Books For Homework/Project Ideas For Geog/Geol

You can choose one book to earn 10 extra-credit points for Physical Geography. Due on the last day of regular class before finals.

Fiction Describe the main character(s) and the plot. Then address the specific issues listed with each book as they relate to physical geography. Your report should be about 2-3 typed pages, double-spaced. You might want to read the book either as we cover that particular topic or right after we cover that topic. The topic is listed first, followed by the title and author. The mystery series are popular and should be available at a public library. You could also use interlibrary loan.

Earthquakes Fault Line – Sarah Andrews Use Google Earth to find Salt Lake City, Utah and the Wasatch Range on satellite imagery. What is the geologic setting, including the fault type? What type of stress is occurring? What other natural processes are triggered by earthquakes? Describe the materials and building design in terms of how some buildings hold up better to seismic stresses than others. How does policy affect the “doing” of science?

Groundwater Dead Dry – Sarah Andrews Describe the types of aquifers, how are they different and how are they similar? Explain the water balance concept. What is groundwater mining and what other problems can it lead to? Explain the occurrence of groundwater in a climate that is arid.

Karst Topography Blind Descent – Nevada Barr Discuss the role of solution in the formation of caves, including why some caves are large, massive, and develop horizontally while others are narrow and develop vertically. What rock types are most prone to this? How do speleothems form? Given the location, is the cave formation related to current climate? Explain.

Desert Processes Borderline – Nevada Barr Use Google Earth and/or http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/ to take a virtual tour of Big Bend National Park. Describe the Chihuahuan Desert. What has happened to the river channel in the Santa Elena Canyon? Why is the weather at this park difficult to predict? What happens to the discharge in the river as the canyon changes? Based on the description of the river water, what kind of stream load is definitely being carried? Why did the rockslide occur? When it happened, how did it affect the river’s velocity and why? Climate and Plate Tectonics The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini Describe the climate of Kabul according to the Koppen Climate Classification. Use Google Earth and find Kabul on satellite imagery. Zoom in a little so you can see the river running through Kabul. What type of channel pattern does it have and what does that tell us about the river? Amir and his Baba leave Afghanistan and travel through the Khyber Pass into Pakistan. How did the mountain range they cross form? Amir tells Sohrab about the fog in San Francisco. Explain why this fog forms. What are the four factors determining wind speed and direction that Hassan innately knew in order to be a winning kite runner? Yelda is described as the first night of winter and the longest night of the year. When is Yelda this year?

Climate and Ecosystems/Biomes The Bees- Laline Paull Using examples from the bees world in the novel, explain the ecological concept of habitat, community, and niche. What is the significance of the Hive’s mantra to the goal of the community? How is Flora 717 using part of the electromagnetic spectrum of energy? What kind of lifting brings storms the the Hive’s region? Based on the plant and animal species, and the type of lifting, in what general region of the world is this hive located? Explain your answer. Compare/contrast nectar, honey, and propolis. What are the roles of pheromones and magnetism in the life of the bees? What ecological point is the author trying to make by distinguishing between the town’s ornamental flowers and the native flowers?

Giants In The Earth – O. E. Rolvaag Why does this location get these types of weather? Describe this as an example from the Koppen Climate Classification. Describe the ways in which light, temperature, and wind affect humans. Name and describe the biome represented by this location.

Boundary Waters – William Kent Krueger Why does this location get these types of weather? Describe this as an example from the Koppen Climate Classification. How did these lakes form? Name and describe the biome represented by this location

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins District 12 represents a real geographic region within the United States. What region is it? Explain your answer in terms of the weather, climate category, and the vegetation biome described in the book. District 12 is known for coal. How does coal form? Based on the climate of District 12 in the book, how was the climate different for that area during the assembly of Pangaea when the coal formed? Assume the Arena is a natural world, even though we know it was made and manipulated by humans. Is part of the Arena karst landscape? Explain your answer.

Climate and Ice Deception Point - Dan Brown What are the characteristics of the air mass(es) that dominate the Arctic? How is an ice shelf different from a continental ice sheet? The setting for the story is supposed to be around Ellesmere Island, Nunavut Territory, Canada. What is happening to this ice shelf in real life? Based on the remote sensing information in Ch 1 and Ch 17, is it reasonable to assume that the earth orbiting satellite could actually "spot" the supposed meteorite in the story. Why or why not?

Environmental Change The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams Explain the nebular or planetisimal hypothesis for the formation of our Solar System. Contrast this with how the Earth really formed as explained in the book. Based on your knowledge of what "vog" now means, explain what the source and components of the atmosphere on Vogsphere would be like. Use Google and Google Earth to find out about Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates. How is Dubai of the early 21st century similar to Magrathea in its heydey 5 billion years ago? Zaphod's spaceship is named "Heart of Gold". What does he have in common with Neil Young? What is the answer to the question about Life, the Universe, and Everything? What does the answer mean? Re-read the opening of the story set on Earth to figure this out.

Non-Fiction Address the specific issues listed with each book as they relate to physical geography. Your report should be about 2-3 typed pages, double-spaced. You might want to read the book either as we cover that particular topic or right after we cover that topic. The topic is listed first, followed by the title and author. These should be available at a public library. You could also use interlibrary loan.

Extreme Weather and the Human Body The Children's Blizzard - David Laskin Why do people leave their homeland? What is a sundog and what causes it? What air masses are responsible for this winter storm? How did the use of the term "front" to describe weather changes come about? Explain how heat transfer and the wind chill affected the Schweizer boys. How did the topography of the United States affect the passage or movement of the front? What gets in the way of doing science?

Oceans and Weather The Proving Ground – G. Bruce Knecht Explain how weather prediction is accomplished. If this weather event had taken place in the Northern Hemisphere, how would the wind patterns have been different? What caused the development of the storm>? What role did the polar jet stream play? Why are yachts so vulnerable in the Bass Strait?

Isaac’s Storm – Erik Larson Use Google Earth or another map service to find an aerial map or photo showing the Galveston area. What is unique about the location of Galveston that made flooding so severe? What Koppen Climate category does this area fit into? Describe the two lifting mechanisms that are responsible in this story. What role did the stable, high pressure system over the south-east and south-central US play? Discuss how political bureaucracy and human nature affect science. Based on the ending section “The Law of Probabilities”, does it sound like Galveston has made smart, long-term decisions to rebuild? Explain.

Fraser’s Penguins : A Journey to the Future in Antarctica – Fen Montaigne Why is the Drake Passage so turbulent? What role has plate tectonics played in the coldness of Anarctica? Explain the connections between the decline in sea ice and warming temperatures and snowfall. Explain how the Antarctic food web (diatoms and phytoplankton, krill and silverfish, and Adelie penguins have been affected by these abiotic changes.

Energy Issues The End of Country – Seamus McGraw What does the author mean by his reference to transubstantiation? Relate Cochrane’s experience drilling into the Marcellus Shale to the concepts we studied with aquifers. What are the concerns that the use of slickwater poses? Briefly outline the process of drilling in southwestern Pennslvania. Explain what Engelder meant when he said, “If we’re still burning this stuff in forty years, we’re in trouble.”

The Importance of Place Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place – Terry Tempest Williams Explain how the hydrologic cycle pathways work in the Great Basin of the United States, particularly in the Great Salt Lake area. How are starlings like people? Describe your landscape of refuge.

The Solace of Open Spaces – Gretel Ehrlich What kinds of lifting mechanisms affect this part of Wyoming? What biomes are included in the story of her time in this part of Wyoming? “We Americans are great on fillers”. Apply the concept of planetary impact in CH 21 to her commentary on American lifestyles. How had range mismanagement, even prior to the sheep, affected the carrying capacity of the range? Describe the type of water law and water rights in this region.

Arctic Dreams – Barry Lopez Discuss the effect light has on the spatial pattern of biomes. What adaptations have the musk oxen, polar bear, and narwhal made to live in that habitat? How does an ice sheet or ice cap affect the crust beneath it? How is the human view of Earth different from Umwelt?

Walking Home – Lynn Schooler How has the Fairweather Fault shaped the region? What are some of the reasons it is so difficult for boats to go in and out of Lituya Bay? Describe the terrestrial succession the author observes while kayaking around Lituya Bay. What is your reaction to the Lituya Bay story of 1958? What abiotic factors make it worthwhile for so many species to migrate to Alaska? Explain why birds, especially owls, would make the best remote sensors. Carving Grand Canyon – Wayne Ranney Use Google Earth to find an aerial photo, image, or map for the Grand Canyon and zoom in on the places you have been to in or along the canyon. The Colorado River is known as an exotic stream. What does that mean? What role has uplift played in the formation of the Grand Canyon? How has this affected stream gradient? How has faulting affected stream gradient? Relate the hypothesis of Ice Age Deepening to climate in Arizona during the Pleistocene and the lakes formed by lava dams.

Into The Wild – Jon Krakauer Use Google Earth or another image source to find an image and topo map of Healy, Alaska and then pan west about 30 miles to find the Teklanika River and the Stampede Trail. Use the map in the book to help you find it. When asked what he’ll do about bears, Chris (Alex) says, “I’ll climb a tree”. This area has muskeg and black spruce forest. Explain what kind of biome this area is and why the trees are so spindly. The bus is in the Outer Range. Why does the author refer to it as “crumpled like a blanket”. Discuss Chris’ (Alex’s) knowledge, or lack thereof, of stream processes as evidenced by his experience in Detrital Wash and base level of the Colorado River. What didn’t Alex understand about braided rivers? In the preface, Jon Krakauer says he leaves it to the reader to form his or her own opinion of Chris McCandless. What is your opinion?