The application of quicklook NOAA AVHRR satellite imagery in Northern Scandinavia for synoptic weather analyses

The suitability of imagery from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the NOAA series of satellites for the synoptic classification of circulation trends in the European Arctic is assessed with reference to data from three climate stations. Simplified synoptic cyclonic classifications are derived from the satellite imagery and tested against climate data. Five classes of frontal system are derived from the tracking of systems over the UK‐Scandinavia‐Baltic region using 1460 satellite images over two years. An index based on the qualitative interpretation of satellite imagery was related to the reference data. The tracking of the systems in the imagery also facilitates a comparison of travel times across the region and the frequency of occurrence. Frontal systems that remain largely stationary over the Baltic were found to correlate best with precipitation at the reference sites. The paper thus investigates the use of AVHRR imagery for the categorisation of weather patterns towards deriving quantitative relationships between circulation classes and weather elements (such as temperature and precipitation) where, for example, climate data are sparse or where skills required for the interpretation of Height Potential Fields are lacking.     

New challenges for old commons: The role of historical common land in contemporary rural spaces

In Scotland, as elsewhere in Western Europe, many examples of historical common land have endured to the present day, but are under major pressure from the economic restructuring, socio-cultural recomposition and changing policy context that characterise contemporary rural change. For the crofting common grazings of Scotland, two particular challenges have arisen in the form of: (1) the growing difficulty of gaining sufficient livelihood contributions from traditional agriculturally-based activities; and (2) the increasing heterogeneity of rights-holders. This paper elaborates the findings of a recent survey, which sought to identify the main implications of these challenges for common grazings use and governance. An overall decline in levels of use of common grazings was identified, as well as decreasing involvement and investment in associated local institutions. This informs a discussion of the factors shaping the role of historical common land in contemporary rural spaces, an area neglected in the common property literature.     

A Lithic Provisioning Model as a Proxy for Landscape Mobility in the Southern and Middle Kalahari

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - Humans occupy a wide range of environments, including those that experience water stress. Our species has a long history of mitigating arid and...     

Notes on Names of the Thorn

CROW TEXTS. Collected, translated, and edited by ROBERT H. LOWIE, University of California Press and Cambridge U.P., 1960. Pp. xiii, 550. Price 52s. Reviewed by Geoffrey Turner.

STORIES FROM UIST, TOLD BY ANGUS MACLELLAN. Translated by J. G. CAMPBELL. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1961. Pp. xxix, 254, 1 photograph. Reviewed by Ellen Ettlinger.

THE EVERLASTING CIRCLE. English Traditional Verse from the MSS of S. Baring-Gould, H. E. D. Hammond and George B. Gardiner, By James Reeves. Heinemann, London. Pp. 303, 5 illus. Price 25s. net. Reviewed by H. J. Rose.

THE TIGER'S WHISKER, AND OTHER TALES AND LEGENDS FROM ASIA AND THE PACIFIC. Collected by HAROLD COURLANDER. Methuen &; Co. 12s. 6d. Reviewed by K. M. Briggs.

GREEK CALENDAR CUSTOMS. By GEORGE A. MEGAS. Press and Information Department, Prime Minister's Office, Athens, 1958. Pp. 159 + 24 plates. Reviewed by Wilfrid Bonser.

HIGHLAND FOLK WAYS. By I. F. GRANT. Routledge &; Kegan Paul, London, 1961. Pp. xiii, 377, 77 text illustrations. Reviewed by Ellen Ettlinger.

THE PSYCHOANALYTICAL STUDY OF SOCIETY. Vol, I. International Universities Press, Inc., New York, 1961. Reviewed by E. Baker.

SEASONAL FEASTS AND FESTIVALS. By E. O. JAMES. Thames and Hudson, 1961. 35s. Reviewed by E. P. Baker.

JOURNAL OF THE ENGLISH FOLK DANCE AND SONG SOCIETY. Vol. 9, No. 1, December 1960. Reviewed by W.B.

ANCIENT BALLADS TRADITIONALLY SUNG IN NEW ENGLAND, Vol. I, University of Pennsylvania Press. Reviewed by C. H.

PERIODICAL LITERATURE. Reviewed by Christina Hole.