The course aims to provide knowledge regarding the environments of Planet Earth. In detail, the course intends to 1) introduce a global vision of the planet and provide the basis for understanding the environments present and the physical phenomena that shape its surface, with particular regard to their geographical and climatic distribution; 2) to provide the knowledge to critically read and use topographic maps as a means of representing the earth's surface and the distribution of natural phenomena at different spatial scales.
teacher profile teaching materials
LUPIA PALMIERI E. & PAROTTO M., IL GLOBO TERRESTRE E LA SUA EVOLUZIONE, ZANICHELLI, BOLOGNA
SAURO U., MENEGHEL M., BONDESAN A. & CASTIGLIONI B. – DALLA CARTA TOPOGRAFICA AL PAESAGGIO. ATLANTE RAGIONATO. – ZETABETA EDITRICE SRL, VICENZA
MORI A. – LE CARTE GEOGRAFICHE E LA LORO LETTURA E INTERPRETAZIONE. – LIBRERIA GOLIARDICA, PISA
Programme
Introduction to Physical Geography; the composition, the subdivision of the atmosphere; the radiative balance of the Sun / Earth / atmosphere system; the air temperature; atmospheric pressure and winds; the general circulation of the atmosphere; air humidity and precipitation; atmospheric pertubation; meteorological weather and climate; the classification of climates and their distribution; the climate in Italy; climatic variations over time; the hydrological cycle; the sea; the physical-chemical characteristics of seawater; the movements of the sea (waves, currents, tides); Introduction to climate change; general introduction on maps and their construction; the scale of the map; the shape of the Earth (ellipsoid and geoid) and the datum; the geographical network; the concept of latitude and longitude; geographic projections; hints of triangulation; the UTM system; cartographic symbology; reading and interpretation of topographic maps; Italian cartographic production; practical exercises on topographic maps at different scales of detail concerning: the calculation of the geographical and metric coordinates (UTM and Gauss-Boaga), the construction of the topographic profile, the delimitation of the river basin, the calculation of the percentage and angular slope, the altitude of a point, the planimetric and real distances and the magnetic declination for a correct orientation of the card.Core Documentation
MCKNIGHT T.H. & HESS D.H., GEOGRAFIA FISICA. COMPRENDERE IL PAESAGGIO. PICCIN, PADOVALUPIA PALMIERI E. & PAROTTO M., IL GLOBO TERRESTRE E LA SUA EVOLUZIONE, ZANICHELLI, BOLOGNA
SAURO U., MENEGHEL M., BONDESAN A. & CASTIGLIONI B. – DALLA CARTA TOPOGRAFICA AL PAESAGGIO. ATLANTE RAGIONATO. – ZETABETA EDITRICE SRL, VICENZA
MORI A. – LE CARTE GEOGRAFICHE E LA LORO LETTURA E INTERPRETAZIONE. – LIBRERIA GOLIARDICA, PISA
Type of delivery of the course
Lectures are carried on using ppt slides. Practical lessons are based on the topographic map. During lessons, students are encouraged to ask questions and make comments.Type of evaluation
Profit will be assessed by: - a multiple choice written test, relating to the topics covered during the lessons and a cartography test (Coordinate calculation, topographical profile, river basin); - an oral test aimed at verifying the knowledge acquired during the frontal lessons.