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Harry Fung Lee
Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China

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Journal article
Published: 11 August 2021 in Environmental Research
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The spatiotemporal assessment of health risk due to exposure to particulate matter (PM) components should be well studied because of the different toxicity among PM components. However, this research topic has long been overlooked. This study aimed to examine the spatiotemporal variability in ambient respirable PM (PM10) components associated inhalation carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk (ICR and INCR) in Hong Kong over 2015–2019. The land-use regression (LUR) approach was adopted to predict the spatial distribution of PM10 component concentrations for the period of 2015–2019, whereas the ICR and INCR values of PM10 components were also estimated using the classic health risk assessment method. Both concentration of PM10 and INCR of PM10 components showed a general decreasing trend, while ICR of PM10 components increased slightly over the study period. LUR-model-based spatial maps at 500 m × 500 m resolution revealed the important spatial variability in PM10 and its eleven components, and their associated ICR and INCR values. High pollution levels and high ICR and INCR of studied PM10 components were generally found in developed urban areas and along the road network. Despite the fact that the PM10 concentrations met the Hong Kong annual PM10 air quality objective of 50 μg/m3, but there was still significant potential health risk from the studied PM10 components. This study highlights the importance of taking PM component concentrations and associated inhalation health risk as well as PM mass concentrations into account for the perspective of air quality management and protecting public health.

ACS Style

Zhiyuan Li; Kin-Fai Ho; Guanghui Dong; Harry Fung Lee; Steve Hung Lam Yim. A novel approach for assessing the spatiotemporal trend of health risk from ambient particulate matter components: Case of Hong Kong. Environmental Research 2021, 111866 .

AMA Style

Zhiyuan Li, Kin-Fai Ho, Guanghui Dong, Harry Fung Lee, Steve Hung Lam Yim. A novel approach for assessing the spatiotemporal trend of health risk from ambient particulate matter components: Case of Hong Kong. Environmental Research. 2021; ():111866.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhiyuan Li; Kin-Fai Ho; Guanghui Dong; Harry Fung Lee; Steve Hung Lam Yim. 2021. "A novel approach for assessing the spatiotemporal trend of health risk from ambient particulate matter components: Case of Hong Kong." Environmental Research , no. : 111866.

Research article
Published: 16 July 2021 in The Holocene
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The development of pre-historic agriculture and its determining factors have been extensively investigated in recent years. Based on the identification of charred seeds and radiocarbon dating, we found that foxtail millet-based agriculture dominated Neixiang County in Central China during the mid-late-Holocene. There were three different farming patterns in the Nanyang Basin, including rice cultivation in the plains, foxtail millet cultivation in the pediment plains, and broomcorn millet cultivation in the valleys. In addition, during the Neolithic-Bronze Age, the distribution of human settlements with rice cultivation matched with the climate pattern at 31.0–36.5° N in China. The emergence of rice cultivation had been facilitated by a significant increase in East Asian summer monsoon and increased precipitation in Central China since 8500 BP and gradually flourished during the Peiligang (8500–7000 BP) and Yangshao (7000–4500 BP) Period, corresponding to a relatively warm and wet climate. However, the average latitude of the human settlements with rice cultivation shifted southward to 33.29° N during the Longshan Period (4500–4000 BP) due to the cold climate brought by the “4.2 ka event.” Afterward, rice cultivation was basically not constrained by climate change, probably owing to the improved farming methods in the Bronze Age.

ACS Style

Xin Jia; Haiming Li; Harry F Lee; Zhen Liu; Yong Lu; Zhujun Hu; Xueqiang Sun; Zhijun Zhao. Agricultural adaptations to topography and climate changes in Central China during the mid- to late-Holocene. The Holocene 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Xin Jia, Haiming Li, Harry F Lee, Zhen Liu, Yong Lu, Zhujun Hu, Xueqiang Sun, Zhijun Zhao. Agricultural adaptations to topography and climate changes in Central China during the mid- to late-Holocene. The Holocene. 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xin Jia; Haiming Li; Harry F Lee; Zhen Liu; Yong Lu; Zhujun Hu; Xueqiang Sun; Zhijun Zhao. 2021. "Agricultural adaptations to topography and climate changes in Central China during the mid- to late-Holocene." The Holocene , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 17 October 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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Previous studies on the connection between climate and plague were mostly conducted without considering the influence of large-scale atmospheric circulations and long-term historical observations. The current study seeks to reveal the sophisticated role of climatic control on plague by investigating the combined effect of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and temperature on plague outbreaks in Europe from 1347–1760 CE. Moving correlation analysis is applied to explore the non-linear relationship between NAO and plague transmission over time. Also, we apply the cross-correlation function to identify the role of temperature in mediating the NAO-plague connection and the lead-lag relationship in between. Our statistical results show that the pathway from climate change to plague incidence is distinctive in its spatial, temporal, and non-linear patterns. The multi-decadal temperature change exerted a 15–22 years lagged impact on the NAO-plague correlation in different European regions. The NAO-plague correlation in Atlantic-Central Europe primarily remained positive, while the correlation in Mediterranean Europe switched between positive and negative alternately. The modulating effect of temperature over the NAO-plague correlation increases exponentially with the magnitude of the temperature anomaly, but the effect is negligible between 0.3 and –0.3°C anomaly. Our findings show that a lagged influence from the temperature extremes dominantly controls the correlation between NAO and plague incidence. A forecast from our study suggests that large-scale plague outbreaks are unlikely to happen in Europe if NAO remains at its current positive phase during the earth’s future warming.

ACS Style

Ricci P.H. Yue; Harry F. Lee. The delayed effect of cooling reinforced the NAO-plague connection in pre-industrial Europe. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 762, 143122 .

AMA Style

Ricci P.H. Yue, Harry F. Lee. The delayed effect of cooling reinforced the NAO-plague connection in pre-industrial Europe. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 762 ():143122.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ricci P.H. Yue; Harry F. Lee. 2020. "The delayed effect of cooling reinforced the NAO-plague connection in pre-industrial Europe." Science of The Total Environment 762, no. : 143122.

Editorial
Published: 20 July 2020 in Atmosphere
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More people appreciate the importance of global sustainability

ACS Style

Harry F. Lee. Climate Change, Climatic Extremes, and Human Societies in the Past. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 767 .

AMA Style

Harry F. Lee. Climate Change, Climatic Extremes, and Human Societies in the Past. Atmosphere. 2020; 11 (7):767.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harry F. Lee. 2020. "Climate Change, Climatic Extremes, and Human Societies in the Past." Atmosphere 11, no. 7: 767.

Journal article
Published: 12 July 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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Humans possess limited knowledge on what generated cultural dynamics to strengthen human resilience to overcome climate-induced stresses. Although the highly developed mental ability of humans could have enabled significant human resilience in history, no study has empirically explained or has even scientifically confirmed how and when such dynamics arose. To fill the current research gap, this study therefore explores the associations among climatic conditions, the evolutional dynamics of human thinkers and their thoughts, and human ecological–socioeconomic conditions in the past 2500 years in Europe. Results from quantitative modellings and causal analyses confirm that climatic–ecological stresses led to human ecological–socioeconomic crises, and thereby dramatically increased twice of the thinkers' number and their thoughts' impact across different philosophies in truth, knowledge, and ethics for adaptation at multi-decadal to centennial temporal scales, especially in spirituality oriented mentality. The process of the stress-generated cultural dynamics displays some similarities with the stress-induced mutagenesis in organism evolution. Ultimately, climatic–ecological stresses prompt the escalation in the number of thinkers and impacts of their thoughts and flourishing of philosophy. Such stress-regenerated cultural dynamics imply that the current climate change threat may stimulate another thriving phase of cultural selection and lift humans to the next homeostatic plateau of civilization. Findings also extend the cognate scope of psychological, sociological, and civilization studies.

ACS Style

David D. Zhang; Qing Pei; Harry Lee; C.Y. Jim; Guodong Li; Mandy Zhang; Jinbao Li; Zhifeng Wu; Leibin Wang; Ricci P.H. Yue; Shengda Zhang. Climate change fostered cultural dynamics of human resilience in Europe in the past 2500 years. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 744, 140842 .

AMA Style

David D. Zhang, Qing Pei, Harry Lee, C.Y. Jim, Guodong Li, Mandy Zhang, Jinbao Li, Zhifeng Wu, Leibin Wang, Ricci P.H. Yue, Shengda Zhang. Climate change fostered cultural dynamics of human resilience in Europe in the past 2500 years. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 744 ():140842.

Chicago/Turabian Style

David D. Zhang; Qing Pei; Harry Lee; C.Y. Jim; Guodong Li; Mandy Zhang; Jinbao Li; Zhifeng Wu; Leibin Wang; Ricci P.H. Yue; Shengda Zhang. 2020. "Climate change fostered cultural dynamics of human resilience in Europe in the past 2500 years." Science of The Total Environment 744, no. : 140842.

Research article
Published: 11 July 2020 in Journal of Quaternary Science
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How and to what extent are human societies affected by climate change? There has been a growing body of research using big historical data and statistical analyses to provide scientific answers to this inter‐disciplinary research question. However, quantitative analysis measuring the historical demographic impact of ocean/atmosphere interaction is still scanty. Here we use 544 years (1368–1911) of historical records to trace the demographic impact brought about by ocean/atmosphere interaction in Shaanxi, located on the northern fringe of the Asian summer monsoon region in China. Our results show that: (1) North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) caused Malthusian catastrophes mainly through drought at the inter‐annual scale; (2) drought reinforced the synchrony of various Malthusian catastrophes at the inter‐annual to multi‐decadal scale; and (3) the unusual cycles of NAO drove drought and various Malthusian catastrophes in the cold 1550–1730 period at the multi‐decadal scale. This study represents a pioneering attempt to quantitatively assess the demographic impact caused by the ocean/atmosphere in historical China. Our findings may help to conceptualise the climate–human nexus in those ecologically marginal regions that are impacted by ocean/atmosphere interaction, and to explain the synchrony of social crisis in Eurasia in the 17th century.

ACS Style

Harry F. Lee; Ricci P. H. Yue. Ocean/atmosphere interaction and Malthusian catastrophes on the northern fringe of the Asian summer monsoon region in China, 1368–1911. Journal of Quaternary Science 2020, 35, 974 -986.

AMA Style

Harry F. Lee, Ricci P. H. Yue. Ocean/atmosphere interaction and Malthusian catastrophes on the northern fringe of the Asian summer monsoon region in China, 1368–1911. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2020; 35 (7):974-986.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harry F. Lee; Ricci P. H. Yue. 2020. "Ocean/atmosphere interaction and Malthusian catastrophes on the northern fringe of the Asian summer monsoon region in China, 1368–1911." Journal of Quaternary Science 35, no. 7: 974-986.

Journal article
Published: 09 June 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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Whether vehicle emissions are the primary source of PM2.5 in urban China remains controversial, which may be attributable to the insufficient consideration of the spatial autocorrelation and the spatial spillover effects of PM2.5. We employ data from built-up areas of 285 prefecture-level cities in China spanned 2001–2016 and dynamic spatial panel data analysis to resolve this controversy. Our results show that the direct and indirect effects of vehicles on PM2.5 concentration (annual mean and spatial variation within the city) in urban China are not significant in the short- and long-term. Alternatively, SO2 emission directly increases the mean and spatial variation of PM2.5 within the city in the short- and long-term. Short-term direct and indirect positive association and long-term indirect positive association are found relative to economic growth and PM2.5. Population density increases PM2.5 directly and indirectly in the short-term and yet, directly decreases and indirectly increases PM2.5 in the long-term. In the short- and long-term, the spatial spillover effect of secondary industry increases PM2.5, and industry also directly increases the spatial variation of PM2.5 within the city. Although real estate investment directly increases PM2.5 in the long-term, the spatial spillover effect of investment reduces PM2.5 in the short- and long-term. Our results show that other factors, rather than vehicle emissions, are the major contributors to PM2.5 in urban China. Furthermore, the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis does not apply to the relationship between economic growth and PM2.5 proliferation in urban China. When tackling air pollution, owing to the significant spatial spillover of PM2.5 that is driven by multiple contributing factors, short- and long-term inter-regional coordination is required to achieve an effective positive outcome.

ACS Style

Wei Qiang; Harry F. Lee; Ziwei Lin; David W.H. Wong. Revisiting the impact of vehicle emissions and other contributors to air pollution in urban built-up areas: A dynamic spatial econometric analysis. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 740, 140098 .

AMA Style

Wei Qiang, Harry F. Lee, Ziwei Lin, David W.H. Wong. Revisiting the impact of vehicle emissions and other contributors to air pollution in urban built-up areas: A dynamic spatial econometric analysis. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 740 ():140098.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wei Qiang; Harry F. Lee; Ziwei Lin; David W.H. Wong. 2020. "Revisiting the impact of vehicle emissions and other contributors to air pollution in urban built-up areas: A dynamic spatial econometric analysis." Science of The Total Environment 740, no. : 140098.

Original article
Published: 05 June 2020 in Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition
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Social responses to climate change over human history have been widely discussed in academia over the last two decades. However, the transformation of the human–environment nexus crossing prehistoric and historic periods and the processes associated with it are not yet clearly understood. In this study, based on published works on radiocarbon dating, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, and archaeological sites, together with a synthesis of historical documents and high‐resolution paleoclimatic records, we trace the extent to which human settlement patterns in the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China evolved in conjunction with climate change over the last 5,000 years. A total of 129 Neolithic, 126 Bronze Age, and 1,378 historical sites in the Hexi Corridor (n=1,633) were surveyed. Our results show that, in the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods (~2800–100 BC), climate change contributed to the transformation of subsistence strategies and the subsequent changes in human settlement patterns in the Hexi Corridor. The warm‐humid climate in ~2800–2000 BC promoted millet agriculture and helped the Majiayao, Banshan, and Machang Cultures to flourish. The cold‐dry climate in ~2000–100 BC resulted in the divergence and transformation of subsistence strategies in the Xichengyi–Qijia–Siba and Shajing–Shanma Cultures and in a shift in their settlement patterns. However, in the historical period (121 BC–AD 1911), human settlement patterns were primarily determined by geopolitics related to the alternating rule of regimes and frequent wars, especially in the Sui–Tang dynasties. We also find that trans‐Eurasian cultural exchange since ~2000 BC improved social resilience to climate change in the Hexi Corridor, mediating the human–environment nexus there. Our findings may provide insights into how human societies reacted to climate change in arid and semi‐arid environments over the long term.

ACS Style

Liu Yang; Zhilin Shi; Shanjia Zhang; Harry F. Lee. Climate Change, Geopolitics, and Human Settlements in the Hexi Corridor over the Last 5,000 Years. Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition 2020, 94, 612 -623.

AMA Style

Liu Yang, Zhilin Shi, Shanjia Zhang, Harry F. Lee. Climate Change, Geopolitics, and Human Settlements in the Hexi Corridor over the Last 5,000 Years. Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition. 2020; 94 (3):612-623.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu Yang; Zhilin Shi; Shanjia Zhang; Harry F. Lee. 2020. "Climate Change, Geopolitics, and Human Settlements in the Hexi Corridor over the Last 5,000 Years." Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition 94, no. 3: 612-623.

Review article
Published: 27 May 2020 in Asian Geographer
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Did climate change cause wars in history? While a growing number of quantitative studies (particularly in the field of geography) illustrate the climate-war nexus in pre-industrial societies, there are opposing opinions on the subject. Such conflicting views invite us to reconsider whether the climate-war nexus can be conceptualized as a yes/no dichotomy. This paper seeks to address this issue. I will first recapitulate the key findings of those quantitative studies of geographers that substantiate the significant role of climate deterioration in causing wars. Then I will pinpoint those issues that complicate the conceptualization of the climate-war nexus, indicating that the nexus cannot be taken as a simple yes/no question. Finally, I will propose a research approach that may facilitate a productive interdisciplinary collaboration, perhaps between geographers and historians, to conduct research on the interconnection between climate change and wars in history. I hope that the interpretation of the climate-war nexus can move away from a dichotomy of yes/no, and the multiple dimensions of wars and social resilience to climate change will be thoroughly considered. Also, the advantages of geography and history could be integrated to enrich understanding of the climate-war nexus in history.

ACS Style

Harry F. Lee. Historical climate-war nexus in the eyes of geographers. Asian Geographer 2020, 1 -20.

AMA Style

Harry F. Lee. Historical climate-war nexus in the eyes of geographers. Asian Geographer. 2020; ():1-20.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harry F. Lee. 2020. "Historical climate-war nexus in the eyes of geographers." Asian Geographer , no. : 1-20.

Journal article
Published: 15 April 2020 in Atmosphere
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Climate change can influence infectious disease dynamics both directly, by affecting the disease ecology, and indirectly, through altering economic systems. However, despite that climate-driven human plague dynamics have been extensively studied in recent years, little is known about the relative importance of the direct and indirect effects of climate change on plague outbreak. By using Structural Equation Modeling, we estimated the direct influence of climate change on human plague dynamics and the impact of climate-driven economic change on human plague outbreak. After studying human plague outbreak in Europe during AD1347–1760, we detected no direct climatic effect on plague dynamics; instead, all of the climatic impacts on plague dynamics were indirect, and were operationalized via economic changes. Through a series of sensitivity checks, we further proved that temperature-induced economic changes drove plague dynamics during cold and wet periods, while precipitation-induced economic changes drove plague dynamics during the cold periods. Our results suggest that we should not dismiss the role of economic systems when examining how climate change altered plague dynamics in human history.

ACS Style

Ricci P.H. Yue; Harry F. Lee. Examining the Direct and Indirect Effects of Climatic Variables on Plague Dynamics. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 388 .

AMA Style

Ricci P.H. Yue, Harry F. Lee. Examining the Direct and Indirect Effects of Climatic Variables on Plague Dynamics. Atmosphere. 2020; 11 (4):388.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ricci P.H. Yue; Harry F. Lee. 2020. "Examining the Direct and Indirect Effects of Climatic Variables on Plague Dynamics." Atmosphere 11, no. 4: 388.

Original article
Published: 29 March 2020 in Geographical Research
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This study revisits region‐specific determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Eastern, Central, and Western China using econometric and spatial analyses. It uses a data set covering 31 Chinese provinces and autonomous regions spanning the period 2005–15, together with panel data regression. Our statistical results show that in Eastern China, FDI is significantly associated with bilateral trade, orientation towards the service industry, industrialisation level, and availability of strategic assets in the region. In Central China, FDI is mainly pulled by availability of the domestic market and strategic assets in the region. In Western China, FDI inflows are mainly determined by natural resource endowment, industrialisation level, and regional innovation and production effectiveness in information and communication technology industries. Our analysis also reveals the impact of FDI in China's regional development and its capacity to hollow out the three Chinese macro‐regions. Our findings for China lead us to suggest that those governments seeking to attract FDI should not solely rely on it to facilitate local economic development and should make use of local circumstances in combination with FDI to boost their economies.

ACS Style

David W.H. Wong; Harry F. Lee; Simon X. Zhao; Qing Pei. Region‐specific determinants of the foreign direct investment in China. Geographical Research 2020, 58, 126 -140.

AMA Style

David W.H. Wong, Harry F. Lee, Simon X. Zhao, Qing Pei. Region‐specific determinants of the foreign direct investment in China. Geographical Research. 2020; 58 (2):126-140.

Chicago/Turabian Style

David W.H. Wong; Harry F. Lee; Simon X. Zhao; Qing Pei. 2020. "Region‐specific determinants of the foreign direct investment in China." Geographical Research 58, no. 2: 126-140.

Original article
Published: 19 November 2019 in Regional Environmental Change
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Despite the effort made by historians and archaeologists to investigate cannibalism in human societies, large-N statistical analysis of cannibalism and its triggering factors in pre-industrial societies is still missing in the literature. In this study, I base on 1194 cannibalism incidents in northern China in 1470–1911, together with other fine-grained paleo-climate and historical war datasets, to verify quantitatively the driving factors of cannibalism in pre-industrial societies. Granger causality, wavelet coherence, and phase analyses are employed. The key findings are that in historical northern China, cannibalism was primarily caused by drought and war, but their relationship is non-stationary and is mediated by environmental and socio-political contexts. The positive feedback between war and cannibalism is also revealed, indicating that they are mutually reinforced. The above findings supplement Malthusian theory with empirical evidence of the non-stationary influence of natural disasters on positive checks and how positive checks interact with and reinforce each other. The results also refine our knowledge about the regional environment-human nexus in northern China.

ACS Style

Harry F. Lee. Cannibalism in northern China between 1470 and 1911. Regional Environmental Change 2019, 19, 2573 -2581.

AMA Style

Harry F. Lee. Cannibalism in northern China between 1470 and 1911. Regional Environmental Change. 2019; 19 (8):2573-2581.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harry F. Lee. 2019. "Cannibalism in northern China between 1470 and 1911." Regional Environmental Change 19, no. 8: 2573-2581.

Articles
Published: 15 October 2019 in Asian Geographer
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Previous climate-crime studies are primarily grounded on conventional statistical methods, leaving the possible non-linear nature of the climate-crime association insufficiently explored. In the present study, we employed both multiple linear regression and wavelet analyses and compared their results to detect and verify the possible non-linear effect of temperature and precipitation change on crimes in an urban setting. Nine types of crimes in Hampton Roads, Virginia, USA during 1973–2009 were analyzed. Results show that temperature was the significant determinant of crimes in both of the analyses. Wavelet coherency analysis demonstrates that temperature and crimes exhibited common modes of oscillation in ∼1-year periodicity, which may be attributable to the seasonality of crimes. We further found that the seasonality of crimes was determined by the seasonal change of temperature rather than that of precipitation. In parallel, precipitation and crimes exhibited common modes of oscillation in ∼11-year periodicity, revealing their association at the decadal scale. Our results indicate that temperature and precipitation determine crime rates at different time scales. Nonetheless, when the crests of the temperature-crime and the precipitation-crime cycles overlap, crime rates may be reinforced to their greatest extent. The above findings may help inform and prepare necessary security arrangements in advance. Further research could be conducted to see whether the above findings could be applied to the metropolitan regions with the similar geographic settings of Hampton Roads, such as the Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) region in northern China.

ACS Style

Connor Y. H. Wu; Harry Lee; Hua Liu. Effect of temperature and precipitation change on crime in the metropolitan area in Virginia, USA. Asian Geographer 2019, 37, 17 -31.

AMA Style

Connor Y. H. Wu, Harry Lee, Hua Liu. Effect of temperature and precipitation change on crime in the metropolitan area in Virginia, USA. Asian Geographer. 2019; 37 (1):17-31.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Connor Y. H. Wu; Harry Lee; Hua Liu. 2019. "Effect of temperature and precipitation change on crime in the metropolitan area in Virginia, USA." Asian Geographer 37, no. 1: 17-31.

Historical article
Published: 27 August 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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Plague synchronously swept across separated regions in Europe throughout history. However, the spatio-temporal synchrony of plague and its driving mechanism have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we transformed the historical European plague database spanned 1347–1800 CE into country-level time-series that differentiated large-scale plague outbreak from counted data. We found that there are 74 years in which two or more countries in our study region (UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy) experienced large-scale plague outbreak in the same year. Our Multivariate Ripley's K-function results showed that the onset year and the cessation year of large-scale plague outbreak are synchronized at the 0–23-year and 0–20-year windows, respectively. The temporal association between such synchrony and climatic forcing was further investigated using the Superposed Epoch Analysis, and drought was found to be responsible for the synchrony. Integrating our results with a literature survey, we suggested that prior to the peak of plague, the occurrence of drought and the subsequent reintroduced rainfall dampened both the rodent community and human society and boosted the number of fleas that carried plague. Such a synthesis facilitated the outbreak of plague. At the same time, high temperature associated with such drought also confined the geographic diffusion of the plague. Hence, although continental mega-drought could initiate the synchrony of plague outbreak, the synchrony actually consisted of a number of localized plague outbreak events scattering across different regions in Europe. According to the projected rising trend of drought in terms of its magnitude, duration, and geographic extent, the risk of synchrony of rodent-borne diseases in Europe will be significantly elevated, especially in France, Italy, and Spain.

ACS Style

Ricci P.H. Yue; Harry F. Lee. Drought-induced spatio-temporal synchrony of plague outbreak in Europe. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 698, 134138 .

AMA Style

Ricci P.H. Yue, Harry F. Lee. Drought-induced spatio-temporal synchrony of plague outbreak in Europe. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 698 ():134138.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ricci P.H. Yue; Harry F. Lee. 2019. "Drought-induced spatio-temporal synchrony of plague outbreak in Europe." Science of The Total Environment 698, no. : 134138.

Journal article
Published: 28 June 2019 in Radiocarbon
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The development and subsistence strategies adopted in ancient settlements are crucial to the understanding of long-term human–environmental interaction in the past. Here, we reassess the chronology of the ancient walled settlement of Sanjiao in the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China through accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating and explore the subsistence of the settlers inside through the identification of carbonized seeds and charcoal. In addition, high-resolution paleoclimate records in the Hexi Corridor and nearby regions are employed to explore the reason for the construction of Sanjiao. Our results show that Sanjiao was built around 828 cal BC and remained inhabited through 384–116 cal BC. This indicates Sanjiao is the earliest known walled settlement in the Hexi Corridor. Ancient people at Sanjiao consumed crops such as barley, broomcorn millet, and foxtail millet, and used wood from Tamarix chinensis, Tamarix, Salix, Picea, Hippophae, Betulaceae, and Poaceae as fuel. The construction date of Sanjiao correlates with climate deterioration and social upheavals in the Hexi Corridor, potentially suggesting a defensive purpose for the site.

ACS Style

Fengwen Liu; Haiming Li; Yifu Cui; Yishi Yang; Harry F Lee; Detian Ding; Yunguang Hou; Guanghui Dong. Chronology and Plant Utilization from the Earliest Walled Settlement in the Hexi Corridor, Northwestern China. Radiocarbon 2019, 61, 971 -989.

AMA Style

Fengwen Liu, Haiming Li, Yifu Cui, Yishi Yang, Harry F Lee, Detian Ding, Yunguang Hou, Guanghui Dong. Chronology and Plant Utilization from the Earliest Walled Settlement in the Hexi Corridor, Northwestern China. Radiocarbon. 2019; 61 (4):971-989.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fengwen Liu; Haiming Li; Yifu Cui; Yishi Yang; Harry F Lee; Detian Ding; Yunguang Hou; Guanghui Dong. 2019. "Chronology and Plant Utilization from the Earliest Walled Settlement in the Hexi Corridor, Northwestern China." Radiocarbon 61, no. 4: 971-989.

Research paper
Published: 22 November 2018 in Science China Earth Sciences
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The people of the Tibetan Plateau have received extensive attention from scholars because of their unique adaptability to the low temperature and anoxic environments. However, the Tibetan communities and their habitats in the low-altitude regions of the plateau have rarely been studied in a scientific manner. Based on the extraction of geographic information of 197 towns in the Hehuang Valley and on variance analysis, this study examines the habitats and subsistence strategies of the Tibetans and other major ethnic groups in the low-latitude region of the Tibetan Plateau. Our statistical results show that the annual average temperature of Tibetan habitats in the Hehuang Valley is relatively high. The relatively warm environment of the valley allows the Tibetans in that area to cultivate wheat and barley and raise cattle and sheep—a subsistence strategy significantly different from that of other Tibetans in the high-altitude regions in the Tibetan Plateau. In addition, the Tibetan communities in the Hehuang Valley include similar agri-pastoral ethnic groups (including Hui and Salar), both of which adopt similar subsistence strategies. The agricultural ethnic groups (Han and Tu) live in a relatively cool and humid environment facilitating agricultural production, while the agri-pastoral ethnic groups (Tibetan, Hui, and Salar) inhabit relatively warm and arid environment in the valley. Due to the lack of agricultural activities, agri-pastoral groups must also engage in animal husbandry to supplement their diet. In the Ando Tibetan region, the subsistence strategies of the ethnic groups are closely related to their physical environment. Those ethnic groups communicate among themselves, integrate, and influence each other, resulting in a diversified culture. This study proves that the habitat variation at a regional scale corresponds significantly to the variation of subsistence strategies. Our findings may further refine knowledge about the human-environmental relationships of Tibetans and lead future research towards using quantitative methods to analyse the intersection of physical environment and ethnic groups’ distribution.

ACS Style

Xin Jia; Harry F. Lee; Mengchun Cui; Guoquan Cheng; Yang Zhao; Hong Ding; Ricci Pak Hong Yue; Huayu Lu. Differentiations of geographic distribution and subsistence strategies between Tibetan and other major ethnic groups are determined by the physical environment in Hehuang Valley. Science China Earth Sciences 2018, 62, 412 -422.

AMA Style

Xin Jia, Harry F. Lee, Mengchun Cui, Guoquan Cheng, Yang Zhao, Hong Ding, Ricci Pak Hong Yue, Huayu Lu. Differentiations of geographic distribution and subsistence strategies between Tibetan and other major ethnic groups are determined by the physical environment in Hehuang Valley. Science China Earth Sciences. 2018; 62 (2):412-422.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xin Jia; Harry F. Lee; Mengchun Cui; Guoquan Cheng; Yang Zhao; Hong Ding; Ricci Pak Hong Yue; Huayu Lu. 2018. "Differentiations of geographic distribution and subsistence strategies between Tibetan and other major ethnic groups are determined by the physical environment in Hehuang Valley." Science China Earth Sciences 62, no. 2: 412-422.

Journal article
Published: 21 October 2018 in Quaternary International
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The nomad–agriculturalist conflicts under the influence of climate change are investigated with the case of China in AD 965–1805 (mid-to-late Imperial China). Quantitative approach has been adopted with the supplement of qualitative method to re-interpret the conflicts at the long-term national scale under the paradigm of environmental humanities. Our results show that in a deteriorating climate, the state capacity of both nomads and agriculturalist polities were dampened. Nomads initiated southerly migration and invasion towards agriculturalist polities in response to climate-induced subsistence pressure. In turn, agriculturalists defended their territories against the nomadic invasions. When drought and cooling occurred concurrently, nomads were more likely to break the agriculturalist polities’ defense. This is the first-ever study focusing on the military actions of agriculturalist polities towards nomadic polities, which helps to give a more holistic picture about geopolitics in environmentally vulnerable regions. The findings may help supplement current “war–peace” theories by illustrating the responses of different types of polities in a deteriorating climate and reveal the peaceful culture of agriculturalists. This analysis of historical China may have global implications and contribute to the understanding of social dynamics under climate change in coming decades.

ACS Style

Qing Pei; Harry Lee; David D. Zhang; Jie Fei. Climate change, state capacity and nomad–agriculturalist conflicts in Chinese history. Quaternary International 2018, 508, 36 -42.

AMA Style

Qing Pei, Harry Lee, David D. Zhang, Jie Fei. Climate change, state capacity and nomad–agriculturalist conflicts in Chinese history. Quaternary International. 2018; 508 ():36-42.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Qing Pei; Harry Lee; David D. Zhang; Jie Fei. 2018. "Climate change, state capacity and nomad–agriculturalist conflicts in Chinese history." Quaternary International 508, no. : 36-42.

Articles
Published: 25 September 2018 in Asian Geographer
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Food safety crises have constituted a persistent challenge for the Chinese government and people. Because of international trade, consumers’ concern regarding the safety of food products imported from China is increasing in many countries. Yet, no systematic investigation has examined the perception of Western respondents regarding the safety of food imports coming from China. This study, based on an online survey (n = 289) between April and May 2017, is an initial attempt to investigate the perception of consumers in Europe and North America regarding different food safety issues and regulations in the People’s Republic of China and their attitudes towards food products imported from China. Our results show that socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and the influence of different types of media were not related to the perceptions and attitudes towards food safety. But, we found a strong relationship between the perception of the food safety regulations in China and the personal consumption of food products imported from China. In addition, a positive relationship was discovered between having been to China and the purchase of food products imported from China. Our findings suggest that investments in the promotion of the knowledge of food safety regulations implementation in China would lead to an increase in the export of food products. Also, the positive relationship between having been to China and the purchase of food products imported from China should be further investigated to consider the implications for tourism and food trade in China.

ACS Style

Harry F. Lee; Margherita Boccalatte. Food safety in China from North American and European perspectives. Asian Geographer 2018, 36, 143 -164.

AMA Style

Harry F. Lee, Margherita Boccalatte. Food safety in China from North American and European perspectives. Asian Geographer. 2018; 36 (2):143-164.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harry F. Lee; Margherita Boccalatte. 2018. "Food safety in China from North American and European perspectives." Asian Geographer 36, no. 2: 143-164.

Journal article
Published: 03 July 2018 in Asian Geographer
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Since 2005, there have been an increasing number of large-N quantitative studies measuring the effect of climate change on wars in recent history. Those large-N studies are crucial in illuminating the close connection between the physical environment and human societies in a macro (i.e. long-temporal and large-spatial) historic perspective. Grounded on a large number of cases, those studies help evidence and generalize the societal impact of climate change. Nevertheless, this large-N approach is relatively new in academia, and there is not any standard practice as regards how the quantitative analysis of the pre-industrial climate-war nexus should be conducted. Some methodological issues remain open. In this study, those large-N studies of the climate-war nexus in the pre-industrial period are systematically reviewed. Some conceptual and methodological issues pertinent to the understanding and examination of the climate-war nexus are discussed. Suggestions and priorities for future research on the topic are also provided at the end of this paper. This study may provide deeper reflections and produce constructive insights about the relationship between climate change and wars, advancing progress in climate-war research.

ACS Style

Harry F. Lee. Measuring the effect of climate change on wars in history. Asian Geographer 2018, 35, 1 -20.

AMA Style

Harry F. Lee. Measuring the effect of climate change on wars in history. Asian Geographer. 2018; 35 (2):1-20.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harry F. Lee. 2018. "Measuring the effect of climate change on wars in history." Asian Geographer 35, no. 2: 1-20.

Articles
Published: 05 June 2018 in Asian Geographer
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Recent studies show that wars were more prevalent during colder periods in human history. Nevertheless, the temporal consistency of the climate-war correlation in Europe over extended period has rarely been examined systematically. In this study, we extended the European violent conflict record in the Conflict Catalog [Brecke 1999. “Violent conflicts 1400 A.D. to the present in different regions of the world.” Paper presented at the 1999 Meeting of the Peace Science Society (International), Ann Arbor, MI, 8–10 October 1999] back to the year AD900, and examined quantitatively the climate-war consistency in Europe in AD900–1999. The period covers the Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age, and twentieth-century warming. Grounded on a total number of 2309 recorded violent conflicts in Europe over the last 1100 years, our statistical results were: (1) the negative temperature-war correlation was significant in terms of multi-decadal cycles; (2) in the second half of the period (AD1450–1999): the climate-war relationship was more apparent during longer cycles; a large spatial extent of slight cooling was more pertinent than a small spatial extent of severe cooling in affecting social stability in Europe; and the overall temperature-war correlation was stronger; and (3) the climate-war association was temporarily distorted when population pressure was drastically reduced. The association became significant again once the population system pushed against its Malthusian constraints. In sum, the climate-war association in Europe was statistically significant at the multi-decadal timescale. Yet, its strength varied across different periods and was contingent upon population pressure during the time. The findings in this study may provide some hints in assessing the effectiveness of human adaptations to climate change in the long-term.

ACS Style

Harry F. Lee; David D. Zhang; Peter Brecke; Qing Pei. Climate change, population pressure, and wars in European history. Asian Geographer 2018, 36, 29 -45.

AMA Style

Harry F. Lee, David D. Zhang, Peter Brecke, Qing Pei. Climate change, population pressure, and wars in European history. Asian Geographer. 2018; 36 (1):29-45.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Harry F. Lee; David D. Zhang; Peter Brecke; Qing Pei. 2018. "Climate change, population pressure, and wars in European history." Asian Geographer 36, no. 1: 29-45.