Using the power of Google Earth, GeoTours take you on flyovers of key locations discussed in the text.
StudySpace student website and ebook icons in each GeoTour connect your to the text and online review materials.
Dialogue boxes accompanying each site include text, figures, photos.
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Geotour 19: Aspects of Global Change
Effects of Global Warming
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| 1a. One of the present global concerns is the breakup and melting of glaciers and ice shelves due to global warming.
Check and double-click placemark Problem 1a to fly to Antarctica to view the area around the Larsen B ice shelf. Turn on the “Larsen B Ice Shelf” polygon. Once there, click the clock in the icon bar to look at historical imagery, focusing on imagery of Jan 31, 2002, Mar 07, 2002, & Feb 23, 2006 (note: the Dec 1999 imagery is incorrect). What happened?
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| 1b. To get a sense of scale, use the Measuring Tool with the Polygon tab to estimate the area of the magenta polygon (in sq km).
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Effects of Deforestation
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| 2a. Humans also are modifying their environment in various ways (including deforestation) and dramatically affecting both local and global ecosystems.
Check and double-click placemark Problem 2a to fly to South America to view deforestation over time and its effects on the landscape. Once there, click the clock in the icon bar to look at historical imagery, beginning with Jun 1975 and ending with Jul 2008. Estimate the percentage of land that has experienced deforestation in this area over time.
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| 2b. Turn on the “Deforestation Area” polygon. This polygon represents an area of approximately 5000 sq km. Using your answer from Problem 2a, what area (in sq km) within the polygon has been deforested from 1975-2008?
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| 2c. On average, how much deforestation occurred in this area per year (sq km/yr)?
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Water Use in Arid Regions
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| 3a. Water usage in arid regions is becoming an increasingly important issue. [Note: This was Problem 2 in the Deserts chapter, but is appropriate for this chapter (especially if you did not do the Deserts chapter)].
Check and double-click the placemarks for Problems 3a-i and 3a-ii to fly to the Phoenix, AZ area. How are the areas highlighted by the placemarks different?
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| 3b. What are the features highlighted by the Problem 3b placemarks?
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| 3c. What is the feature highlighted by placemark Problem 3c?
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| 3d. Follow the feature in Problem 3c to the west (continue across the tunnels/pipelines that look like gaps). Where does it ultimately originate (the placemarks for Problem 3d mark the ends of a long tunnel)?
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Preservation of Natural Habitats
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| 4a. Check and double-click placemark Problem 4 to fly to the Everglades in Florida. Turn on Places of Interest > Parks and Recreation Areas to see the green outline of the boundary of the protected national park (note the sharpness of this eastern boundary with developed areas).
Based on the alignment of hammocks of grass (the elongate ridges that are slightly above the wet area), and on the position of the coast relative to this area, what is the direction of regional water flow in the Everglades?
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| 4b. North of the park border, if developers or farmers drain and utilize this land, what will happen to the source of water for the Everglades, and therefore to the ecosystem of the Everglades?
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