ENV 203/GEO 205: Introduction

to Geography
Lecture 1

Moupia Rahman (MpR), PhD

E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
My Education

PhD in Environmental Science

University of Southampton, UK.

MPhil Leading to PhD

Environmental Science
University of Southampton, UK.

B.Sc. (Hons.) in Agriculture

Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymenshingh

Research Interest
Heavy metal pollution
Bioaccumulation of pollutants
Quantitative genetics
 Outline
• Definition of Geography
• Dimension of geography
• History of geography
• Branches of geography
• Cartography
• GIS (details)
Chapter 1: Introduction to Geography
and GIS
History,
Themes and Concepts,
Definitions,
3 approaches of Geography: Physical, Human,
Socio-Economic
 Geography
Study of interactions between humans and the environment over
space and time.

“The relationship of the earth and the humans”—Karl Ritter

(1779-1859).

“Geography is the description of the humans on earth”---Sir Dudley

Stamp (1898-1966).

Geography is the science that helps to determine the relationship

between humans and the earth.

The environment includes both living things, such as people,

plants, and animals, and nonliving things, such as air, water and
soil.
 Dimensions of Geography

• Space (Spatial)
• Time (Temporal)
 History: contributors

The ancient Greeks were also interested in the form, size, and
geometry of the Earth. Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) hypothesized
and scientifically demonstrated that the Earth had a spherical
shape.

Ptolemy (100 - 178 AD) made a number of important

contributions to geography. Ptolemy's publication "Guide to
Geography" compiled and summarized much of the Greek
and Roman geographic information accumulated at that time.

Development of the concepts of geographical latitude and

longitude was one of his (Ptolemy) important contribution.
 History: contributors

Eratosthenes
(276 BC – 194 BC)
--was a Greek Mathematician, geographer, poet and athlete
He was the first person to use the word "geography" in Greek and
he invented the discipline of geography
He also invented the system of latitude & longitude
He was the first person to calculate the circumference of the earth
& calculated the tilt of the earth’s axis
 Development of Modern Geography

Initiators of modern geography.

Alexander von-Humboldt Karl Ritter ((August 7, 1779 –

(September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859) September 28, 1859)
 Branches of Geography

Physical Geography
Geomorphology, fluvial process,
hydrology,
climatology/meteorology, soil
and biogeography,
Oceanography, glaciology etc.
 Human Geography

Cultural geography, political geography, economic

geography, social geography, historical geography,
regional geography, urban geography, medical
geography, settlement geography, rural geography,
agricultural geography etc.
 Socio-economic Geography
• Economic geography • Social geography
 Mathematical Geography

• Statistical
geography
• Cartography
• modeling
• application
of remote
sensing &
GIS
 Cartography
• The science or practice of drawing maps.
• The International Cartographic Association defines
cartography as the discipline dealing with the
conception, production, dissemination and study of
maps. Cartography is also about representation – the
map. This means that cartography is the whole process
of mapping.
Some of the phenomena studied in physical and
human geography
Physical Geography Human Geography
Rocks and Minerals Population
Landforms Settlements
Soils Economic Activities
Animals Transportation
Plants Recreational Activities
Water Religion
Atmosphere Political Systems
Rivers and Other Water Bodies Social Traditions
Environment Human Migration
Climate and Weather Agricultural Systems
Oceans Urban Systems
 Key concepts of Geography

The 8 key concepts are:

direction, distance, scale, location, distribution, localiz

ation, spatial interaction and region

1) Direction- is a geometric property used to describe

relative location. The true direction is measured by
reference to a meridian.
Nations that touch the Equator and the
Prime Meridian
2) Distance- Distance takes into account the dimension of
the surface of a feature to calculate the distance traveled
vertically.

3) Scale- is the size of the area being studied and is related

to the level of precision and generalization applied to the
area of interest. Scale on a map may be represented
three ways:

With a scale bar, as words " one centimeter to a

kilometer“ or as a representative fraction (1/10,000).
4) Location- is either relative or absolute. Absolute location is restricted to a
reference system similar to Euclidian distance or GPS location.
Relative location is related to other object as they are seen as important
(one example: the school is adjacent to the hospital).

5) Distribution- is the spatial pattern in an area. The three patterns

recognized in spatial statistics are:
6) Spatial data (Space) and temporal data ( Time):
Spatial data have to do with location-aware information, in other
words, data that have co-ordinates (X, Y). Spatial analysis are
the technique involved in analyzing Spatial data. This is a
significant component of GIS.
Temporal data is time series data. In other words, this data is
collected as time progress. Temporal analysis is also known as
Time series analysis. These are the techniques for analyzing
data units that change with time
7) Spatial interaction- is the movement of people, ideas, or
goods between areas on the earth. The concept of spatial
interaction is tied closely with human geography.

8) Region- A region is defined by the researcher to study the

likenesses and differences of areas. Regions in GIS are
represented by polygons or raster cells of the same value.

With the help of GIS we can explore the concepts of

geography and demonstrate how to analyze spatial data
based on these fundamental concepts.
 GIS

• A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework

for gathering, managing, and analyzing data.
• GIS integrates many types of data.
• It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of
information into visualizations using maps and 3D
scenes.
• With this unique capability, GIS reveals deeper
insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and
situations—helping users make smarter decisions.
How GIS work
 An example
PROSPECT OF PHYTOREMEDIATION OF ARSENIC BY BRASSICA
JUNCEA (L.) IN BANGLADESH

Map 3. Potential of B. juncea

Map 1. Arsenic Map 2. Area under
for Phytoremediation of
Contamination in Production of Rape and
Arsenic from Soil
Groundwater Mustard,
Application of GIS
Areas where GIS may contribute
 What is Geo-Mapping?
A geo-map is a map of a country, continent, or region map,
with colors and values assigned to specific regions.
Measuring Size, Shape, •How long is the Dhanmondi Lake ?

and Distribution •How tall is the building at Dhanmondi?

•How densely people live at Dhanmondi?
 •Describes a feature in terms of its area;
Measuring size and •Perimeter
shape; •Length
-- shows bigness •height
•volume.
of the object.
Which are the most polluted places in the world?
• Latitude (shown as a horizontal line) is the
angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and
seconds of a point north or south of the Equator.
Lines of latitude are often referred to as
parallels.

• Longitude (shown as a vertical line) is the

angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and
seconds, of a point east or west of the Prime
(Greenwich) Meridian. Lines of longitude are
often referred to as meridians.
• Latitude is a measurement on a globe or map of location north or
south of the Equator. Technically, there are different kinds of
latitude—geocentric, astronomical, and geographic (or
geodetic)—but there are only minor differences between them. In
most common references, geocentric latitude is implied. Given in
degrees, minutes, and seconds, geocentric latitude is the arc
subtended by an angle at Earth’s centre and measured in a
north-south plane poleward from the Equator. Thus, a point at 30°
15ʹ20″ N subtends an angle of 30°15ʹ20″at the centre of the globe;
similarly, the arc between the Equator and either geographic pole
is 90° (one-fourth the circumference of the Earth, or 1/4 × 360°),
and thus the greatest possible latitudes are 90° N and 90° S. As
aids to indicate different latitudinal positions on maps or globes,
equidistant circles are plotted and drawn parallel to the Equator
and each other; they are known as parallels, or parallels of
latitude.
Latitude and longitude, coordinate system by means of which the position or
location of any place on Earth’s surface can be determined and described.
This cutaway drawing shows that the latitude and longitude of any place are based on the sizes of
two angles that originate at the centre of the Earth.
Geographic Coordinate System
ude
Equator
Longitude
• https://www.britannica.com/science/latitude
Longitude lines are perpendicular to and latitude lines are parallel to the
Equator.
Geographic Coordinate System
World Map
World map with important Latitude
 Latitude and Longitude
• Latitude is a North South and Longitude is a East west
measurement of position on the Earth. They are
measured in Degree, Minutes and Seconds ( Distance).
• 1 degree=111 km
• For greater precision degrees are divided into 60
minutes of distance not Time.
• Each minutes is further divided into 60 seconds.
• Distance on water is measured in nautical miles (nm)
• 1min=1 nautical minutes
• 60 minutes=60 nautical minutes
Countries with Equator
 Prime Meridian
( Equator and Prime Meridian Intersect at Gulf of Guinea)
Why is Prime Meridian called
Greenwich Meridian
Position of Greenwich in the world
map
The Royal observatory, Greenwich, is the home of the prime
meridian of the world. Longitude 0hr 0min 0sec.
October 1884-Internatinal Meridian conference held in Washington
DC. To determine the prime Meridian for International tour
Greenwich Meridian was chosen as
Prime Meridian
 Time Zones
Greenwitch Mean Time
❖ GMT- Solar time ( time measured by Earth's
rotation relative to the Sun) at the 0 degree
longitude (Prime Meridian)
❖ UTC (Coordinated universal time)
❖ Replaced GMT in 1972 as the time standard
❖ Time Zones- region on Earth that use the same
local time/ standard time
 Word Time Zone Maps
• The world time zone map uses a repeating color scheme to designate the
different standard time zones observed in each country. Most countries
do not adjust their time zone observance and when they do it most likely
involves small boundary changes or changes in the observance of daylight
saving time. The world time zone map indicates the standard time zones
actually observed. In theory time zones are based on the division of the
world into twenty four time zones of 15 degrees longitude each. The time
convention begins with Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) which is also
commonly referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) being located at
the Greenwich meridian. This line runs through the United Kingdom,
France, Spain, Algeria, Mali and Ghana in Africa. The Greenwich meridian
time zone is 7 1/2 degrees east and 7 1/2 degrees west of zero degrees
longitude. Time zones to the east of the Greenwich meridian are later and
time zones to the west of the Greenwich meridian are earlier. To see more
detail view our larger format world time zone map.
•
 Calculating Time
Earth moves
West to East

24 hrs=360°

1 hr=360/24=15° It takes 24 hrs to complete

1°= 4 mins the spin
1hr=60mins=15°
Time Zone