부산대학교 도서관

The physical character and distribution of natural resources on the face of the Earth. No terrestrial region is exactly like any other in its resource endowment. Combinations of land and ocean, latitudinal differences in insolation (the amount of light received from the Sun; Fig. 1), variations in precipitation, patterns of geology, and deformation of Earth's crust all converge to create different resources in various regions of the world. Nevertheless, there is some repetition in these natural features and forces of nature across the planet. These similarities that exist from place to place distinguish regional patterns in the availability of resources on a global scale. The regional patterns can be further analyzed to predict where new resources may be located, sustainably developed, and conserved.