Perspectives on the Synoptic Climate Classification and its Role in Interdisciplinary Research

Abstract

Synoptic climatology has a long history of research where weather data are aggregated and composited to gain a better understanding of atmospheric effects on non‐atmospheric variables. This has resulted in an applied scientific discipline that yields methods and tools designed for applications across disciplinary boundaries. The spatial synoptic classification (SSC) is an example of such a tool that helps researchers bridge methodological gaps between disciplines, especially those studying weather effects on human health. The SSC has been applied in several multi‐discipline projects, and it appears that there is ample opportunity for growth into new topical areas. Likewise, there is opportunity for the SSC network to be expanded across the globe, especially into mid‐latitude locations in the Southern Hemisphere. There is some question of the utility of the SSC in tropical locations, but such decisions must be based on the actual weather data from individual locations. Despite all of the strengths and potential uses of the SSC, there are some research problems, some locations, and some datasets for which it is not suitable. Nevertheless, the success of the SSC as a cross‐disciplinary method is noteworthy because it has become a catalyst for collaboration.

Heat/mortality sensitivities in Los Angeles during winter: a unique phenomenon in the United States

“…Each day was also classified into an air mass category for Los Angeles using the Spatial Synoptic Classification (SSC), which requires four-times daily meteorological data including temperature, dew point, cloud cover, and pressure [ 18 ]. The SSC, which has been used extensively in climate/human health analyses [ 19 , 20 ], places each day into one of a number of air mass types listed in Table 1 . An air mass is defined as a body of air that is relatively homogeneous in terms of temperature, atmospheric moisture, and other meteorological characteristics along its horizontal extent [ 21 ], and previous research suggests that humans respond to the simultaneous effects of a large number of meteorological elements, rather than just individual weather variables [ 22 ].…”

Association between Weather Types based on the Spatial Synoptic Classification and All-Cause Mortality in Sweden, 1991–2014

“…The SSC is a relative (rather than absolute) classification system [21,22]. The relationship between weather and health varies geographically [24,25] and in time across seasons [21,22], taking into consideration human thermal acclimatization and adaptation [26]. This is an important advantage of using the SSC.…”

“…This is an important advantage of using the SSC. When the relationship between weather and health is assessed, the most common approach is to investigate the health effects of a single variable (e.g., air temperature) [21,26], but the SSC approach presupposes that weather affects human health as a whole. Hence, to consider all environmental factors and their interactions, it is crucial to assess the relationship between human health and the weather, taking into consideration the mechanisms related to physiological response [26].…”

The relationship between birch pollen, air pollution and weather types and their effect on antihistamine purchase in two Swedish cities

“…However, plants respond to the combination of factors prevailing in a certain weather situation, not to factors one-by-one. A partitioning of weather conditions into weather types based on atmospheric pressure is a practical way to aggregate the complexities of weather patterns into relevant categories (Dixon et al 2016 ). Such a classification provides a framework in which the link between meteorological conditions with pollen and/or air pollution can be effectively investigated.…”