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The SSC: a decade of climate–health research and future directions

  • ICB 2011 - Students / New Professionals
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Abstract

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the development of the revised Spatial Synoptic Classification, the “SSC”, by Scott Sheridan. This daily weather-type classification scheme has become one of the key analytical tools implemented in a diverse range of climatological investigations, including analysis of air quality variability, human health, vegetation growth, precipitation and snowfall trends, and broader analyses of historical and future climatic variability and trends. The continued and expanding use of the SSC motivates a review and comparison of the system’s research and geographic foci to date, with the goal of identifying promising areas for future efforts, particularly within the context of human health and climate change. This review also assesses how the SSC has complemented and compares with other current environmental epidemiological studies in weather and health.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Larry Kalkstein of the University of Miami and Scott Sheridan of Kent State University for their helpful suggestions throughout the manuscript’s preparation, particularly with respect to the history of the SSC. David Hondula was supported by a Science to Achieve Results Graduate Research Fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Grant No. FP-91733701-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    D. M. Hondula

  2. Department of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    J. K. Vanos

  3. School of Geography, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    S. N. Gosling

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  1. D. M. Hondula
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  3. S. N. Gosling
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Correspondence to D. M. Hondula.

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Hondula, D.M., Vanos, J.K. & Gosling, S.N. The SSC: a decade of climate–health research and future directions. Int J Biometeorol 58, 109–120 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-012-0619-6

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