tropics
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.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Define What the tropics are.
Definition
Definition and boundaries.
Definition
Definition.
- What defines the tropics astronomically and climatically, and why do the lines shift? definition
- Is the question about the geographic zone, a climate type or the boundary lines? boundary
Zones
Sub-zones.
Zones
Zones.
- What climate sub-zones exist within the tropics? definition
- Which entry fits the specific climate type? action
Nature Climate and biodiversity.
Climate
Climate.
Climate
Climate.
- How do tropical climates work, including monsoons and the intertropical convergence zone? provenance
- Which entry fits tropical meteorology? action
Biodiversity
Biodiversity.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity.
- Why do the tropics hold most biodiversity, and what threatens it, with sources? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
People Human geography.
Population
Population and development.
Population
Population.
- What do reports say about population, health and development in the tropics, with sources? provenance
- Is the presentation free of stereotypes? boundary
Change
Climate change.
Change
Change.
- How is climate change affecting the tropics, as assessed by the IPCC and others? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Context History and culture.
History
History of the concept.
History
History.
- How did the concept of the tropics develop in geography and exploration? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of geography? action
Culture
Culture.
Culture
Culture.
- How are the tropics represented in culture and tourism, with attribution? provenance
- Which entry fits tropical tourism? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.PLC
- Other names and narrower kinds
- humid tropics
What it is Filled
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.
Why it exists Filled
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.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Sun overhead annually
- Small seasonal temperature range
- Wet and dry seasons
- High biodiversity
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- 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.
Only with a human decision
- Advising on travel or work in areas with disease or climate risk.
May
- Describe the tropics, their climate zones and ecosystems from reliable sources.
- Compute whether a place lies between the tropic lines.
Moral aspects Filled
- Tropical countries bear the heaviest climate harms while emitting least.
- Colonial framings of the tropics still shape how their people are described.
Who is affected
- People living in the tropics
- Indigenous communities
- Tropical ecosystems
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody: a region of the Earth defined by astronomy; states hold the territory within it.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1639168 - registry parent class
related
- climate zone - in registry terms
- Tropic of Cancer - and the Tropic of Capricorn
- subtropics - the adjacent zones
contains
- tropical rainforest - among its biomes
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.tropics
- Wikidata: Q42530 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42530)
Direct properties required Filled
- 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 required Filled
- 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 and actions required Filled
- define the zone and boundaries
- relay climate and biodiversity
- relay human geography
- distinguish climate sub-zones
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing geographic and climatic definitions
- Stereotyping tropical regions
- Outdated population and climate figures
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Koppen climate classification
- International Day of the Tropics, 29 June
- No regulation of the zone itself
Context of use required Filled
- Not applicable; a geographic zone.
- humid tropics with rainforest
- seasonally dry tropics with savanna
- tropical deserts
- tropical highlands
- the tropic lines themselves
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q42530: tropics - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Tropics - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should the tropic lines be separate entries?
- How should climate data be linked?
- How should the State of the Tropics reports be linked?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q42530/spec.json