Relations between Timeplace and Placetime of Temperature Change

Keywords: Temperature Change, Timeplace, Placetime, 48 coterminous states in the USA, 1900-2017
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 11

Abstract

The paper aims to propose a relational account about when and where of temperature change. Coming to terms with the relation, two categories are proposed including timeplace , historical geography of place and placetime, geographical history of place. Annual temperature change data are examined for 48 coterminous states in the USA since 1900. Associational statistics measure the covariation in annual temperature anomalies (the what) in 48 states (the where) over 118 years (the when). To visualize the difference between the two categories, timelines on xy graphs represent timeplace as stages (climates), rhythms, turning points with year labels. By contrast, placetime signatures represent areal differentiation (chorology) of specific years and particular place at the local, regional, and national scales. Three dates are selected to visualize placetime signatures, 1918, 1956, and 2017 showing how different they appear from timelines. Whereas measurement statistics identify distinctions between timeplace and placetime in abstract numbers, graphing timelines and signatures visualises the difference. Seeing hopefully assists in believing as a step toward understanding. An evidence based thought experiment is offered distinguishing between a given present (1956) in relation to a past beginning in 1918 and an actual future in 2017. Revisiting a denial about climate change by a climatological geographer in 1955 is instructive. The distinction between synchronic vs diachronic accounts of temperature change is explained. A revised narrative combining historical geography and geographical history of temperature in America change is considered. The method demonstrates why time is place dependent and place is time dependent.