Some Observations on the Late-Glacia Stages in the Coaticook Valley, Southern Québec

Cette étude a pour but de présenter les résultats de recherches sur le terrain portant sur certains aspects de la déglaciation de la région de Coaticook, dans les Cantons de l'Est. La principale conclusion de l'auteur, c'est la possibilité qu'il yait eu plus de deux avancées glaciaires à travers la région, suivies par une succession de lacs pro-glaciaires. Parmi les autres sujets qui ont retenu l'attention de l'auteur, on peut signaler la répartition des blocs erratiques de granité, ainsi que certaines formes d'origine fluvio-glaciaire (eskers, deltas pro-glaciaires, etc.)

Including the urban heat island in spatial heat health risk assessment strategies: a case study for Birmingham, UK

Background Heatwaves present a significant health risk and the hazard is likely to escalate with the increased future temperatures presently predicted by climate change models. The impact of heatwaves is often felt strongest in towns and cities where populations are concentrated and where the climate is often unintentionally modified to produce an urban heat island effect; where urban areas can be significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The purpose of this interdisciplinary study is to integrate remotely sensed urban heat island data alongside commercial social segmentation data via a spatial risk assessment methodology in order to highlight potential heat health risk areas and build the foundations for a climate change risk assessment. This paper uses the city of Birmingham, UK as a case study area. Results When looking at vulnerable sections of the population, the analysis identifies a concentration of "very high" risk areas within the city centre, and a number of pockets of "high risk" areas scattered throughout the conurbation. Further analysis looks at household level data which yields a complicated picture with a considerable range of vulnerabilities at a neighbourhood scale. Conclusions The results illustrate that a concentration of "very high" risk people live within the urban heat island, and this should be taken into account by urban planners and city centre environmental managers when considering climate change adaptation strategies or heatwave alert schemes. The methodology has been designed to be transparent and to make use of powerful and readily available datasets so that it can be easily replicated in other urban areas

Firm finances, weather derivatives and geography

This paper considers some intellectual, practical and political dimensions of collaboration between human and physical geographers exploring how firms are using relatively new financial products – weather derivatives – to displace any costs of weather-related uncertainty and risk. The paper defines weather derivatives and indicates how they differ from weather insurance products before considering the geo-political, cultural and economic context for their creation. The paper concludes by reflecting on the challenges of research collaboration across the human–physical geography divide and suggests that while such initiatives may be undermined by a range of institutional and intellectual factors, conversations between physical and human geographers remain and are likely to become increasingly pertinent. The creation of a market in weather derivatives raises a host of urgent political and regulatory questions and the confluence of natural and social knowledges, co-existing within and through the geography academy, provides a constructive and creative basis from which to engage with this new market and wider discourses of uneven economic development and climate change

Birmingham’s air and surface urban heat islands associated with Lamb weather types and cloudless anticyclonic conditions

This study investigates the characteristics of the air and surface urban heat islands (aUHI and sUHI) of Birmingham in relation to Lamb weather types (LWTs) over the period 2002–2007, with a particular focus on cloudless anticyclonic conditions. Ground-based MIDAS air temperatures within the urban canopy layer at the urban Edgbaston and rural Shawbury weather stations were used to derive the aUHI intensity (aUHII). Satellite-derived MODIS/Aqua land surface temperatures (LST) under cloudless conditions were used to derive the spatial patterns of the sUHI as well as the sUHI intensity (sUHII). Using Jenkinson’s objective daily synoptic indices, a combined subset of 11 LWTs were examined for their association with the nocturnal aUHI. Over the study period, the most frequently occurring LWT, ‘anticyclonic’ (21.1%), gives a strongest mean/maximum nocturnal aUHII of 2.5°C/7°C (391 nights) and the largest proportion of nocturnal heat island events of 65.2%. The spatial patterns of nocturnal sUHI for each LWT were also assessed, and the results demonstrate Birmingham’s urban warming of up to 4.16°C (48 clear nights) in the city centre under cloudless anticyclonic conditions. The scatter plot of nocturnal aUHII and sUHII for the 48 nights demonstrates a linear relationship. We also developed a simple analytical model that links the slope of the aUHII–sUHII relationship to the difference of ‘built-up’ area fraction between the urban pixel and the rural pixel in satellite imagery of land cover. This partially explains the physical basis behind the relationship. These findings of the aUHII–sUHII relationship may lead to the future development of a generic methodology of deriving the spatial patterns of aUHI from satellite measurements. </jats:p

Evaluation of air quality at the Birmingham New Street Railway Station

Air pollution from diesel emissions is becoming an increased international concern, and whilst attention has been primarily focused on the automotive industry, concerns have also been raised about emissions from diesel rail vehicles. This paper reports an extensive series of measurements made at the Birmingham New Street station, a major rail interchange in the Midlands of England, with a mix of diesel and electric train movements, which is of particular concern because of the enclosed nature of the platforms. This study was undertaken in collaboration with Network Rail to better understand the environment in and around the station over a longer period to provide a more detailed analysis of the complex environment at the station. The station environment has been considered in terms of the European Union (EU) and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) limits as part of the monitoring methodology, but it should be noted that these limits do not apply in this environment as the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 are applicable. The monitoring campaign consisted of diffusion tube measurements to measure nitrogen dioxide at a large number of different locations throughout and around the station. These were followed by detailed measurements of oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter, carbon dioxide and black carbon (a diesel tracer) at a smaller number of sites at the platform level. The results are analysed to give concentrations over a wide variety of time scales, and long- and short-term averages. The effects of ambient wind conditions and individual train movements are also considered. Recommendations are made for possible remedial measures and for future work to more fully understand the physical mechanisms involved. </jats:p

Air quality in enclosed railway stations

In 2012, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reclassified diesel engine exhaust and related ambient air pollution to be carcinogenic and associated with increased mortality from lung cancer. This could have critical consequences for both public and occupational health in enclosed railway stations where ventilation is often inadequate. Recent policies encouraging a shift to public transport, along with increasing passenger and train numbers, have led to a variety of co-benefits, including improved health and well-being from increased walking and cycling. This paper considers the unintended consequences of a reduction of air quality in crowded enclosed railway stations and concludes with a number of possible interventions to ensure that public health is not affected, especially by air pollution from stationary diesel trains. Pollution from electric trains can also lead to poor air quality due to the production of metal-rich ultrafine particles from brake linings, friction between wheel and rail, and from overhead pantographs. Current occupational health standards are not suitable for enclosed railway stations and need to be reconsidered in the light of the IARC findings. More measurements of the levels of particulates and nitrogen dioxide in enclosed railway stations need to be undertaken and published. </jats:p

Intervention of an Upgraded Ventilation System and Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Air Quality at Birmingham New Street Railway Station

High NO2 concentrations (long term average of 383 µg/m3 in 2016/2017) recorded at Birmingham New Street railway station have resulted in the upgrade of the bi-directional fan system to aid wind dispersion within the enclosed platform environment. This paper attempts to examine how successful this intervention has been in improving air quality for both passengers and workers within the station. New air pollution data in 2020 has enabled comparisons to the 2016/2017 monitoring campaign revealing a 23–42% decrease in measured NO2 concentrations. The new levels of NO2 are below the Occupational Health standards but still well above the EU Public Health Standards. This reduction, together with a substantial decrease (up to 81%) in measured Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations, can most likely be attributed to the new fan system effectiveness. Carbon Monoxide levels were well below Occupational and Public Health Standards at all times. The COVID19 pandemic “initial lockdown” period has also allowed an insight into the resultant air quality at lower rail-traffic intensities, which produced a further reduction in air pollutants, to roughly half the pre-lockdown concentrations. This study shows the scope of improvement that can be achieved through an engineering solution implemented to improve the ventilation system of an enclosed railway station. Further reduction in air pollution would require additional approaches, such as the removal of diesel engine exhaust emissions via the adoption of electric or diesel-electric hybrid powered services

Impact of Air Temperature on London Ambulance Call-Out Incidents and Response Times

Ambulance services are in operation around the world and yet, until recently, ambulance data has only been used for operational purposes rather than for assessing public health. Ambulance call-out data offers new and valuable (near) real-time information that can be used to assess the impact of environmental conditions, such as temperature, upon human health. A detailed analysis of London ambulance data at a selection of dates between 2003 and 2015 is presented and compared to London temperature data. In London, the speed of ambulance response begins to suffer when the mean daily air temperature drops below 2 °C or rises above 20 °C. This is explained largely by the increased number of calls past these threshold temperatures. The baseline relationships established in this work will inform the prediction of likely changes in ambulance demand (and illness types) that may be caused by seasonal temperature changes and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme/severe weather events, exacerbated by climate change, in the future