{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.tropics","code":"thing-q42530","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q42530/","name":"tropics","alternateNames":["humid tropics"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.PLC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The region of Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, about 23.4 degrees north and south of the equator, where the Sun is directly overhead at least once a year, characterised by warm temperatures year round, high solar input and climates ranging from humid rainforest to savanna and desert; the tropics cover about 40 percent of the surface, hold most of the world biodiversity and a growing share of the population, and the term also refers to the two boundary lines.","purpose":"Let an agent define the tropics and their boundaries, relay climate, biodiversity and human geography with sources, distinguish tropical climate zones, and present development and climate change issues neutrally.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Sun overhead annually","Small seasonal temperature range","Wet and dry seasons","High biodiversity"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"define","name":"Define","description":"What the tropics are.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and boundaries.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What defines the tropics astronomically and climatically, and why do the lines shift?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the geographic zone, a climate type or the boundary lines?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"zones","name":"Zones","description":"Sub-zones.","findings":[{"id":"zones-finding","name":"Zones","description":"Zones.","questions":[{"text":"What climate sub-zones exist within the tropics?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific climate type?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"nature","name":"Nature","description":"Climate and biodiversity.","layers":[{"id":"climate","name":"Climate","description":"Climate.","findings":[{"id":"climate-finding","name":"Climate","description":"Climate.","questions":[{"text":"How do tropical climates work, including monsoons and the intertropical convergence zone?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits tropical meteorology?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"biodiversity","name":"Biodiversity","description":"Biodiversity.","findings":[{"id":"biodiversity-finding","name":"Biodiversity","description":"Biodiversity.","questions":[{"text":"Why do the tropics hold most biodiversity, and what threatens it, with sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"people","name":"People","description":"Human geography.","layers":[{"id":"population","name":"Population","description":"Population and development.","findings":[{"id":"population-finding","name":"Population","description":"Population.","questions":[{"text":"What do reports say about population, health and development in the tropics, with sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation free of stereotypes?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"change","name":"Change","description":"Climate change.","findings":[{"id":"change-finding","name":"Change","description":"Change.","questions":[{"text":"How is climate change affecting the tropics, as assessed by the IPCC and others?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and culture.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of the concept.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the concept of the tropics develop in geography and exploration?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of geography?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"How are the tropics represented in culture and tourism, with attribution?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits tropical tourism?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the tropics, their climate zones and ecosystems from reliable sources.","Compute whether a place lies between the tropic lines."],"mustNot":["Present the tropics as uniformly hot, poor or diseased.","Give travel or health advice for tropical regions without pointing to qualified sources.","Misstate the latitude of the tropic lines or ignore that they shift slowly.","Frame tropical countries only as resources for others to use."],"requiresHuman":["Advising on travel or work in areas with disease or climate risk."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Tropical countries bear the heaviest climate harms while emitting least.","Colonial framings of the tropics still shape how their people are described."],"affectedParties":["People living in the tropics","Indigenous communities","Tropical ecosystems"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a region of the Earth defined by astronomy; states hold the territory within it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q1639168","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"climate zone","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Tropic of Cancer","type":"related","note":"and the Tropic of Capricorn"},{"target":"subtropics","type":"related","note":"the adjacent zones"},{"target":"tropical rainforest","type":"contains","note":"among its biomes"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.tropics","Wikidata: Q42530 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42530)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["latitude bounds: 23.44 degrees N and S - varying slowly","share of Earth surface: about 40 percent","share of world population: about 40 percent - estimates"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Zone between the two tropic lines","Humid tropics, savanna and tropical deserts","The subtropics lie beyond the lines; the equator is a single line","Not a visible object; the band around the equator on maps."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["define the zone and boundaries","relay climate and biodiversity","relay human geography","distinguish climate sub-zones"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing geographic and climatic definitions","Stereotyping tropical regions","Outdated population and climate figures"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Koppen climate classification","International Day of the Tropics, 29 June","No regulation of the zone itself"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a geographic zone.","humid tropics with rainforest","seasonally dry tropics with savanna","tropical deserts","tropical highlands","the tropic lines themselves"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q42530: tropics","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42530","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Tropics","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropics","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should the tropic lines be separate entries?","How should climate data be linked?","How should the State of the Tropics reports be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q42530/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q42530/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T00:11:44Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}