the center of the cyclone. It is typically 30-65 km or 20-40 miles in diameter. The cyclone's lowest barometric pressure occurs in the eye, and can be as much as 15 percent lower than the atmospheric pressure outside the storm. The eye is characterized by light winds and clear skies, surrounded on all sides by a towering, symmetric eyewall. The eyewall is a ring of towering thunderstorms where most of the severe weather occurs. Winds in an eyewall usually become greater than 115 mph. Cyclones reach a threshold of intensity, and the eyewall contracts, some of the outer rainbands may strengthen and turn into a ring of thunderstorms. An outer eyewall slowly moves inward and takes place of the inner eyewall because of needed moisture and angular momentum. Since the strongest winds are located in a cyclone's eyewall, the tropical cyclone usually weakens during this phase, as the inner wall is choked by the outer wall it eventually gets replaced by the outer eyewall, and the storm can re-intensify. A common mistake, especially in areas where hurricanes are uncommon, is for residents to go outside to inspect the damage while the eye passes over, thinking the storm is over. They are then caught completely by surprise by the violent winds in the opposite eyewall. Rain bands are bands of showers and thunderstorms that spiral cyclonically toward the storm center. High wind gusts and heavy downpours often occur in individual rainbands, with relatively calm weather between bands. Usually tornadoes form in the rain bands.

I got all this information at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_%28cyclone%29
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone




PHOTO: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/JessieMC1991/800px-Cyclone_Catarina_from_the_ISS.jpg
**Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004.**
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cyclone_Catarina_from_the_ISS_on_March_26_2004.JPG


PHOTO: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/JessieMC1991/Hurricane_structure_graphic.jpg
**Structure of a tropical cyclone.**
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hurricane_structure_graphic.jpg


PHOTO: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/JessieMC1991/UK-Cyclone.gif
**A fictitious synoptic chart of an extratropical cyclone affecting the UK. The blue arrows between isobars indicate the direction of the wind, while the "L" symbol denotes the centre of the "low".**
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:UK-Cyclone.gif


PHOTO: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/JessieMC1991/Eye_structure.jpg
**A cross section diagram of a mature tropical cyclone, with arrows indicating air flow in and around the eye.**
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eye_structure.jpg


PHOTO: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a276/JessieMC1991/HurricaneAndrewFLRADAR.png
**Typically, eyes are easy to spot using weather radar. This radar image of Hurricane Andrew clearly shows the eye over southern Florida.**
LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HurricaneAndrewFLRADAR.png

April Fools

Today we tried to figure out why yesterday it was warm and today it is cold. I believe is has something to do with La Nina. La Nina is a cold storm, important temperature fluctuations in the surface waters. It's concequences of oceanic and atmospheric circulations. Cyclones relate to this because La Nina is effected by circulations and Cyclones are inward spiraling winds that rotate different ways in different hemispheres. Cold-core Cyclones are formed by an increase divergence over an area that induces upward motion and surface low pressure. I thought it was interesting how it can be warm one day and then cold the next, it always happens in Michigan. It'll be nice one day then snow the next. La Nina and El Nino are like the same thing, but La Nina makes it cold when El Nino makes it warm. Something I didn't know about those is La Nina stands for "little girl" and El Nino stands for "little boy."

I got my information from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Nina