A Snapshot of the Sun Near Solar Minimum: The Whole Heliosphere Interval

We present an overview of the data and models collected for the Whole Heliosphere Interval, an international campaign to study the three-dimensional solar?Cheliospheric?Cplanetary connected system near solar minimum. The data and models correspond to solar Carrington Rotation 2068 (20 March??C?16 April 2008) extending from below the solar photosphere, through interplanetary space, and down to Earth??s mesosphere. Nearly 200 people participated in aspects of WHI studies, analyzing and interpreting data from nearly 100 instruments and models in order to elucidate the physics of fundamental heliophysical processes. The solar and inner heliospheric data showed structure consistent with the declining phase of the solar cycle. A closely spaced cluster of low-latitude active regions was responsible for an increased level of magnetic activity, while a highly warped current sheet dominated heliospheric structure. The geospace data revealed an unusually high level of activity, driven primarily by the periodic impingement of high-speed streams. The WHI studies traced the solar activity and structure into the heliosphere and geospace, and provided new insight into the nature of the interconnected heliophysical system near solar minimum.     

Using GIS to improve public health emergency response in rural areas during the COVID-19 crisis: A case study of South Carolina,US

Geographic information systems (GIS) have become essential tools in the public health domain, especially when it comes to monitoring and surveillance of disease. The purpose of this article is to describe and explore the benefits of using GIS to improve public health emergency response during a global pandemic and, in particular, how to effectively optimize the allocation of public health resources in a rural setting using a data-driven approach that considers the multifactorial demand for new COVID-19 testing sites. Herein, the authors present their interprofessional project as an example of such efforts to inform applications for practice. The team developed a GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis model for use by decision-makers and public health experts in similar future planning and response scenarios. Focus is placed on rural characteristics (e.g., accessibility), vulnerable populations, and daily changing conditions (e.g., COVID-19 daily case fluctuations) that create additional challenges for public health agencies and policymakers.     

Adaptive Transitions: The Long‐Term Perspective on Humans in Changing Coastal Settings

Adaptation is a key concept in long‐term human adjustments to climate change. Despite the centrality of human decisions and actions in adaptation, much of the climate change literature is thin on humanities and social science which are the primary approaches for understanding human activity. This situation is particularly pronounced in Louisiana's discussions about its disappearing coast line where research has concentrated in understanding biophysical processes and solutions prioritize short‐term adaptations. This paper reviews the relationship of adaptation and long‐term transitions in the global change discussion and traces how disjointed adaptations in coastal Louisiana have contributed to a perilous environmental situation there. It proposes a shift from discrete adaptations to efforts that incorporate interrelated biophysical and human adaptations that can sustain long‐term transitions.     

A late pleistocene marine molluscan fauna from the Drifts of the Cheshire plain

Some recent finds from two working pits in the outwash sands of the Cheshire Plain are recorded. The opportunity is taken to discuss the dating and ecology of the fauna in relation to past and present theories of environment in the late Pleistocene, and their relationship to the fauna of the Macclesfield New Cemetery Beds.     

A 50-year record of NO<Subscript>x</Subscript> and SO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sources in precipitation in the Northern Rocky Mountains,USA

Ice-core samples from Upper Fremont Glacier (UFG), Wyoming, were used as proxy records for the chemical composition of atmospheric deposition. Results of analysis of the ice-core samples for stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N, ) and sulfur (δ³⁴S, ), as well as and deposition rates from the late-1940s thru the early-1990s, were used to enhance and extend existing National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) data in western Wyoming. The most enriched δ³⁴S value in the UFG ice-core samples coincided with snow deposited during the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, Washington. The remaining δ³⁴S values were similar to the isotopic composition of coal from southern Wyoming. The δ¹⁵N values in ice-core samples representing a similar period of snow deposition were negative, ranging from -5.9 to -3.2 ‰ and all fall within the δ¹⁵N values expected from vehicle emissions. Ice-core nitrate and sulfate deposition data reflect the sharply increasing U.S. emissions data from 1950 to the mid-1970s.