Although previous research on climate change in the Arabian Peninsula (AP) has studied changes in individual meteorological variables, an analysis of changes in the overall weather conditions based on multiple meteorological variables is limited. Based on an air mass-based classification system, this research explored the local climate (1979-2023) of daily surface weather conditions (i.e., air masses) and associated changes over the Peninsula. For this purpose, the gridded weather typing classification (GWTC-2), an approach to classify multivariate surface weather situations relative to the average local climate, was utilized as it demonstrated outstanding performance in capturing daily weather characteristics in the Peninsula. Cold air mass (C), days with low temperature and near average humidity, was the most common cool weather type, with notable occurrences from Nov to Feb. Warm air mass (W), hot days with near average humidity, was the most common warm weather condition and maintained a marked presence throughout the year, with notable occurrences in summer. Coastal regions showed higher presences of humid warm (HW) and humid (H) days, whereas the central parts demonstrated higher occurrences of air masses of below-average humidity (dry [D], dry cold [DC], and dry warm [DW]). Much of the Peninsula showed high intra-annual variability in cool, warm, humid, and dry air masses. Findings from trend analysis reinforce findings from previous studies related to ongoing warming over the Peninsula, as cool weather types (DC, C, and HC) are becoming less frequent, while warm weather types (W, DW, and HW) are becoming more frequent. This analysis further detected decreases in the average weather conditions along with reduced duration of C-type and increases in the length of warm weather types, further aggravating thermal stress across the AP. Based on an air mass-based classification system, cool weather types are becoming less frequent over the Arabian Peninsula, while warm weather types are becoming more frequent. While the durations of cool weather types are decreasing, the length of warm weather types is increasing, which further aggravates thermal stress. image

The purpose of this study was to determine climatologically suitable places to raise feedlot cattle in Türkiye. The Comprehensive Climate Index (CCI), a model that enables one to quantify beef cattle performance based on environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation) at any time in the year, was used to predict dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed efficiency (FE) of feedlot cattle. Thirty years of daily average temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed values were obtained for 15 cities, namely, Antalya, Balikesir, Çorum, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Isparta, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Sivas, and Van. Measured daily solar radiation values were not available and values were calculated based on a formula that takes hemisphere, latitude, and day of the year into account. Since mostly dairy breed calves are placed into a feedlot in Türkiye, the Holstein option in the CCI model was chosen to calculate the maintenance energy requirement. Based on previous feedlot feeding studies conducted in Türkiye, it was assumed that calves would be placed on feed at 250 kg and be marketed at 520 kg, that the diet would have 2600 kcal/kg metabolic energy, and that DMI would be 2.31% of the body weight. Results indicate that cattle raised in Antalya (the hottest place) and Erzurum (the coldest place) had the lowest and highest DMI, respectively ( P <0.05). Summer months depressed the DMI of cattle in hotter cities and winter months increased the DMI of cattle in colder cities ( P <0.05). Feedlot cattle raised in hotter and colder regions of Türkiye had lower ADG than other places having a more temperate climate ( P <0.05). In general, cattle raised in a hotter climate had better FE than those raised in a cold climate ( P <0.05).

The Arabian Subtropical Anticyclone (ASA) plays an essential role in regulating weather systems over the Arabian Peninsula (Arabia) and adjacent areas. A need exists to document specific details of the spatial and temporal climatology of the ASA. In order to identify the monthly ASA position/center, the local maximum geopotential height (gph) should be located at different vertical levels. The common automated method did not work for the ASA in the warm season and an approach involving wind flow patterns was needed. The ASA was better defined in the lower troposphere in the cool season and in the mid- to upper-troposphere during the warm season. The near surface ASA begins in Aug over northern Arabia and migrates southeast until it reaches the Arabian Sea in Feb. Apr is the onset of the middle-troposphere ASA. From May to Aug, this anticyclone moves to the north with increasing height. The upper-level ASA is located over northeast Arabia in May and goes north in Jun and Jul. Seasonal changes in energy fluxes and atmospheric circulation patterns linked with the Asian Monsoon are identified as possible drivers of the temporal changes in the ASA.

"From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way." Journal of Geography, 121(1), pp. 47–48

Pollution issues, anthropogenic climate change, and biodiversity declines, formerly local in scope, accumulate to threaten crossing planetary boundaries and tipping Earth's system to an uninhabitable state. The human-environment identity is an unsung cornerstone of geography that can educate upcoming generations of citizens about trends over time, current conditions, and pathways to a more desirable future. The geography education community should develop and apply human-environment thinking through tools like timelines and big ideas. We hope the geographic thoughts presented herein will provide a scholarly rationale for K-12 educators to consider as they design curricula to share human-environment geography with students.

A geographic Anthropocene ethic merges human-environment thinking, descriptions of places and regions, and spatial thinking with professional ethics. Teachers will benefit from reflecting upon what sustainability and the Anthropocene might mean for their career trajectories and overall impact on students. A pragmatic sense of place can assist educators in contextualizing global change, while at the same time illuminating complex environmental ideas for greater student learning. Derek Alderman's acronym REAL (Responsive, Engaged, Advocating, and Life-Improving) is presented as a vehicle to help teachers think about and share ethical ideas in their community. Ethics in geography differentiate between what is and what ought to be, allowing prospects for imagining future scenarios and self-correction within and among places. The format for a professional development workshop is provided to address the implications of the Anthropocene for advancing professional ethics.

What would nature do? articulates four key mindsets that can help us better understand and deal with the increasing global vulnerabilities that humanity faces in the twenty-first century. Dr. Ruth ...

Drawing from early modern and contemporary geographic thought, this article explores how the premise of an Anthropocene (Age of Humans) can be used to reinforce enduring modes of human–environment thinking. Anthropocene dialogues build on insights posed by geographers of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: unity of nature, humans as nature made conscious, humans as nature's conscience, and time periods as devices for thinking about human–environment relations. Complementing these ideas, contemporary geographers are making compelling statements about the Anthropocene, affirming that interpretations of the proposed geologic time period differ according to socioenvironmental variables, geographic imaginations, local contexts, and critical perspectives. Three forms of human–environment thinking emerge from examining links between early modern geographers and current geographers addressing the Anthropocene: synthesis thinking, epistemological thinking, and ethical thinking. Connections across ideas concerning the Anthropocene and geographic thought will be strengthened by developing systematic chronologies of the human–environment relationship.

ABSTRACT:Key stresses in some rural areas of the more-developed world reflect the tensions between local resource conditions, broader political control, conflicting perceptions of threats, and related management options. For Willapa Bay and its surroundings, historical changes, relevant science, state regulatory actions, and viewpoints expressed in the media illuminate circumstances in a distinctive rural area. An important concern is on management of invasive aquatic species and the status of the oyster industry. Origins of species, pressures, changes, and impacts vary. Both local and nonlocal policy and management decisions affect conditions in this social-ecological system. Control of ghost shrimp and cordgrass to maintain oyster farming has depended on the use of pesticides, but perceptions of the safety and need for pesticide use vary, especially between shellfish producers and urban dwellers.

Unexpected questing activity of ticks was noted during the winter months of January and February in the Central Midwestern states of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. From nine geographically distinct locations, four species of ticks were collected using the flagging method, of which the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum, was most abundant, followed by the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, the Gulf coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, and the Black legged tick, Ixodes scapularis. More A. americanum nymphs were caught questing than male or female adults. The winter activity of these medically important ticks in this region poses concern for public health and offers an insight into future tick activity in light of ongoing climate change. More studies on the seasonality of these tick species, and how different climate parameters affect their seasonal activity in this region are warranted and would be expected to benefit for both human and veterinary medicine.

abstract Concern about accelerating human impact on Earth systems coincides with discussion of adding a new proposed geologic epoch that would document the Age of Humans. This research contributes a human-environment timeline prototype. Time-period classification provides academics and citizens alike with a common temporal reference frame for discussion and further investigation. A hierarchical human-environment timeline was built from analysis of entries in four geographic encyclopedias. Through grounded theory, an open-ended, qualitative analysis of dates identified important events in the human-environment relationship and major ideas that shaped environmental perception. The resulting timeline prototype features a typology of periods based on five relative timescales: lengthy Durations, Duration Revolutions, intermediate-scale Scenes, Scene Transitions, and shorter Intervals. Four long-term Durations emerge: Survival (2,598,050 to 318,050 BCE), Adaptation (318,050 to 4,050 BCE), Keystone (4,050 BCE to 1945 CE), and Acceleration (1945 CE –). The timeline provides a foundation for further scholarly analysis and thinking.

The severe impacts of climate change on human health will rise from the co-occurrence of extreme humid and hot conditions. In this study, six indices associated with high humidity, maximum and minimum daytime and nighttime temperature and the heat index (HI) values were analysed to assess temporal changes in hot, humid conditions in the Mississippi River Basin (MRB), USA, for the period 1948-2017. The frequencies of extreme humid days and nights have significant upward trends over 97 and 93% of MRB, respectively. Trends of day-time HI were mainly upward (63%), except for eastern regions of MRB. More of the upward trends for the frequency of hot nights were significant than the trends for hot days either for the entire period (72% of MRB for hot nights and 4% for hot days) or after a significant change-point (26% of MRB for hot nights and 20% for hot days). Except for minimum HI, other indices including extreme maximum and minimum temperature and specific humidity as well as maximum HI had an upward trend after the 1980s and 1990s for the majority of grid-cells. Central and southern areas of the MRB were identified as regions most at risk for an extreme HI value during both days and nights.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that the changes in extreme events are expected to be detected earlier than changes in climate averages. Hot temperature extremes in the United States cause important economical, societal, and environmental impacts. Thus, the climatology of hot extremes and heat waves (HWs) merits further examination. Spatiotemporal trends of five extreme temperature indicators were investigated for the period 1948-2017 for the Mississippi River Basin (MRB), which covers approximately 41% of the Contiguous United States. A hot extreme was identified using the 90th percentile threshold and a HW was defined as two or more consecutive hot temperature extreme days. Results suggest that the western, northwestern, southern, and northern parts of the MRB are regions with a growing risk of extreme temperatures with more frequent and longer hot events. Change in the eastern part of the MRB suggests a smaller risk with a general downward trend in HWs. Change-point analysis indicates that these climatic data exhibit nonstationarity. A significant increase happened starting in 1994 in the percentage of area with a HW longer than 10 consecutive days. Frequency and length of HWs were greater during El Nino years. However, this finding is not statistically significant. An increase in HW duration and frequency can impact water availability, human and animal health, agriculture and the economy. Results from this study assist in finding hotspots where changing extreme conditions have happened and where society may need to make adjustments related to water use, human outdoor activities and agricultural practices.

Climate extreme events exert disproportionate impacts on ecosystems and humankind. Focusing on univariate statistics to estimate the harm from compound extreme events usually falls short in communicating the real risk. Here, the co-occurrence of hot, dry, and windy events (HDWs) in the central United States was analyzed over the period 1949-2018. Results demonstrate south-west Kansas and north Texas as locations where HDWs are more frequent. The combination of drought and a heatwave in 1980 and 2011, increased the likelihood of HDWs. Use of copula enables the study of the co-occurrence of multiple extremes. The copula approach identified a greater risk of HDWs compared with traditional empirical analysis. The dependence structure between the temperature, humidity, and wind variables showed no effect on the co-occurrence frequency of HDWs in the warm-season (May through September). Results suggest an increase in the risk of HDWs in spite of the historical wind speed drop across the majority of Great Plains. Multivariate perspectives are necessary for a more informed assessment of compound extremes risk and for improved design of adaption strategies.

A controversy involving human health issues and burning to maintain grassland health in the Flint Hills prompted this study. Available ground-level ozone and corresponding weather data for dates from April to October for the eleven-year period from 2002 to 2012 were subjected to statistical and synoptic climatic analysis. High ozone levels in the Flint Hills occurred during the presence of warm, dry air masses early in the warm season and more humid warm days in mid-summer. Synoptic analysis of ozone exceedance days in April documents the importance of surface high pressure to the east of the Flint Hills and weak southerly winds.

The presentation of Fig. 4 was incorrect.

Little information is available about the synoptic weather patterns and physical factors contributing to the formation and intensity of heat waves (HWs) in Saudi Arabia. The research objectives were to identify the synoptic situations that are related to HW occurrence, to match different HW aspects (frequency and intensity) related to different circulation types, and to examine the possible links/associations between HW days and the sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of closely associated water bodies (i.e., Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea). Using a time-sensitive approach, a HW was defined as a period of at least two consecutive days with a daily maximum temperature equal or higher than the 90th percentile of the monthly maximum and with a daily minimum temperature equal or higher than the 85th percentile of the monthly minimum for the decade in question. Using reanalysis data for 1985-2014, three weather/circulation types were identified using Ward's method for cluster determination. Together, weather types 1 and 3 induced 57.5% of HW days and connected with negative anomalies in sea level pressure with lower heights and warmer temperatures at the 850 hPa level. Weather type 2 induced 42.5% of HW days and was related to positive anomalies at all heights. Intensification of Indian Summer Monsoon Trough and Arabian heat lows were key atmospheric features related to weather types 1 and 3. Anomalies of SSTs of the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, Caspian Sea, Black Sea, and Mediterranean Sea displayed positive values for both weather types 1 and 3. SSTs anomalies seem to be a more important factor for intensity of a HW day. HWs in Saudi Arabia tend to occur during regional warming due to atmospheric circulation conditions and SST teleconnections.

Five extreme precipitation indicators were calculated on an annual basis for 1890 through 2013 and analysed to determine spatial patterns and temporal trends in the frequency and magnitude of observed extreme precipitation events in Kansas located in the central United States. Indicators were selected from the list of the World Meteorological Organization–Commission for Climatology (WMO–CCL) and the Research Programme on Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR). The indicators included the number of days with precipitation greater than or equal to 10 mm/day (R10), maximum number of consecutive dry days (CDD; days with precipitation lower that 1 mm), maximum 5‐day precipitation total (R5D), and simple daily intensity index (SDII) which is the annual precipitation total divided by number of days with precipitation greater than or equal to 1 mm, and the fraction of annual total precipitation due to events exceeding the 95th percentile (R95T) based on the period 1961–1990. Positive trends in the results were found for a majority of stations for R10, R5D, SDII, and R95T. Consecutive dry days was the only index that had a negative trend at a majority of stations. Spatial pattern analysis indicates greater changes in frequencies and magnitudes for eastern Kansas. Results from this study highlight observed climate shifts in precipitation patterns with a tendency towards greater and more frequent extreme precipitation in eastern Kansas and a tendency towards drier conditions in western Kansas. These hydroclimatic adjustments can produce costly impacts in areas that include flood management, hydraulic structures, water availability throughout the year, agricultural production, ecosystems, and human health.

The climate of the Middle East is warming and extreme hot temperature events are becoming common, as observed by the significant upwards trends in mean and extreme temperatures during the last few decades. Climate modelling studies suggest that the frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme temperature events are expected to increase as the global and local climate continues to warm. However, most of the literature about heat waves (HWs) in Saudi Arabia provides information about the duration aspect using a single index, with no detailed information about frequency and intensity aspects. To help establish a baseline for understanding past and future change, this study explored the temporal behaviour(s) of the frequency, duration, and intensity of HWs in Saudi Arabia under the observed recent climate change. Several issues are addressed including some methodological concerns associated with the commonly used heat wave index, data quality control, and statistical analysis. A new definition and method to detect HWs and their changes is proposed, considering the ongoing effects of climate warming and the subtropical arid climate.A HW event is defined as a period of two or more consecutive days (i.e., at least 48 hr) with a daily maximum and minimum temperature exceeding the 90th and 85th percentiles of the maximum and minimum, respectively. Threshold percentiles were calculated monthly and adjusted for each decade of analysis. For temporal trend analyses, we consider HW events and their duration as count data using different Poisson models for analysis. HW frequency, intensity, and duration across Saudi Arabia were found to behave geographically and temporally differently across the 25 stations studied. Distinct temporal and geographical patterns were observed indicating a confounding interplay of regional and local factors, such as urbanization, elevation, latitude, and distance from a large body of water.

This commentary response reflects on the thoughts offered by Solem, Mohan, Rawling, and Lambert regarding Larsen and Harrington's article titled Developing a Learning Progression for Place (2018).