A GIS-based exploration of the relationships between human health,social deprivation and ecosystem services: The case of Wales,UK     

《Applied geography (Sevenoaks, England)》2013

Being able to analyse the relationships between people and nature has always been of key interest to ecosystems conservation, planning decisions and in a number of disciplines of natural and social sciences. In this framework, it is of paramount importance to evaluate possible correlations between factors such as ecosystem services, human health, and social deprivation. The present study aims at exploring relationships between ecosystem services, human health, and social deprivation for the region of Wales in the United Kingdom. Wales is of special interest because as a region it offers many ‘green’ ecosystems which have already been found to have a positive influence on humans' well-being as well as on socio-economic status. First, a recreational layer showing the size and location of all potential recreational areas in each Welsh local authority was created. Subsequently, correlation/regression analysis and weighted raster analysis were performed which allowed determining quantitatively the degree of correlation between the observed socio-economic factors and recreational areas.The findings of this exploratory study suggested that the relative size of potential recreational area varies widely within the local authorities comprising Wales. Not all the socio-economic factors which were examined herein found to be correlated with recreational areas. Some variables, such as income and employment deprivation showed high correlations with poor recreation options. Very poor correlation was also reported between recreation options and variables such as life expectancy and long-term illness. Our results, in agreement to previous studies conducted elsewhere, suggested that human health is determined by a complex interplay of more than one of the observed determinants, including for example biology and genetics or living and working conditions. As to our knowledge there are no prior research studies on the topic for our study region, this work provides a key contribution concerning the determination of a “social” value of ecosystems in the context of human health and other socio-economic factors. However, as these are only initial results, further work is required to verify those.  相似文献   

PARTICLE SIZE AND SHAPE VARIATION ON ALPINE DEBRIS FANS,CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS     

David J. Sauchyn 《自然地理学》2013,34(3):191-217

Much of the previous research on mountain debris slopes has focused on slopes of avalanche and, especially, rockfall origin. This study examines particle size and shape variation on some debris fans formed by rockfall, snow avalanches, and stream-debris flow on dissected rockwalls. The particle size and shape data are derived from the lengths of the 3 principal axes of 50 particles sampled at 152 stops on 24 transects. The analysis of these data indicates that variation in particle shape is a function of source rock lithology while particle size varies according to the process of coarse debris transfer. Most of the size variation occurs at the sampling stops and among stops within transects. Size means and variances differ according to process for samples not affected by stream-debris flow. Second-order polynomial regressions depict the longitudinal size sorting produced by each process and reflect the unique nature of debris transfer on dissected rockwalls, where rockfall is impeded and debris is sequentially or simultaneously subject to gravitational and boundary shear stresses.  相似文献   

MODELLING OF LOCAL CLIMATE FOR PREDICTION OF ROAD SLIPPERINESS     

Jörgen Bogren  Torbjörn Gustavsson 《自然地理学》2013,34(2):147-164

Recent research for the Swedish Road Weather Information System (WIS) is discussed along with a method for determining temperature variations attributable to topography during different weather situations. Topographical areas are classified according to factors determining temperature differences. The investigation concentrates on areas where great temperature differences occur during different weather situations, producing a risk of local road slipperiness. Geographical factors analyzed and discussed include valleys, height differences, shadow areas, bridges, and regional climate. Cold air pool intensities are shown to be influenced by weather but a variation between different valleys also occurs owing to valley width, area of cold air production, wind shelter, and ratio between height and width of valley slopes. During neutral or unstable lapse rate conditions, the lowest road surface temperature is closely related to the air temperature and decreases with increasing altitude above sea level. Screened areas have a lower surface temperature than areas exposed to sun. Factors such as bridge size and type also affect road surface temperature on bridges. These different factors are integrated into a local climatological model. [Key words: topoclimatology, local climatology, modelling, road slipperiness, road surface temperature.]  相似文献   

Daily Air Temperature Variability Associated With Climatic Variability at Columbus,Ohio     

Jeffery C. Rogers  Amy Yersavich 《自然地理学》2013,34(2):120-138

Snow is an important component of the earth's environment, and can significantly impact the everyday life of those living in a large portion of the United States. However, accurate and complete information on snowfall and snow cover is presently being collected at only 57% of the official climate observing stations in states where regional snows occur on an annual basis. The quality of the data varies significantly from one state to another, although it tends to be weakest where snow is least common. As a result of this evaluation, the list of stations with daily snow data published in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climatohgical Data publications has been revised and expanded. [Key words: snow, snow observations, climate data, United States.]  相似文献   

SEDIMENT SOURCES OF NEBKHAS IN THE SAHEL ZONE OF BURKINA FASO     

Anna Tengberg 《自然地理学》2013,34(4):259-275

Owing to the decline in rainfall and intensified land use in the Sahel during the past 25 years, wind erosion is causing increasing problems in this region. The aim of the present paper is to identify possible sources for the material found in nebkhas in northern Burkina Faso. Nebkhas are plant-obstacle dunes that frequently occur in semi-arid areas. Grain-size distributions of nebkha sediments and five other subenvironments were analyzed using univariate and multivariate methods. Quartz-grain surface textures were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

The SEM and grain-size analyses together indicate that the nebkhas have experienced considerable recent aeolian abrasion and sorting as compared with the five other sub-environments. It was concluded that the material in the nebkhas investigated is local in origin and that it mainly has been eroded by wind from adjacent disturbed soils or deflated from loose material made available for wind erosion by sheet-wash processes. This means that wind erosion is an important process in the removal of topsoil in this Sahelian environment and that measures to reduce wind erosion should be taken to protect sensitive soils. [Key words: Nebkhas, wind erosion, Sahel, Burkina Faso.]  相似文献   

Explanations for the Spring peak in Ground-level Ozone in the Southwestern United States     

《自然地理学》2013,34(2):105-129

Many remote locations in the Northern Hemisphere have a spring peak, rather than a summer peak, in ground-level ozone concentrations, and the principal cause is presumed to be stratosphere-troposphere exchange (i.e., stratospheric intrusions). Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) in northern Arizona also has a spring peak, and the purpose of this study is to explore the impact of stratospheric intrusions and another process synoptic-scale pollutant transport on ground-level ozone levels at GCNP from 1996 to 2000. The primary methods involve the stratification of days to identify stratospheric-intrusion days and the compositing of days to assess the impact of pollutant transport on ground-level ozone concentrations. Results indicate that stratospheric intrusions contributed little to the ozone budget at GCNP. In fact, atmospheric pollution originating in southern California was the likely cause of the May peak in ozone. The transported pollution also appeared to be responsible for high ozone days during all spring months. Tracer-based research (i.e., beryllium-7 and methylchloroform) at multiple locales in the southwestern United States is needed to fully confirm the weak impact of stratospheric intrusions and the strong contribution of ozone and its precursors originating in southern California.  相似文献   

WILBUR AND ME     

EDWARD K. MULLER 《Geographical review》2006,96(2):278-294

ABSTRACT. Wilbur Zelinsky has spent his spectacular scholarly career enhancing our understanding of American life through explorations into the nation's cultural geography. Although he has illuminated grand themes, he is also celebrated for his eclectic work on the geography of Americana. Few, however, may appreciate his lifelong enjoyment of American literature. Early in my scholarly journey, Wilbur encouraged my awakening interest in reading widely, beyond the boundaries of professional literature. Conversations with him about shared literary enthusiasms affirmed my reading proclivities. From classic novels to those of minor authors, commentary by journalists, biographies, and mass‐market fiction, literature offers provocative insights into American life and landscape. Reading widely takes one in unforeseen professional directions and yields unexpected rewards. Wilbur's sheer delight with the phenomena of the American scene, however seemingly trivial, instructs us to not overlook their possible geographical significance.  相似文献   

Deservedness, development, and the state: Geographic categorization in the US Agency for International Development’s Foreign Assistance Framework     

Jamey Essex 《Geoforum》2008,39(4):1625-1636

The institutions, practices, and discourses of US development policy and foreign assistance are undergoing profound changes. Central to these has been the creation of a new framework for foreign aid, built around a complex taxonomy of developing states and governance issue areas, with geographic and governance categories predicated on notions of state stability and fragility, strategic geopolitical position, and development progress. Given its long-standing position as the primary federal agency responsible for development and foreign aid, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has played an important role in these policy changes, even as its political status and standing have suffered in recent years. The new framework is beset by contradictions, stemming both from the problematic relationship between development, security, and liberalization in agency rhetoric and strategies, and from intensive restructuring processes affecting USAID’s internal character and external relations. This paper investigates the new framework for foreign aid, linking internal restructuring at USAID to broader trends in state development strategies. I argue that shifts in US development and aid policy - toward emphases on “transformational development” abroad and centralization over strategic decision making domestically, crystallized in the new framework - are based in contradictory understandings of aid deservedness that stem from the tensions between economic and geopolitical aims within the current security-focused US state project of neoliberalization. These contradictions and tensions are displaced onto USAID via the Foreign Assistance Framework.  相似文献   

Chemical and Sr isotopic characterization of North America uranium ores: Nuclear forensic applications     

《Applied Geochemistry》2016

This study reports major, minor, and trace element data and Sr isotope ratios for 11 uranium ore (uraninite, UO_2+x) samples and one processed uranium ore concentrate (UOC) from various U.S. deposits. The uraninite investigated represent ores formed via different modes of mineralization (e.g., high- and low-temperature) and within various geological contexts, which include magmatic pegmatites, metamorphic rocks, sandstone-hosted, and roll front deposits. In situ trace element data obtained by laser ablation-ICP-MS and bulk sample Sr isotopic ratios for uraninite samples investigated here indicate distinct signatures that are highly dependent on the mode of mineralization and host rock geology. Relative to their high-temperature counterparts, low-temperature uranium ores record high U/Th ratios (>1000), low total rare earth element (REE) abundances (<1 wt%), high contents (>300 ppm) of first row transition metals (Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni), and radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (>0.7200). Comparison of chondrite normalized REE patterns between uraninite and corresponding processed UOC from the same locality indicates identical patterns at different absolute concentrations. This result ultimately confirms the importance of establishing geochemical signatures of raw, uranium ore materials for attribution purposes in the forensic analysis of intercepted nuclear materials.  相似文献   

The suburban bias of American society?     

William B. Meyer  Jessica K. Graybill 《Urban geography》2016,37(6):863-882

Past research has characterized countries as displaying the traits of urban or rural bias. Neither concept fits the United States well. We propose, as a hypothesis for research, that it may better be understood as displaying a suburban bias vis-à-vis both urban and rural populations. Drawing on the urban and rural bias literatures, we discuss two forms that suburban bias might take, allocational and dispositional, and the ways in which they might be identified. We offer initial evidence of a prevailing suburban bias in the United States in two spheres, those of judicial interpretation and American planning history, and conclude with suggestions for further research on the hypothesis.  相似文献