The material condition of the earth's atmosphere exerts a significant influence on how humans live and die. Therefore, understanding how and why atmospheric processes unevenly impact communities, because of the changing material condition of air, provides an opportunity to address current and future climate risks through interdisciplinary perspectives. Using critical physical geography as a framework, this review provides perspective on how physical geographers may interact more closely with human geographers in addressing social-environmental issues related to the state of the earth's atmosphere and climate, and related processes in other earth systems. Climatic and atmospheric variability and change disproportionately impact populations already disadvantaged within this capitalist social formation. Using labor policy, flooding, wildfires, and incarceration as materially grounded examples where atmospheric inequities are experienced by everyday people, we demonstrate how taking a critical physical geography approach to the earth's air might highlight disciplinary synergies and build stronger cross-geography relationships. These examples demonstrate the interconnectedness of the atmosphere with other earth systems, both environmental and social, and how these connections co-produce atmospheric inequities experienced by human populations.
AdamsonG.2022. “Situating El Nino: Toward a Critical (physical) Geography of ENSO Research Practice.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers112 (4): 877–92.
3.
AllenM.Akpinar-ElciM.. 2016. “Changing Discourses in Climate Health: An Anti-disciplinary Perspective.” EcoHealth13 (1): 4–5.
4.
AllenM. J.AllenT. R.. 2019. “Precipitation Trends Across the Commonwealth of Virginia (1947–2016).” Virginia Journal of Science70 (1): 4. https://doi.org/10.25778/3cay-z849.
5.
AndersonR. M.CharnleyS.EpsteinK.GaynorK. M.MartinJ. V.McInturffA.. 2022. “The Socioecology of Fear: A Critical Geographical Consideration of Human-wolf-livestock Conflict.” The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien67 (1): 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12808.
6.
Beray-ArmondN.2022. “A Call for a Critical Urban Climatology: Lessons from Critical Physical Geography.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change13 (4): e773.
7.
BiermannC.KelleyL. C.LaveR.. 2021. “Putting the Anthropocene into Practice: Methodological Implications.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers111 (3): 808–18.
8.
BlueB.BrierleyG.. 2016. “‘But What Do You Measure?’ Prospects for a Constructive Critical Physical Geography.” Area48 (2): 190–7.
9.
BonninG. M.MartinD.LinB.ParzybokT.YektaM.RileyD.BrewerD.HinerL.. 2007. “Updates to NOAA Precipitation Frequency Atlases.” In World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2007: Restoring Our Natural Habitat (pp. 1–10).
BrunoT.2023. “Ecological Memory in the Biophysical Afterlife of Slavery.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers113 (7): 1543–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2022.2107985.
12.
BryanK.1944. “Physical Geography in the Training of the Geographer.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers34 (4): 183–9.
13.
CastreeN.2012. “Progressing Physical Geography.” Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment36 (2): 298–304.
14.
CastreeN.2015. “Unfree Radicals: Geoscientists, the Anthropocene, and Left Politics.” Antipode49 (51): 52–74.
15.
CastreeN.2020. “The Discourse and Reality of Carbon Dioxide Removal: Toward the Responsible Use of Metaphors in Post-normal Times.” Frontiers in Climate2: 614014.
16.
CastreeN.RogersA.ShermanD.. 2005. Questioning Geography: Fundamental Debates. New York: Blackwell Publishing.
ChennaultC.SbiccaJ.. 2023. “Prison Agriculture in the United States: Racial Capitalism and the Disciplinary Matrix of Exploitation and Rehabilitation.” Agriculture and Human Values40: 175–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10346-x.
19.
ColucciA. R.TynerJ. A.Munro-StasiukM., et al. 2021. “Critical Physical Geography and the Study Of Genocide: Lessons from Cambodia.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers46 (3): 780–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/tran.12451.
20.
ColucciA. R.VecellioD. J.AllenM. J.. 2023. “Thermal (In)equity and Incarceration: A Necessary Nexus for Geographers.” Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space6 (1): 638–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486211063488.
21.
ColvenE.ThomsonM. J.. 2019. “Bridging the Divide between Human and Physical Geography: Potential Avenues for Collaborative Research on Climate Modeling.” Geography Compass13 (2): e12418.
22.
DaviesT.2022. “Slow Violence and Toxic Geographies: ‘Out of Sight’ to Whom?” Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space40 (2): 409–27.
23.
DavisJ.MoultonA. A.Van SantL.WilliamsB.. 2019. “Anthropocene, Capitalocene,… Plantationocene?: A Manifesto for Ecological Justice in an Age of Global Crises.” Geography Compass13 (5): e12438.
24.
Day BiehlerD.SimonG. L.. 2011. “The Great Indoors: Research Frontiers on Indoor Environments as Active Political-Ecological Spaces.” Progress in Human Geography35 (2): 172–92.
25.
DomoshM.2017. “Radical Intradisciplinary: An Introduction.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers107 (1): 1–3.
26.
Engel-Di MauroS.2014. Ecology, Soils, and the Left: An Ecosocial Approach. New York: Springer.
27.
Engel-Di MauroS.2022. “Biophysical Questions: Relating Marxism to Physical Geography.” Human Geography15 (1): 129–36.
FosterJ.SmallcombeJ. W.HodderS.JayO.FlourisA. D.HavenithG.. 2022b. “Quantifying the Impact of Heat on Human Physical Work Capacity; Part II: The Observed Interaction of Air Velocity with Temperature, Humidity, Sweat Rate, and Clothing is Not Captured by Most Heat Stress Indices.” International Journal of Biometeorology66 (3): 507–20.
31.
FosterJ.SmallcombeJ. W.HodderS.JayO.FlourisA. D.NyboL.HavenithG.. 2021. “An Advanced Empirical Model for Quantifying the Impact of Heat and Climate Change on Human Physical Work Capacity.” International Journal of Biometeorology65 (7): 1215–29.
32.
FosterJ.SmallcombeJ. W.HodderS.JayO.FlourisA. D.NyboL.HavenithG.. 2022a. “Quantifying the Impact Of Heat on Human Physical Work Capacity; part III: The Impact of Solar Radiation Varies with Air Temperature, Humidity, and Clothing Coverage.” International Journal of Biometeorology66 (1): 175–88.
33.
GilmoreR. W.2002. “Fatal Couplings of Power and Difference: Notes on Racism and Geography.” The Professional Geographer54 (1): 15–24.
34.
GoudieA. S.2017. “The Integration of Human and Physical Geography Revisited.” The Canadian Geographer/Le Geographe Canadien61 (1): 19–27.
35.
GreerK.HemsworthK.CsankA.CalvertK.. 2018. “Interdisciplinary Research on Past Environments through the Lens of Historical-Critical Physical Geographies.” Historical Geography46 (1): 32–47.
36.
HauptmanH.2017. “Prisons and Floods in the United States: Interrogating Notions of Social and Spatial Control.” Chicago journal of history. The University of Chicago1(8): 99–110.
37.
HedbergR. C.HesseA.BaldwinD.BernhardtJ.RetchlessD. P.ShinnJ. E..2017. “Preparing Geographers for Interdisciplinary Research: Graduate Training at the Interface of the Natural and Social Sciences.” The Professional Geographer69 (1): 107–16.
38.
HeynenN.YbarraM.. 2021. “On Abolition Ecologies and Making “Freedom as a Place”.” Antipode53 (1): 21–35.
39.
HoffmanJ. S.ShandasV.PendletonN.. 2020. “The Effects of Historical Housing Policies on Resident Exposure to Intra-urban Heat: A Study of 108 US Urban Areas.” Climate8 (1): 12.
40.
IoannouL. G.FosterJ.MorrisN. B., etal. 2022. “Occupational Heat Strain in Outdoor Workers: A Comprehensive Review and Meta-analysis.” Temperature9 (1): 67–102.
41.
IvancicT. J.ShawS. B.. 2016. “A U.S.-based Analysis of the Ability of the Clausius-Clapeyron Relationship to Explain Changes in Extreme Rainfall with Changing Temperature.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres121 (7): 3066–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024288.
42.
JohnsonL.2013. “Catastrophe Bonds and Financial Risk: Securing Capital and Rule Through Contingency.” Geoforum; Journal of Physical, Human, and Regional Geosciences45: 30–40.
KnitterD.AugustinK.BiniyazE.HamerW.KuhwaldM.SchwanebeckM.DuttmannR.. 2019. “Geography and the Anthropocene: Critical Approaches Needed.” Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment43 (3): 451–61.
45.
KochA.BrierleyC.MaslinM. M.LewisS. L.. 2019. “Earth System Impacts of the European Arrival and great dying in the Americas after 1492.” Quaternary Science Reviews207: 13–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.12.004.
46.
KojolaE.PellowD. N.. 2021. “New Directions in Environmental Justice Studies: Examining the State and Violence.” Environmental Politics30 (1-2): 100–18.
47.
KovatsR. S.HajatS.. 2008. “Heat Stress and Public Health: A Critical Review.” Annual Review of Public Health29: 41–55.
48.
LaneH. M.Morello-FroschR.MarshallJ. D.ApteJ. S.. 2022. “Historical Redlining is Associated with Present-Day Air Pollution Disparities in US Cities.” Environmental Science & Technology Letters9 (4): 345–50.
49.
LaneS. N.2017. “Slow Science, the Geographical Expedition, and Critical Physical Geography.” The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien61 (1): 84–101.
50.
LaveR.2014. “Engaging within the Academy: A Call for Critical Physical Geography.” ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies13 (4): 508–15.
51.
LaveR.2015. “Introduction to Special Issue on Critical Physical Geography.” Progress in Physical Geography39 (5): 571–5.
52.
LaveR.BiermannC.LaneS. N.. 2018. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Physical Geography. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
53.
LaveR.WilsonM. W.BarronE. S.BiermannC.CareyM. A.DuvallC. S.JohnsonL., et al.2014. “Intervention: Critical Physical Geography.” The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien58 (1): 1–10.
MartinP. L.MartinD. A.. 2019. The Endless Quest: Helping America's Farm Workers. New York: CRC Press.
58.
MartinT. M.2021. “The Politics of Prison Air: Breath, Smell, and Wind in Myanmar Prisons.” Punishment & Society23 (4): 478–96.
59.
MarxK.1970. A contribution to the critique of political economy. New York: International Publishers Inc.
60.
McClintockN.2015. “A Critical Physical Geography of Urban Soil Contamination.” Geoforum; Journal of Physical, Human, and Regional Geosciences65: 69–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.07.010.
61.
NalboneJ. T.2005. “Evaluation of Building and Occupant Response to Temperature and Humidity: Non-traditional Heat Stress Considerations A Comparison of Different Construction Types Used by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.” Dissertation. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
PanthouG.MailhotA.LaurenceE.TalbotG.. 2014. “Relationship between Surface Temperature and Extreme Rainfalls: A Multi-time-scale and Event-based Analysis.” Journal of Hydrometeorology15 (5): 1999–2011. https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-14-0020.1.
66.
PellowD. N.2021. “Struggles for Environmental Justice in US Prisons And Jails.” Antipode53 (1): 56–73.
67.
PulidoL. (2018) Racism and the Anthropocene. In: MitmanG.ArmieroM.EmmettR. (eds) Future Remains: A Cabinet of Curiosities for the Anthropocene. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 116–28.
68.
PulselliR. M.SimonciniE.PulselliF. M.BastianoniS.. 2007. “Emergy Analysis of Building Manufacturing, Maintenance and Use: Em-building Indices to Evaluate Housing Sustainability.” Energy and Buildings39 (5): 620–8.
ReidmillerD. R.AveryC. W.EasterlingD. R.KunkelK. E.LewisK. L.MaycockT. K.StewartB. C.. 2017. Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II.
SimonG. L.DoolingS.. 2013. “Flame and Fortune in California: The Material and Political Dimensions of Vulnerability.” Global Environmental Change23 (6): 1410–23.
74.
SteinbergT.2013. Down to Earth: Nature's Role in American History. New York: Oxford University Press.
75.
SweetW. V.HamlingtonB. D.KoppR. E.WeaverC. P.BarnardP. L.BekaertD.BrooksW., et al.2022. “Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States: Updated Mean Projections and Extreme Water Level Probabilities along U.S. Coastlines.” NOAA Technical Report NOS 01. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Silver Spring, MD, 111 pp. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/noaa-nostechrpt01-global-regional-SLR-scenarios-US.pdf.
76.
TadakiM.2017. “Rethinking the Role of Critique in Physical Geography.” The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe Canadien61 (1): 73–83.
77.
TadakiM.BrierleyG.DicksonM.Le HeronR.SalmondJ.. 2015. “Cultivating critical practices in physical geography.” The Geographical Journal181 (2): 160–71.
TurnerJ.MoranD.JewkesY.. 2022. “‘It's in the Air Here’: Atmosphere(s) of Incarceration.” Incarceration3 (3): 26326663221110788. https://doi.org/10.1177/26326663221110788
80.
TynerJ.InwoodJ.. 2014. “Violence as Fetish: Geography, Marxism, and Dialectics.” Progress in Human Geography38 (6): 771–84.
81.
USGCRP (U.S. Global Change Research Program). 2018. Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II. Reidmiller, D.R., C.W. Avery, D.R. Easterling, K.E. Kunkel, K.L.M. Lewis, T.K. Maycock, and B.C. Stewart (eds.). https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/downloads.
82.
VanosJ.VecellioD. J.KjellstromT.. 2019. “Workplace Heat Exposure, Health Protection, and Economic Impacts: A Case Study in Canada.” American Journal of Industrial Medicine62 (12): 1024–37.
WilsonB.2020. “Urban Heat Management and the Legacy of Redlining.” Journal of the American Planning Association86 (4): 443–57.
86.
WingO. E. J.LehmanW.BatesP. D.SampsonC. C.QuinnN.SmithA. M.NealJ. C.PorterJ. R.KouskyC.. 2022. “Inequitable Patterns of US Flood Risk in the Anthropocene.” Nature Climate Change12 (2): 156–62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01265-6.
