ES-117-2A-77 Natural Disasters (Online Undergraduate)

Background

Introduction to Coordinate Systems on Earth

This exercise is a review of the standardized coordinate system used throughout the world for centuries; Latitude and Longitude. While there are many coordinate systems that have been developed for a variety of mapping and geographic purposes, the great majority of maps produced for public use still rely on the traditional Latitude and Longitude system.

Fig. 1. Google Earth display of Earth with overlaid latitude/longitude grid.

For this lab you can use either Google Maps (Links to an external site.) or Google Earth (Links to an external site.). Most students find it easier to use Google Maps, but Google Earth is a more powerful tool that contains a lot more information and details.

Longitude is measured in degrees east or west from the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian is the line of longitude passing through the Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England.

In 1884, this meridian was arbitrarily chosen as the zero meridian for the world. Not only is the Prime Meridian the east-west origin of the global longitude grid, it is also the point of origin for the global system of time keeping – each new day begins on the Prime Meridian. This time is known as 0000 hours Greenwich Mean Time, corresponding to midnight at the Greenwich Observatory, and Greenwich Mean Time is often abbreviated as GMT.

As you navigate a typical world map, you will notice on the latitude/longitude grid that several grid lines have special labels. These include the following: 1) the Prime Meridian, 2) the Equator, 3) the Tropic of Cancer, 4) the Tropic of Capricorn, 5) the Arctic Circle, and 6) the Antarctic Circle. Answer the following questions related to these navigational features on the globe. You can seek the answers to any of the questions in these labs using any resources you want, just be sure to list it in your references.

1. What is the angular distance (number of degrees) from the South Pole to the North Pole?
2. What is the angular distance (number of degrees) from the Equator to the South Pole?
3. What is the angular distance (number of degrees) from the Equator to the North Pole?
4. At what latitude is the Tropic of Cancer and what is its significance?
5. At what latitude is the Tropic of Capricorn and what is its significance?
6. At what latitude is the Arctic Circle and what is its significance?
7. At what latitude is the Antarctic Circle and what is its significance?

Completed the following table showing the approximate latitude and longitude of the following locations. Enter the location name into the query bar of Google Earth (or Google Maps), then record the latitude/longitude displayed for each site.

Let’s do an example by searching for the Upper Iowa University campus in Fayette, IN. Notice that the latitude and longitude for this location is already populated in the table. See below how to find:

In Google Earth, you see the following in the address bar:

https://earth.google.com/web/@42.8410079,-91.7998459,...

Please note that if you are using the mobile version of Google Earth, these coordinates should appear in the lower right part of the screen.

In Google Maps, you will see the following in the address bar:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Upper+Iowa+University/@42.8410079,-91.8020399,...

The latitude and longitude of Upper Iowa University in Fayette, IN is highlighted in bold in each address string. This is the information that you will put in the table below that you recreate in your lab report.

The following video explains the lab procedures:

NOTE - DO NOT JUST GOOGLE THE COORDINATES. LEARN HOW TO USE EITHER GOOGLE EARTH OR MAPS AS YOU WILL NEED THIS SKILL FOR A FEW MORE LABS!

YOU MUST USE THE LAB REPORT TEMPLATE PROVIDED HERE: LAB 1 REPORT TEMPLATE

Complete a report for this week's lab. Your lab report MUST use the required template and MUST contain the following:

• TITLE - Lab Title
• INTRODUCTION - Introductory paragraph(s) stating the purpose of the lab and covering all concepts, ideas, and definitions covered in the lab.
• PROCEDURES - Overview of the lab procedures and data collection.
• DATA - Presentation of data collected (tables, images, graphs, etc...)
• QUESTIONS - Answer to all questions posed in the lab (if any).
• CONCLUSION - Concluding paragraph(s) in which you discuss the results of the lab and what you've learned from the experience.