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geography

FLORENTINE FLOODS & THE NEW NORMAL

Submitted by jdp on Thu, 11/11/2021 - 04:32 pm

Just published, in Geomorphology (2022, v. 397, 108026)Impacts of Hurricane Florence on the lower Neuse River: Portents and Particulars. Beyond documenting geomorphic impacts in three specific settings in, essentially, my current backyard, one of the main goals was to test the extent to which geomorphic impacts were attributable to the “new normal” nature of the storm, as opposed to tropical cyclones in general (portents); and to specific characteristics of both the lower Neuse region and the synoptics of Florence in the Carolinas (particulars). The “new normal” refers to the tendency here in the warmed-up and warming-up Anthropocene for more and larger tropical cyclones, and for these storms to hold and deliver more moisture, to move more slowly, and to expand in area (the whys of this are summarized in the article). As you can see from the abstract below, some aspects of Florence’s impacts are portents, while others are linked to the particulars of the place and the storm.

ROOTS

Submitted by jdp on Thu, 11/11/2021 - 03:55 pm

I’ve long been interested in plant roots in the context of their effects on geomorphology and soils, which are many (see the reference below, for starters). Having my antennae up for root research beyond the realm of botany and plant physiology, I came across a very interesting new article by Fredrik Sønderholm and Christian Bjerrum: Minimum levels of atmospheric oxygen from fossil tree roots imply new plant−oxygen feedback, in Geobiology (2021).  The abstract is below: 

Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference

The Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference (DOPE) is organized and hosted entirely by an interdisciplinary group of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky. Since its inception in 2010, this student-organized conference has become one of the largest, most highly regarded international forums for critical discussions at the intersection of ecology, political economy, and science studies. DOPE 2020 welcomes Dr. Alaka Wali, Dr. Diana Ojeda, Dr. Justin Dunnavant, Dr. Macarena Gómez-Barris, and Dr. Rebecca Elmhirst as our speakers, along with many professors, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The DOPE Conference offers a platform for both established and emerging scholars to present research and engage in political ecology scholarship. Registration is free for UK graduate and undergraduate students! Register here!

Date:
-
Location:
University of Kentucky

NO NORMAL

Submitted by jdp on Tue, 02/19/2019 - 12:30 pm

As climate change and its many impacts unfold, many worse than we had forecasted or feared, many observers have indicated that Earth is entering a “new normal.” This is not wrong. However, with respect to our ability to understand, adapt to, and predict environmental change from here on out, it is probably more accurate to say there is no normal. The climate and environment that we will contend with will be unlike any our species—much less our infrastructures, institutions, and cultures—has ever encountered. I agree with those who say, sometimes circumspectly and sometimes directly, that it is time to panic. Not in the sense of panic as uncontrollable fear or anxiety that can cause wildly unthinking behavior, but in the sense of another definition: a frenzied hurry to do something. Scientists hate to be called alarmist, but when the house is on fire, you sound the alarm.

New York Times, February, 2019

 

OH S#*T

Submitted by jdp on Tue, 02/12/2019 - 10:19 am

Every day, it seems, there is another news story or reports of yet more evidence that the global climate is changing, either as we have predicted for years—or worse and faster. The climate system is incredibly complex, and climatologists, climate modelers and paleoclimatologists are furiously working to reduce the uncertainty. Despite the uncertainties and complexities, at this point it is clear that:

•Global mean temperatures are rising.

•Ocean heat content is increasing.

•Sea ice cover is, on average, decreasing (both in areal extent and thickness).

Arctic sea ice cover is in serious long-term decline (photo: Huffpost Canada)

•Ice sheets and glaciers are shrinking.

•Permafrost is thawing.

•Sea level is rising. 

•Changes in climate-sensitive biota, ecosystems, and landforms are all consistent with a warming climate. 

•The major driving force is a dramatic increase in heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

AXIOMS FOR READING THE LANDSCAPE

Submitted by jdp on Wed, 12/26/2018 - 05:15 pm

Just published in Progress in Physical Geography: Place Formation and Axioms for Reading the Natural LandscapeThis work is an attempt to develop some formalisms for analyzing the biophysical landscape from the perspective of place formation--how landscapes, environments, and places evolve and become different from each other. My original efforts were in the form of conceptual model, but (thanks in large measure to reviewers and critiques of earlier versions) I realized that (A) the critical principles could be reduced to axioms, and (B) a set of guidelines or axioms is a more effective (and honest) way to present the approach. The abstract is below:

A copy of the full text is attached.

 

 

New Maps Plus student wins national cartography award

At the 2018 North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) annual meeting, New Maps Plus student Kerry Gathers was awarded first prize in the student Dynamic Map competition.  Kerry's beautifully stylized and interactive map (https://www.kgmaps.com/oil-and-bone/) highlights the rise and fall of the whaling industry of the 1800's, and includes fascinating narratives at key points.  Well done Kerry!

TRYING TO REASON WITH HURRICANE SEASON

Submitted by jdp on Thu, 09/27/2018 - 12:58 pm

As I write, river flooding and cleanup from Hurricane Florence in North and  South Carolina are ongoing. The storm was not a major one in terms of maximum sustained winds--only a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale when it made landfall at Wrightsville Beach, near Cape Fear, NC.  But the storm approached the coast very slowly, and moved only very slowly once it made landfall. That, and the areal extent of of the storm, resulted in quite a beating for the eastern Carolinas. 

Satellite image of Florence approaching the Carolina coast. 

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