The temperatures of the objects around us are based on their internal heat con-
tent that is usually closely related to their temperatures. However, changes in
receipt of thermal infrared radiation energy are not always definitive in heating
and cooling experienced. Another factor involved in heating and cooling is the
specific heat of each substance. The specific heat is the amount of heat needed to
raise the temperature of a gram of a substance 1°C. Water has a much higher spe-
cific heat than does soil or rock so that the identical amount of solar energy falling
on water as on land causes much less temperature increase on water. A major fac-
tor in understanding the climates of Earth is the large amount of surface water on
the planet that heats and cools ever so much more slowly than does rock and soil.
On our water-rich planet, water moderates temperature because of its high spe-
cific heat and its ability to change sensible heat into latent heat and retard temper-
ature increases. A landscape with wet soils will warm less quickly during the day
than a landscape with dry soils. At high temperatures, the human body employs
the mechanism of perspiration to cool itself.
Additionally, rising air cools dramatically and sinking air warms dramatically.
This is because of the decrease and increase, respectively, of the average distance
between the molecules. This is the adiabatic process and does not require any
addition or subtraction of heat from the vertically moving air.
Hinterland
Hinterland is a term that may be used in several ways in geography. It has a more
specific meaning to economic geographers, when it is used to designate the region
that is economically connected to an economic urban hub, usually a port or city. In
this context the “hinterland” in effect refers to the market area, or distribution area,
for the economic center. It may also be used in a general way to identify a region
generally devoid of urban development that extends beyond the margin of such
development but is still influenced by it. In thecore and peripheryconcept, the
term “hinterland” is often used interchangeably for the periphery, and therefore
makes up the outer margin of a functional region. The word is sometimes used
in reference to political control as well, to indicate a zone beyond the formal politi-
cal or legalboundariesof a state or other political unit, but nevertheless swayed
by its policies.
In a more general sense, the term is equivalent to other English terms such as
“backwoods,” “outback,” “frontier,” and “back country.” Hinterland used in this
way often characterizes an undeveloped region located inland from a strip of
coastal settlement.
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