Article
|
Open Access
Featured
-
-
Research Briefing |
Evidence of strong aerosol cooling implies great efficacy of marine cloud brightening
Aerosol–cloud interactions are the largest uncertainty in radiative forcing. We combined machine learning and long-term satellite observations to quantify aerosol fingerprints on tropical marine clouds, using degassing volcanic events in Hawaii as natural experiences, and found that cloud cover increased relatively by 50% in humid and stable atmosphere, leading to strong cooling radiative forcing.
-
Article
| Open Access
Deep CO2 release and the carbon budget of the central Apennines modulated by geodynamics
The regional geodynamic gradient controls metamorphic carbon release during mountain building and regulates the inorganic carbon budget, according to carbon estimates in two river catchments of Italy’s central Apennines.
- Erica Erlanger
- , Aaron Bufe
- & Niels Hovius
-
Article |
Weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation abyssal limb in the North Atlantic
Mooring observations and hydrographic data suggest the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation abyssal limb has weakened over the past two decades in the North Atlantic, most likely due to reduced Antarctic Bottom Water formation rates.
- Tiago Carrilho Biló
- , Renellys C. Perez
- & Torsten Kanzow
-
Article |
Greater climate sensitivity implied by anvil cloud thinning
Changes in anvil clouds with warming do not produce a negative feedback on climate sensitivity as previously thought, according to an ensemble of cloud-resolving models.
- Adam B. Sokol
- , Casey J. Wall
- & Dennis L. Hartmann
-
Article
| Open Access
Rapid Laurentide Ice Sheet growth preceding the Last Glacial Maximum due to summer snowfall
The size and shape of the North American ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum was set by atmospheric moisture transport feedbacks during summer, not by the geometry of the earlier intermediate-sized ice sheet, according to a coupled climate–ice sheet model.
- Lu Niu
- , Gregor Knorr
- & Gerrit Lohmann
-
Research Briefing |
Evolution of Earth’s oxygenation and temperature depends on surface carbonate accumulation
There are no good models for the chemical evolution of the Earth’s surface over the planet’s lifetime, because models typically overlook the progressive build-up of carbonate rocks in the crust. A new model that includes this accumulation enables the reconstruction of major oxygen and temperature trends throughout Earth’s history.
-
Article
| Open Access
Substantial cooling effect from aerosol-induced increase in tropical marine cloud cover
Satellite observations from volcanic eruptions suggest that aerosols induce substantial cooling due to the reflectivity of increased tropical marine cloud cover, implying a high climate sensitivity.
- Ying Chen
- , Jim Haywood
- & Ulrike Lohmann
-
Brief Communication |
Production of Neoproterozoic banded iron formations in a partially ice-covered ocean
Neoproterozoic banded iron formations formed in partially glaciated oceans where iron-rich and oxygenated water masses met, according to ocean modelling.
- Kaushal Gianchandani
- , Itay Halevy
- & Eli Tziperman
-
Article
| Open Access
Weak anvil cloud area feedback suggested by physical and observational constraints
Tight physical and observational constraints suggest the anvil cloud area feedback is weak, but the anvil cloud albedo feedback remains highly uncertain.
- Brett McKim
- , Sandrine Bony
- & Jean-Louis Dufresne
-
Article
| Open Access
Diurnal warming rectification in the tropical Pacific linked to sea surface temperature front
Daytime surface ocean warming has large-scale patterns associated with the sea surface temperature front, leading to an afternoon slackening of the front and impacts on surface wind variability.
- Meghan F. Cronin
- , Dongxiao Zhang
- & Nathan Anderson
-
Editorial |
Connecting geology to ecology
Understanding the ecosystem response to global environmental change requires consideration of geological processes, highlighting the interconnected nature of our Earth system.
-
Research Briefing |
Early Jurassic large igneous province carbon emissions are constrained by sedimentary mercury
The carbon emissions of large igneous province magmatism are commonly associated with severe environmental crises. We developed a technique that used sedimentary mercury records to estimate these carbon fluxes through time and found that they are smaller and/or slower than assumed, which suggests that the influence of carbon-cycle feedback processes is underestimated in current models.
-
Article
| Open Access
Late Pleistocene emergence of an anthropogenic fire regime in Australia’s tropical savannahs
A shift towards more-frequent, less-intense fires in Australia began about 11,000 years ago due to management by Indigenous societies, according to charcoal and stable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon records extending back 150,000 years.
- Michael I. Bird
- , Michael Brand
- & Corey J. A. Bradshaw
-
Article |
Wind-steered Eastern Pathway of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
About half of the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation flows east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a pathway steered by wind and not bottom topography, according to hydrographic data, reanalysis and model simulations.
- Zhengyu Liu
- , Sifan Gu
- & Chengfei He
-
Article
| Open Access
Early Jurassic large igneous province carbon emissions constrained by sedimentary mercury
Sedimentary mercury measurements suggest carbon emissions from Early Jurassic large igneous province activity were lower than estimates from carbon-cycle models, implying feedbacks that are unaccounted for.
- Isabel M. Fendley
- , Joost Frieling
- & Hugh C. Jenkyns
-
Article
| Open Access
Rockfall from an increasingly unstable mountain slope driven by climate warming
Climate warming has driven increased rockfall from an unstable mountain slope in the Swiss Alps, according to a record of rockfall activity spanning the past century based on tree damage.
- Markus Stoffel
- , Daniel G. Trappmann
- & Christophe Corona
-
Article
| Open Access
Emergent temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon driven by mineral associations
Temperature sensitivity of bulk soil carbon stocks is controlled by the compositional distribution between mineral-associated and particulate carbon, according to analyses of global soil carbon pools.
- Katerina Georgiou
- , Charles D. Koven
- & Robert B. Jackson
-
Article |
Recent pronounced warming on the Mongolian Plateau boosted by internal climate variability
Relatively strong warming over the Mongolian Plateau in recent decades can be explained, in part, by synchronous internal climate oscillations, according to climate model experiments.
- Qingyu Cai
- , Wen Chen
- & Xiaoqing Lan
-
Article
| Open Access
Drought response of the boreal forest carbon sink is driven by understorey–tree composition
Carbon sink in young boreal forests is more vulnerable to drought than in mature forests due to the greater contribution and drought sensitivity of understorey relative to trees, according to carbon flux assessments of managed boreal forests in northern Sweden during the 2018 European summer drought.
- Eduardo Martínez-García
- , Mats B. Nilsson
- & Matthias Peichl
-
Editorial |
Melting ice core archives
Urgent efforts are needed to collect and preserve ice cores from mountain glaciers before these archives are lost.
-
Article
| Open Access
Regional variations in relative sea-level changes influenced by nonlinear vertical land motion
A probabilistic reconstruction of vertical land motion reveals regional variations in relative sea-level changes and large uncertainties in sea-level projections due to nonlinear effects.
- Julius Oelsmann
- , Marta Marcos
- & Florian Seitz
-
Article
| Open Access
Abrupt Holocene ice loss due to thinning and ungrounding in the Weddell Sea Embayment
The Ronne Ice Shelf of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated rapidly in the early Holocene due to ice sheet dynamic thinning and subsequent ungrounding, according to an ice core record from Skytrain Ice Rise.
- Mackenzie M. Grieman
- , Christoph Nehrbass-Ahles
- & Eric W. Wolff
-
Article |
Proto-monsoon rainfall and greening in Central Asia due to extreme early Eocene warmth
Proto-monsoon expansion doubled rainfall in Central Asia during an early Eocene hyperthermal, leading to a rapid if transient expansion of forests replacing the steppe-desert.
- Niels Meijer
- , Alexis Licht
- & Guillaume Dupont-Nivet
-
Brief Communication
| Open Access
High-altitude glacier archives lost due to climate change-related melting
Information on past environmental conditions stored within high-altitude glaciers is being lost due to accelerated melting associated with climate change, according to ice core analysis from a Swiss glacier.
- C. J. Huber
- , A. Eichler
- & M. Schwikowski
-
Brief Communication
| Open Access
Noble gas evidence of a millennial-scale deep North Pacific palaeo-barometric anomaly
Noble gas concentrations in the deep North Pacific indicate that sea-level pressure in Antarctic Bottom Water formation regions has changed over the past 2,000 years.
- W. J. Jenkins
- , A. M. Seltzer
- & C. R. German
-
Article
| Open Access
Late Miocene onset of the modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Ocean sediment records suggest that the modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current did not exist before the late Miocene cooling, indicating its origin is linked to the expansion of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
- Dimitris Evangelinos
- , Johan Etourneau
- & Carlota Escutia
-
Perspective |
Geological evidence for multiple climate transitions on Early Mars
Early Mars did not experience a single wet-to-dry transition, but seven such shifts in its palaeoclimatic history, as argued based on the planet’s stratigraphy, mineralogy and geomorphology.
- Edwin S. Kite
- & Susan Conway
-
Article |
Regional rare-earth element supply and demand balanced with circular economy strategies
Mobilization of in-use rare-earth element stocks in regions of high consumption can ease dependence on regions of rare-earth extraction, according to dynamic integrated modelling combining material flow and scenario analysis.
- Peng Wang
- , Yu-Yao Yang
- & Wei-Qiang Chen
-
Article |
Dominant role of soil moisture in mediating carbon and water fluxes in dryland ecosystems
Soil moisture is the primary driver of variability in dryland carbon and water cycling, according to a synthesis of eddy covariance, remote sensing and land surface model data from the western United States.
- Steven A. Kannenberg
- , William R. L. Anderegg
- & Alan K. Knapp
-
Article |
Relative increases in CH4 and CO2 emissions from wetlands under global warming dependent on soil carbon substrates
Soil carbon substrates affect how methane and CO2 emissions from global wetlands change in response to climate warming, according to global analyses of temperature sensitivity of wetland carbon emissions.
- Han Hu
- , Ji Chen
- & Yuting Liang
-
Research Briefing |
Clay minerals store organic carbon and cool Earth’s climate over millions of years
An integrated model of mineral weathering and carbon cycling reveals the substantial influence that clay minerals originating from the weathering of magnesium-rich rocks have on Earth’s climate. This research indicates that this clay-forming process contributed to each Palaeozoic glaciation.
-
Article |
Recent human-induced atmospheric drying across Europe unprecedented in the last 400 years
The atmosphere has dried across most regions of Europe in recent decades, a trend that can be attributed primarily to human impacts, according to tree ring records spanning 400 years and Earth system model simulations.
- Kerstin Treydte
- , Laibao Liu
- & Neil J. Loader
-
Comment |
The case for a lunar anthropocene
Human exploration of the Solar System began on the Moon during the space race of the mid-twentieth century. To facilitate documentation and study of the human influence on the Moon, we argue it is time to designate a ‘Lunar Anthropocene’.
- Justin Allen Holcomb
- , Rolfe David Mandel
- & Karl William Wegmann
-
Article
| Open Access
Long-distance migration and venting of methane from the base of the hydrate stability zone
Methane dissociated from the base of the hydrate stability zone off Mauritania during warm interglacials travelled up to 40 km landward beyond where methane hydrates are typically found before venting out, according to 3D seismic imagery.
- Richard J. Davies
- , Jinxiu Yang
- & Mads Huuse
-
News & Views |
Plankton reveal past climate
Marine microfossil assemblages refine sea surface temperature patterns and yield insights into discrepancies between paleoclimate models of the last ice age and observations.
- Marci M. Robinson
-
Article
| Open Access
Strong temperature gradients in the ice age North Atlantic Ocean revealed by plankton biogeography
Spatial changes in planktonic foraminifera species assemblages reveal steeper thermal gradients in the North Atlantic Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum than simulated by climate models, according to a macroecological analysis of marine sediment cores.
- Lukas Jonkers
- , Thomas Laepple
- & Michal Kucera
-
News & Views |
Cooling Himalayan glaciers
Three decades of meteorological observations show that Himalayan glaciers have been cooling because of intensified downslope winds, in contrast to the warming observed elsewhere in the region.
- Jesse Norris
-
Article
| Open Access
Local cooling and drying induced by Himalayan glaciers under global warming
High-elevation meteorological observations and reanalysis data indicate local cooling and drying near Himalayan glaciers due to enhanced katabatic winds in response to global warming.
- Franco Salerno
- , Nicolas Guyennon
- & Francesca Pellicciotti
-
Article
| Open Access
Antarctic Peninsula glaciation patterns set by landscape evolution and dynamic topography
Spatially distinct ice-sheet growth on the Antarctic Peninsula through the Pleistocene was the result of dynamic topography and pre-glacial landscape evolution, not climate, according to a palaeotopographic reconstruction and ice-sheet modelling.
- Matthew Fox
- , Anna Clinger
- & Frederic Herman
-
Article |
Enhanced stability of grassland soil temperature by plant diversity
Plant diversity stabilizes grassland soil temperature by boosting soil organic carbon and increasing plant leaf area, according to an 18-year plant diversity experiment.
- Yuanyuan Huang
- , Gideon Stein
- & Nico Eisenhauer
-
Article |
Palaeozoic cooling modulated by ophiolite weathering through organic carbon preservation
Weathering of mafic and ultramafic lithologies in ophiolites can enhance the preservation of organic carbon through the formation of smectite clays and modulate Earth’s climate, according to a coupled mineral weathering and carbon box model.
- Joshua Murray
- & Oliver Jagoutz
-
News & Views |
Butterfly effect of shallow-ocean deoxygenation on past marine biodiversity
A geochemical study of an ancient mass-extinction event shows that only moderate expansion of oxygen-deficient waters along continental margins is needed to decimate marine biodiversity. This finding provides a stark warning of the possible consequences of human-driven ocean deoxygenation on life in Earth’s shallow oceans.
- Brian Kendall
-
Perspective |
Collaboration between women helps close the gender gap in ice core science
Authorship statistics from ice core science suggest that collaboration between women is a key factor in closing gender gaps in scientific publishing.
- Bess G. Koffman
- , Matthew B. Osman
- & Sofia Guest
-
Article |
Atmospheric methane variability through the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation mainly controlled by tropical sources
Abrupt changes in atmospheric methane through the last deglaciation were largely the result of tropical sources responding to shifting rainfall patterns, according to a comparison of precisely dated ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica.
- Ben Riddell-Young
- , Julia Rosen
- & Thomas Blunier
-
Article
| Open Access
Globally limited but severe shallow-shelf euxinia during the end-Triassic extinction
While global ocean redox patterns during the end Triassic were similar to today, pulses of localized anoxia were probably linked to mass extinctions on continental shelves, according to analysis of molybdenum records.
- Andrew D. Bond
- , Alexander J. Dickson
- & Bas van de Schootbrugge
-
Article
| Open Access
Radiative forcing from aerosol–cloud interactions enhanced by large-scale circulation adjustments
Convection-permitting simulations suggest that the radiative impact of aerosol–cloud interactions is enhanced by adjustments to large-scale circulation, which increase cloudiness.
- Guy Dagan
- , Netta Yeheskel
- & Andrew I. L. Williams
-
Article
| Open Access
Frequent marine heatwaves hidden below the surface of the global ocean
Substantial numbers of marine heatwaves are hidden globally below the sea surface, according to analyses of ocean temperature data.
- Di Sun
- , Furong Li
- & Bohai Zhang
-
Article |
Climate variability a key driver of recent Antarctic ice-mass change
The Southern Annular Mode and ENSO are the main drivers of recent decadal variability in Antarctic ice mass, according to analysis of satellite-based gravimetric observations.
- Matt A. King
- , Kewei Lyu
- & Xuebin Zhang
-
Article |
Southeast Asian ecological dependency on Tibetan Plateau streamflow over the last millennium
Reconstructions of Tibetan Plateau streamflow over the last millennia reveal close associations with dry season vegetation and major population shifts in Southeast Asia.
- Feng Chen
- , Wenmin Man
- & Fahu Chen
Global patterns in river water storage dependent on residence time