Synoptic controls on Katabatic layer characteristics above a temperate alpine-type glacier: Peyto Glacier, Alberta

Previous glacier microclimatological research has emphasized the need for further study of synoptic scale controls on boundary and katabatic layer development. A better understanding of the influence of changing synoptic conditions on the characteristics of the near-glacier air layer should lead to more accurate prediction of the surface energy balance. -- A subjective ‘features of circulation’ type synoptic classification is proposed which is used to physically explain variations in wind, temperature and stability conditions in the near-surface layer. Wind and temperature profiles were obtained during the summer of 1979 at a site on the tongue of Peyto Glacier, Alberta. -- The katabatic layer was found to be most strongly developed under anticyclonic conditions, with frequent occurrence of a low level wind velocity maximum and associated thermocline. These conditions favoured steady down-glacier flow, strong surface-based temperature inversions and high stability. A weak positive correlation was found between the katabatic wind velocity and surface inversion strength. Diurnal variation in surface inversion strength was most pronounced under anticyclonic influence. -- Cyclonic synoptic conditions were found to result in considerable disturbance of the near-surface air layer, resulting in weaker inversions, lower stability and more variable low-level wind direction. Deviations in the direction of the surface wind were strongly influence by the direction of 700 mb flow. The geostrophic wind direction also affected near-surface temperature and stability conditions. A down-glacier flow, reinforcing the katabatic wind was associated with greater stability and inversion strength. A geostrophic wind directed perpendicular to the glacier fall-line caused considerable disturbance of wind and temperature conditions in the near-glacier air layer. The katabatic force was found to exceed the synoptic scale pressure gradient force under all synoptic conditions encountered, and to be greatest under anticyclonic conditions. -- Local microclimatological studies emphasized the importance of differences in elevation, slope, aspect and proximity to ice-free areas. Greatest contrasts in temperature and wind conditions occurred under anticyclonic conditions. Turbulence in marginal ice areas may prevent the formation of a recognizable katabatic layer. Significant changes in radiation receipt around sunrise and sunset were found to result in modification of near-surface conditions

Beyond active travel: children, play and community on streets during and after the coronavirus lockdown

As countries have imposed lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, cities have been transformed in many ways. In this short article, we consider changes to urban residential streets in England and call for attention to be paid not only to streets as places for active travel and mobility, but also as spaces of dwelling, playing and connecting, especially for children, their families and communities. We argue that integrating these aspects into the reconfiguration of streets during and beyond lockdown requires an explicit focus on dwelling and on children, as this is vital for the health and well-being of children and of urban communities

Kerbs and curbs, desire and damage: an affirmative account of children's play and being well during the COVID-19 pandemic

A dominant narrative around the impact of COVID-19 on children focuses on the risk of children being the pandemic's biggest victims. Without denying the severity of such damage, this article explores two examples of playing during the pandemic, alongside more affirmative Deleuzian accounts of desire, which can contribute to mitigating both the damage itself and what damage narratives perform. Using two fragments of data from research into children's play during the first COVID-19 UK lockdown, we show how, despite the tightest of restrictions, moments of playfulness emerged from encounters between children, other bodies and the materiality and affective atmospheres of the street to produce moments of being well. In both fragments children play with the kerbs on the street, deterritorialising the curbs of both striated street spaces and lockdown in ways that temporarily enact a playful politics of space and produce moments of being well. We read these fragments through contemporary Deleuzian accounts of desire as a productive force. In so doing, we contribute to debates in relational ontologies of children's geographies that address the micropolitics of children's spatial practices