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This paper aims to analyze the state of the art on the theme of urban environment and health in scientific events in Brazilian Geography between 2008 and 2019. In this sense, the scientific production of the National Meeting of ANPEGE, the Brazilian Symposium on Geographic Climatology, the Brazilian Symposium on Applied Physical Geography, the National Symposium on Urban Geography and the National Symposium on Geomorphology was selected. The methodology consisted of surveying and analyzing the annals of scientific events based on the method of content analysis. Among the results of this analysis, the following stand out: (i) it is observed that the approach to the health-disease process is incipient in the context of the scientific events analyzed; (ii) a diversity is attested regarding the academic training of researchers dedicated to the aforementioned theme; (iii) a heterogeneity of the health problems researched is identified; (iv) it appears that the approach to the socio-environmental conditions of the health-disease process is operationalized from multiple scales of analysis; (v) there is a predominance of studies in cities with medium and large populations; (vi) it is verified that the Southeast and Northeast regions concentrate the largest portion of research (52.4%) on the theme of urban environment and health, considering the current stage of knowledge produced in the context of scientific events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this introduction to the special issue on necrogeography and physical geography, a focus on landforms and landscapes is presented and applied to subdisciplinary areas, including geomorphology, climatology, biogeography, and soil science. The primary aim is to present past directions taken in the field by physical geographers and provide further areas for their potential engagement. The seven papers contained in this special issue are lastly conveyed in terms of their contribution to necrogeography as an applied physical geography in cemeteries, although not exclusively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through their dam-building activities and subsequent water storage, beaver have the potential to restore riparian ecosystems and offset some of the predicted effects of climate change by modulating streamflow. Thus, it is not surprising that reintroducing beaver to watersheds from which they have been extirpated is an often-used restoration and climate-adaptation strategy. Identifying sites for reintroduction, however, requires detailed information about habitat factors—information that is not often available at broad spatial scales. Here we explore the potential for beaver relocation throughout the Snohomish River Basin in Washington, USA with a model that identifies some of the basic building blocks of beaver habitat suitability and does so by relying solely on remotely sensed data. More specifically, we developed a generalized intrinsic potential model that draws on remotely sensed measures of stream gradient, stream width, and valley width to identify where beaver could become established if suitable vegetation were to be present. Thus, the model serves as a preliminary screening tool that can be applied over relatively large extents. We applied the model to 5,019 stream km and assessed the ability of the model to correctly predict beaver habitat by surveying for beavers in 352 stream reaches. To further assess the potential for relocation, we assessed land ownership, use, and land cover in the landscape surrounding stream reaches with varying levels of intrinsic potential. Model results showed that 33% of streams had moderate or high intrinsic potential for beaver habitat. We found that no site that was classified as having low intrinsic potential had any sign of beavers and that beaver were absent from nearly three quarters of potentially suitable sites, indicating that there are factors preventing the local population from occupying these areas. Of the riparian areas around streams with high intrinsic potential for beaver, 38% are on public lands and 17% are on large tracts of privately-owned timber land. Thus, although there are a large number of areas that could be suitable for relocation and restoration using beavers, current land use patterns may substantially limit feasibility in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even as it remains an informal term defining the emergence of humans as a force transforming Earth as a system, the Anthropocene is stimulating novel research and discussion across the academy and well beyond. While geography has always been deeply connected with the coupled human--environment paradigm, physical geographer's embrace of the Anthropocene still appears lukewarm at best. While there are good reasons to hesitate, including the fact that the Anthropocene is not yet, and might never be, formalized in the Geologic Time Scale, physical geographers have much to gain by embracing what is rapidly becoming the most influential scholarly discussion on human--environmental relations in a generation. This editorial was commissioned for the author's debut as Contributing Editor of Progress in Physical Geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the impacts of climate change on individual species and communities have been well documented there is little evidence on climate-mediated changes for entire ecosystems. Pristine alpine environments can provide unique insights into natural, physical and ecological response to climate change yet broad scale and long-term studies on these potential ‘ecosystem sentinels’ are scarce. We addressed this issue by examining cover changes of 1689 high-elevation wetlands (temporarily or perennial water-saturated grounds) in the Bolivian Cordillera Real, a region that has experienced significant warming and glacier melting over the last 30 years. We combined high spatial resolution satellite images from PLEIADES with the long-term images archive from LANDSAT to 1) examine environmental factors (e.g., glacier cover, wetland and watershed size) that affected wetland cover changes, and 2) identify wetlands’ features that affect their vulnerability (using habitat drying as a proxy) in the face of climate change. Over the (1984–2011) period, our data showed an increasing trend in the mean wetland total area and number, mainly related to the appearance of wet grassland patches during the wetter years. Wetland cover also showed high inter-annual variability and their area for a given year was positively correlated to precipitation intensities in the three months prior to the image date. Also, round wetlands located in highly glacierized catchments were less prone to drying, while relatively small wetlands with irregularly shaped contours suffered the highest rates of drying over the last three decades. High Andean wetlands can therefore be considered as ecosystem sentinels for climate change, as they seem sensitive to glacier melting. Beyond the specific focus of this study, our work illustrates how satellite-based monitoring of ecosystem sentinels can help filling the lack of information on the ecological consequences of current and changing climate conditions, a common and crucial issue especially in less-developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a clinical analysis of some existing and potential linkages and gaps between physical and environmental geography as currently experienced and represented among the French community of physical geographers. Following a rapid evocation of some relevant historical facts, a first view is expressed that considers environmental geography as a natural downstream extension of physical geography, within a fruitful continuum from basic to applied research (with significant results in fields such as local climatology and process geomorphology). Another viewpoint considers physical geography and environmental geography as enemy sisters, based on a Manichean view opposing a 'hard' physical geography to a 'soft' environmental geography, each with contrasting conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches. Lastly, a number of recent initiatives within the French community of geographers interestingly use environmentally connoted 'objects' to try and reconnect the communities of human and physical geographers. The recognition of the hybrid nature of geography and the development of an inclusive 'environmental geography' might be a way-among others-to rebuild French geography as a whole and to overcome collectively the nature/culture dichotomy. De la géographie physique à la géographie environnementale : passerelles et abîmes Cet article présente une analyse clinique des relations entre géographie physique et géographie environnementale telles que vécues et perçues par la communauté française des géographes physiciens. Après un bref rappel historique, un premier point de vue est exposé qui considère la géographie environnementale comme un prolongement naturel de la géographie physique, dans le cadre d'un fructueux continuum allant de la recherche fondamentale à la recherche appliquée (avec des résultats particulièrement significatifs dans des domaines comme la climatologie locale et la géomorphologie dynamique). Un autre point de vue considère la géographie physique et la géographie environnementale comme des sœurs ennemies, sur la base d'une vision quelque peu manichéenne opposant une géographie physique « dure » à une géographie environnementale « molle », chacune de ces géographies utilisant des cadres conceptuels et des approches méthodologiques qui lui sont propres. Enfin, un certain nombre d'initiatives récentes au sein de la communauté française des géographes utilisent des « objets » à connotation environnementale pour tenter de reconnecter les communautés des géographes humains et des géographes physiciens. La reconnaissance de la nature hybride de la géographie et le développement d'une « géographie environnementale » intégratrice pourrait être un moyen-parmi d'autres-de refonder la géographie française dans son entier et de dépasser collectivement la dichotomie nature/culture qui montre aujourd'hui ses limites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Critical Zone is an interdisciplinary theme for environmental research that considers the near surface environment of the Earth and interactions amongst rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms. Critical Zone research initiatives in the United States (US) have met with great success, with multiple Critical Zone Observatories located in a variety of regional field settings at their core. These initiatives have allowed for enormous advances in addressing interdisciplinary environmental science questions based on team collaborations involving experts from various disciplines. The Critical Zone initiative in the US is now being extended to several other countries, but Canada has not been a participant in initial meetings involving various national funding agencies and researchers from different countries. Because physical geographers study a wide range of topics falling under the banner of Critical Zone science (including soils, hydrology, geomorphology, climatology, glaciology, biogeography), they are well poised to be active participants in national strategies for Critical Zone science. Suggestions are provided for moving towards a national strategy for Critical Zone science initiatives in Canada that connect to recent international developments. Vers une stratégie pour la science de la zone critique au Canada La zone critique est un thème interdisciplinaire de la recherche environnementale qui examine le milieu de la proche surface de la Terre et les interactions entre la roche, le sol, l'eau, l'air et les organismes vivants. Les initiatives de recherche en zone critique aux États-Unis ont connu beaucoup de succès grâce à de nombreux observatoires de la zone critique situés au centre de divers dispositifs d'études régionales. Ces initiatives ont permis d'accomplir d'énormes progrès en abordant des questions de science environnementale interdisciplinaire fondées sur la collaboration d'équipes impliquant des spécialistes de diverses disciplines. Les initiatives américaines en zone critique sont maintenant étendues à de nombreux autres pays, mais le Canada n'a pas participé aux premières réunions impliquant divers organismes nationaux de financement ainsi que des chercheurs de différents pays. Comme les géographes spécialisés en géographie physique étudient un large éventail de thèmes placés sous la bannière de la science de la zone critique (y compris les sols, l'hydrologie, la géomorphologie, la climatologie, la glaciologie, la biogéographie), ils sont bien placés pour participer activement aux stratégies nationales pour la science de la zone critique. Des suggestions sont faites dans le but d'adopter une stratégie nationale pour les initiatives concernant la science de la zone critique au Canada qui se rattachent aux récents progrès internationaux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterize the fluvial geomorphology research of James C. Knox by considering five of his scholarly papers, selected to illustrate not only some of Knox's methods and results but also his conviction that stream-sediment interactions are intricately connected to a range of environmental variables reflecting the scope of physical geography. Those variables, as we discuss, included hydrology, climate, vegetation, position in the drainage network, and human land use. We conclude with the suggestion that Knox's breadth of geomorphic vision was echoed in his approach to his own academic career, and his belief that academic institutions are best served by broad and integrative perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mid-latitudes of East Asia are characterized by the interaction between the Asian summer monsoon and the westerly winds. Understanding long-term climate change in the marginal regions of the Asian monsoon is critical for understanding the millennial-scale interactions between the Asian monsoon and the westerly winds. Abrupt climate events are always associated with changes in large-scale circulation patterns; therefore, investigations into abrupt climate changes provide clues for responses of circulation patterns to extreme climate events. In this paper, we examined the time scale and mid-Holocene climatic background of an abrupt dry mid-Holocene event in the Shiyang River drainage basin in the northwest margin of the Asian monsoon. Mid-Holocene lacustrine records were collected from the middle reaches and the terminal lake of the basin. Using radiocarbon and OSL ages, a centennial-scale drought event, which is characterized by a sand layer in lacustrine sediments both from the middle and lower reaches of the basin, was absolutely dated between 8.0–7.0 cal kyr BP. Grain size data suggest an abrupt decline in lake level and a dry environment in the middle reaches of the basin during the dry interval. Previous studies have shown mid-Holocene drought events in other places of monsoon marginal zones; however, their chronologies are not strong enough to study the mechanism. According to the absolutely dated records, we proposed a new hypothesis that the mid-Holocene dry interval can be related to the weakening Asian summer monsoon and the relatively arid environment in arid Central Asia. Furthermore, abrupt dry climatic events are directly linked to the basin-wide effective moisture change in semi-arid and arid regions. Effective moisture is affected by basin-wide precipitation, evapotranspiration, lake surface evaporation and other geographical settings. As a result, the time scales of the dry interval could vary according to locations due to different geographical features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial is the product of the Progress in Physical Geography lecture at the April 2013 meeting of the Association of American Geographers. The paper was presented by George Malanson, the North American Editor, and the co-authors presented critiques based on a draft. Subsequently, the manuscript was developed and revised based on discussion at the meeting and additional exchange among the co-authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over several decades, publishers have produced many monographs in the earth sciences. Monographs in the fields of geomorphology and climatology, especially, have had a significant impact on learning, teaching, and research. The frequent occurrence of earth science titles in college course syllabi shows the value of monographs for instruction. Colleges in the United States and India, in particular, use titles from a standard book list in geography for background reading and reference. Further, course syllabi indicate titles that are used in both beginning and advanced courses. Data indexed in the Web of Science show that many monographs in geomorphology and climatology have been beneficial for research as well. Monographs published in the early to middle twentieth century are frequently cited in prominent journals. In addition, citation data show that many older titles are used in contemporary research as recent as 2011 and 2012. Data from the Web of Science also bear out the relevance of earth science monographs for research in other fields such as the life sciences, environmental studies and engineering, and even a few social science fields. The regular use of earth science monographs by scientists is confirmation of the importance of this format for the advancement of modern science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture is a critical component of the earth system and plays an integrative role among the various subfields of physical geography. This paper highlights not just how soil moisture affects atmospheric, geomorphic, hydrologic, and biologic processes but that it lies at the intersection of these areas of scientific inquiry. Soil moisture impacts earth surface processes in such a way that it creates an obvious synergistic relationship among the various subfields of physical geography. The dispersive and cohesive properties of soil moisture also make it an important variable in regional and microclimatic analyses, landscape denudation and change through weathering, runoff generation and partitioning, mass wasting, and sediment transport. Thus, this paper serves as a call to use research in soil moisture as an integrative and unifying theme in physical geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock varnish from late to latest Pleistocene geomorphic features in the drylands of the western U.S. provides evidence of nine millennial-scale wet events from 11,500-18,000 calendar yr B.P., represented by regionally replicable and approximately evenly spaced manganeseand barium-rich dark bands in varnish microstratigraphy. Preliminary radiometric age calibration indicates that these events appear to be broadly coeval with millennial-scale cooling events identified in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core record. Six of these wet events are associated with the cold intervals of the Younger Dryas and Heinrich event H1, and the other three with the short-lived cooling phases of the Intra-Allerød Cold Period, the Older Dryas, and the Oldest Dryas. These results, combined with our previous documentation of millennial-scale wet events in the Holocene varnish record for the same region, indicate that such wet oscillations in the western U.S. may be parts of regionally widespread manifestation of well-documented, pervasive millennial-scale cycles of the North Atlantic climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the contributions and roles of the author as being a former associate editor of "Australian Geographer." It begins with a report on the contribution regarding physical geography to the journal during his tenure. He mentions about the traditional areas of the topic such as geomorphology, climatology and land use, and the subject areas addressed in physical geography contributions. Furthermore, the author discusses the success of the publication, on the book reviewers and the relevance of the journal.

Management of uncertainty in model predictions of long-term coastal change begins by admitting uncertainty. In the case of geometric mass-balance models, the first step is to relax restrictive assumptions to allow for open sediment budgets, time-dependent morphology, effects of mixed sediment sizes, and variable resistance in substrate material. These refinements introduce new uncertainty regarding the choice of parameter values. The next step is to actively manage uncertainty using techniques readily available from information science. The final step requires a shift in coastal management culture to accept decision making based on risk-management protocols. Stochastic simulation was applied to manage predictive uncertainty in cases involving complications resulting from open sediment budgets, rock reefs, and seawalls. In these examples, the respective effects caused between 20% and 60% difference from conventional predictions based solely on equilibrium assumptions and substrates comprised entirely of sand. Stochastic simulation makes it possible to establish confidence limits and determine the statistical significance of differences caused by varying effects such as substrate resistance and shoreface geometry. It also enables the likelihood of critical impacts to be specified in terms of probability. Moreover, probabilistic forecasts provide a transparent basis for coastal management decisions by revealing the consequences if quantitative estimates prove to be wrong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To identify the ecological factors (related to vegetation, altitude, climate, or geomorphology) that could explain the main gradients of avifaunal richness and composition in arid environments of Central Iran. Location The study was carried out in two nearby semi-arid protected areas of the Ispahan province: the Kolah-Ghazi National Park ( c. 50,000 ha; 1540–2535 m a.s.l.) and the Mouteh Wildlife Refuge ( c. 220,000 ha; 1493–2900 m a.s.l.). Annual average precipitation and temperature range from 155–205 mm and 15–19.5 °C, respectively. Vegetation cover is sparse. Methods The two study areas were sampled with a 1 × 1 km grid design. A subset of 405 squares was randomly chosen and each was visited once during spring or summer by a team of five observers walking from one side of a square to the other and back, recording the birds encountered. Raptors and species considered to be accidental or migrating were not taken into account. We first looked for avifaunal, vegetation, and geomorphological gradients using Correspondence Analysis. As we found spatial autocorrelation within our response variables (avifaunal richness, abundance and/or composition), we first calculated an autocorrelation term, then added this autocorrelation term inanova,ancova (separate slope design) and stepwise regression to assess the relative role of spatial autocorrelation and environmental explanatory variables (vegetation, altitude, climate, or topography). We also partitioned the variance of the avifaunal matrix between several sets of co-variables, after controlling for spatial effects, using a series of partial Canonical Correspondence Analyses. Results A main gradient, common to the two areas, distinguishes bird species characteristic of flat sedimentary areas and species dwelling in mountainous and/or rocky areas. Despite the generally low values of the correlations measured, we found that richness, abundance and composition of the avifauna were better correlated with topography, especially the altitudinal amplitude within each square, than any other variable, including vegetation. Altitudinal amplitude is related to substrate complexity. Main conclusions In arid zones of central Iran, topographic features seem to be the main factors structuring avifaunal composition and abundance. Avifaunal composition and richness are mainly correlated with the complexity of the substrate, but both avifaunal richness and abundance increase with altitude, probably in response to decreasing aridity. We did not observe any bird altitudinal zonation in a strict sense. These results contrast with those generally observed in mid-latitude regions of the Palaearctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the effects of weather and climate impact on human activities in the U.S. Usage of climate data and information on broad range of social, economic and environmental applications; Implications of heat waves on lifestyles and health of affected population.

The attempt to reconstitute the pluvial and arid periods of Saharan Africa finds, in the Hoggar region. vestiges of what may be humid and dry periods in alternation. It is apparent that the humid periods for the lowland country derive from the extension northward of tropical conditions but that, on the other hand, the humid periods in the highlands are related to the southward spread of mediterranean climatic conditions. Evidence is presented that the Quaternary opens with a warm and humid episode during which tropical fauna extend northward and reach to fairly high elevations, which period may possibly be identified with Lower Villafranchian in the archeologic scale. A drying-out period was followed by a cooler humid period during which the higher mountains show the spread of mediterranean mountain flora (Upper Villafranchian), terminating in at least one period of wet-cool conditions making for solifluction and frost-cleaving. Middle Quaternary conditions suggest an arid period of sand dune accumulation followed by a more moist period in which a tropical fauna again extends northward (Upper Acheulian). Upper Quaternary shows an arid period followed by a short moist period in which savanna flora and fauna spread at the lower elevations and a more xerophilous mediterranean flora and fauna spread though the highlands (Moustero-Aterian). The alternation of climatic periods is not fully regular, and there are many problems remaining in the interpretation of climatic, floral, faunal, and human occupance sequences, but a progressive drying-out does seem indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the views of Ronald Peel on the nature of desert geomorphology in Great Britain. Explanation about the questions of the climatic history of the present arid zone; Evidences for more humid conditions; Difficulty in quantifying the degree of climate change.

The article examines the ridge-valley spacing. According to theory, valley spacing in low-relief, soil-mantled landscape is set by the ratio between hillslope transport intensity and channel incision intensity. It cites that one study shows that the wide variation in ridge-valley spacing can be explained by a simple model of this competition in a certain class of landscape. Moreover, it points out that this study provides a successful test of theory, in which their data contain further hints about the underlying controls exercised by the substrate and climate.