Progress in Physical Geography current issue

Understanding watershed suspended sediment transport

Peng Gao, — 2008-09-18

Suspended sediment at the watershed scale has played a critical role in sediment pollution, water-quality degradation, and the impairment of riparian ecosystems, and thus has been widely studied in many disciplines. This paper synthesizes a variety of methods adopted in suspended sediment monitoring, estimation and modelling for understanding sediment transport processes and determining the suspended sediment load. Methods for sediment monitoring are described in terms of direct and indirect approaches. Estimation of suspended sediment load is commonly achieved by establishing a sediment rating curve. Different approaches toward the establishment of a sediment rating curve are examined thoroughly. Techniques of sediment modelling are summarized via depiction of various hydrological and sediment models at the watershed scale. The paper ends with the discussion of future developments in suspended sediment studies at the watershed scale.

Caribbean precipitation: review, model and prospect

Gamble, D. W., Curtis, S. — 2008-09-18

The study of Caribbean climate pre-1990 focused almost exclusively on attempts to link spatial patterns in climatic variables to physical processes. Much of this research assumed a `simple' regional climate, warm year round with a wet season dominated by tropical cyclones, but researchers soon found that a precipitation regionalization of the Caribbean was not as straightforward and simple. Consequently, a satisfactory understanding of the regional precipitation climate has eluded researchers for much of the second half of the twentieth century. Recently, with the increased availability and quality of satellite and precipitation data, researchers have begun to use gridded data sets to identify the spatial boundaries of the bimodal precipitation region and the atmospheric processes associated with the two maxima and minimum in precipitation. The findings of these most recent studies can be combined to construct a five part (North Atlantic high pressure, low level Caribbean jet, subsidence caused by Central America convection, basin wide increased wind shear, and divergence around Jamaica) conceptual Caribbean precipitation model that begins to address spatial variability in the bimodal structure of annual rainfall and the development of the midsummer minimum in precipitation. Such a regional precipitation climate model provides hypotheses to be tested and investigated in future research. Further, researchers must work towards a more effective and clear communication of the bimodal nature of Caribbean precipitation and the associated summer decrease in precipitation, integrate upper air analysis into the current working hypotheses, and further examine the interannual to interdecadal variability of the Caribbean midsummer drought for prediction purposes.

Extinction debt: origins, developments, and applications of a biogeographical trope

Malanson, G. P. — 2008-09-18

The concept of the extinction debt has two components: a direct timelag between an environmental perturbation and the consequent extinction of a species and the idea that among species going extinct the strong competitors/weak colonizers go extinct first. Although the term was first used in 1994 in the context of metapopulation models, its roots go back to general systems theory and the theory of island biogeography. It has been qualified and elaborated since 1994, mostly in terms of the effects of spatial pattern on the outcomes. The strongest critiques of the concept emphasize that the direct trade-off between competition and colonization abilities is not simple. The original application was to remnant habitat patches, but it could be applied to spatially heterogeneous habitats that are subject to climate change or invasive species. As a guide to conservation practice, extinction debt remains a general cautionary principle rather than a specific prescription, but the raising of awareness is nevertheless significant.

Micro- and mesoscale climatology

Mills, G. — 2008-09-18

Applied climatology: drought

Robeson, S. M. — 2008-09-18

Globalization of tephrochronology: new views from Australasia

Lowe, D. J. — 2008-09-18

Happ, S.C., Rittenhouse, G. and Dobson, G.C. 1940: Some principles of accelerated stream and valley sedimentation. US Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 695

Trimble, S. W. — 2008-09-18

Book review: Charlton, R. 2008: Fundamentals of fluvial geomorphology. London: Routledge. 234 pp. {pound}80 cloth, {pound}22.99 paper. ISBN: 978 0 415 33453 2 (cloth), 978 0 415 33454 9 (paper). Also available in e-book

Simm, D. — 2008-09-18

Book review: Fookes, P.G., Lee, E.M. and Griffiths, J.S., editors 2007: Engineering geomorphology-- theory and practice. Dunbeath: Whittles Publishing. 312 pp. {pound}40 paper. ISBN: 978 1904445 38 8

Soldati, M. — 2008-09-18

Book review: Michener, R. and Lajtha, K., editors 2007: Stable isotopes in ecology and environmental science (second edition). Ecological Methods and Concepts Series. Malden, MA: Wiley/ Blackwell. 592 pp. {pound}33.99 paper. ISBN: 978 1 4051 2680 9

Holmes, J. A. — 2008-09-18

Short review notes Reviewer: A.S. Goudie: Middleton, N. 2008: The global casino: an introduction to environmental issues (fourth edition). London: Hodder Education. 512 pp. {pound}26.99 paper. ISBN: 978 0340 95716 5

2008-09-18

Short review notes Reviewer: A.S. Goudie: Hartel, H., Cilek, V., Herben, T., Jackson, A. and Williams, R., editors 2007: Sandstone landscapes. Prague: Academia. 493 pp. 795 Czech Crowns (c. {pound}26). ISBN: 978 80 200 1577 8

2008-09-18