These notes show how observers can set up a coordinate system and measure the spacetime geometry using clocks and lasers. The approach is similar to that of special relativity, but the reader must not be misled. Spacetime diagrams with rectilinear axes do not imply flat spacetime any more than flat maps imply a flat earth. Cartography provides an excellent starting point for understanding the m...

Latitude is an important factor that influences the carbon stock of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) forests. Accurate estimation of the carbon stock of Moso bamboo forest can contribute to sufficient evaluation of forests in carbon sequestration worldwide. Nevertheless, the effect of latitude on the carbon stock of Moso bamboo remains unclear. In this study, a field survey with 36 plots o...

This work documents how the midlatitude, eddy-driven jets respond to climate change using model output from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The authors consider separately the North Atlantic, the North Pacific, and the Southern Hemisphere jets. The analysis is not limited to annualmean changes in the latitude and speed of the jets, but also explores how the variabi...

5 The sensitivity of stratiform mid-latitude orographic precipitation to global mean temper6 ature is investigated through numerical simulations with a general circulation model. The 7 individual terrain elements are idealizations of the Earth’s major north-south mountain 8 chains and occupy four islands equally spaced around the northern hemisphere of a planet 9 otherwise covered by ocean. Pre...

Climate differences across latitude can result in seasonal constraints and selection on life history characters. Since Aedes albopictus (Skuse) invaded North America in the mid-1980s, it has spread across a range of approximately 14 degrees latitude and populations in the north experience complete adult mortality due to cold winter temperatures that are absent in the south. Life table experimen...

Most of the world's living marine resources inhabit coastal environments, where average thermal conditions change predictably with latitude. These coastal latitudinal temperature gradients (CLTG) coincide with important ecological clines,e.g., in marine species diversity or adaptive genetic variations, but how tightly thermal and ecological gradients are linked remains unclear. A first step is ...

We examine the links between thermal condition of troposphere over Tibetan Plateau with atmospheric circulation and climate Eurasian continent. The temperature is higher than in other regions at same latitude consistent on an interannual timescale. leads to anomalous south–north gradients from mid-latitudes continent its two flanks, accompanied by easterly westerly winds upper subtropics latitu...

BACKGROUND While the incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is similar across the world (range, 1.0 to 2.5/100,000), a latitude gradient from north to south has been observed. OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of ALS in Puglia, a region of south eastern Italy, and to test the latitude gradient hypothesis comparing the present study with findings in studies conducted with the same...

Solar radiation is the main cause of skin cancers. However, it also is a main source of vitamin D for humans. Because the optimal status of vitamin D protects against internal cancers and a number of other diseases, a controversy exists: Will increased sun exposure lead to net health benefits or risks? We calculated the relative yield of vitamin D photosynthesis as a function of latitude with a...

India is the seventh largest country in the world with great diversity in its topography, climate, ecology, and demographic characteristics. Its land mass falls between 7° and 37° of latitude South. Except for the northern reaches of the country—the Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh—where the minimum temperature falls below 0°C in winter, mos...