Featured
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Biogenic particles formed in the Himalaya as an important source of free tropospheric aerosols
Newly formed biogenic particles in the Himalaya increase free-tropospheric background aerosol concentration by a factor of up to two.
- F. Bianchi
- , H. Junninen
- & J. Dommen
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Coupled anaerobic methane oxidation and reductive arsenic mobilization in wetland soils
The coupling of anaerobic oxidation of methane and arsenate reduction is an important pathway of releasing arsenic from soils, according to incubation experiments of arsenate-contaminated wetland soils.
- Ling-Dong Shi
- , Ting Guo
- & He-Ping Zhao
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Biological nitrogen fixation detected under Antarctic sea ice
Observational evidence of cyanobacterial activity in the Antarctic Ocean suggests that nitrogen fixation could be a ubiquitous process in the global ocean.
- Takuhei Shiozaki
- , Amane Fujiwara
- & Naomi Harada
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Comment |
Arctic fires re-emerging
Underground smouldering fires resurfaced early in 2020, contributing to the unprecedented wildfires that tore through the Arctic this spring and summer. An international effort is needed to manage a changing fire regime in the vulnerable Arctic.
- Jessica L. McCarty
- , Thomas E. L. Smith
- & Merritt R. Turetsky
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Comment |
Homogenization of the terrestrial water cycle
Land-use and land-cover changes are accelerating. Such changes can homogenize the water cycle and undermine planetary resilience. Policymakers and practitioners must consider water–vegetation interactions in their land-management decisions.
- Delphis F. Levia
- , Irena F. Creed
- & Michael Bruen
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Article |
Global nitrous acid emissions and levels of regional oxidants enhanced by wildfires
Satellite observations reveal that fresh wildfire plumes are a globally important source of nitrous acid, enhancing oxidative plume chemistry and regional ozone levels.
- N. Theys
- , R. Volkamer
- & M. Van Roozendael
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Molecular trade-offs in soil organic carbon composition at continental scale
Environmental factors influence the molecular composition of carbon in soils across continental gradients, according to analyses of North American mineral soils.
- Steven J. Hall
- , Chenglong Ye
- & William C. Hockaday
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Perspective |
A shift in sulfur-cycle manipulation from atmospheric emissions to agricultural additions
Deliberate application of sulfur onto croplands as fertilizer and pesticide probably causes environmental damage similar to historical acid rain events, according to a literature review and four case studies from the United States.
- Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley
- , John T. Crawford
- & Charles T. Driscoll
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News & Views |
Tropical forests lost to land grabbing
Large-scale land acquisitions accelerate tropical deforestation, suggests an analysis of two decades of land-deal and forest-cover data. Such exploitation will threaten the future of these globally crucial carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots.
- Andreas Neef
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Tropical forest loss enhanced by large-scale land acquisitions
Tropical deforestation rates are linked to large-scale land investments, according to georeferenced land deal records and remote sensing of forest loss over the past two decades.
- Kyle Frankel Davis
- , Heejin Irene Koo
- & Mokganedi Tatlhego
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Widespread subsidence and carbon emissions across Southeast Asian peatlands
Subsidence and carbon emissions in tropical peatlands are primarily linked to drainage history, not land-use type, according to large-scale high-resolution remote sensing in Southeast Asia.
- Alison M. Hoyt
- , Estelle Chaussard
- & Charles F. Harvey
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Amplified transboundary transport of haze by aerosol–boundary layer interaction in China
Secondary air pollution events are enhanced in the Yangtze River delta, China, due to the interaction of long-range transport and aerosol–boundary layer feedback, according to a combination of observations and simulations of haze events from 2013 to 2018.
- Xin Huang
- , Aijun Ding
- & Congbin Fu
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Significant methane ebullition from alpine permafrost rivers on the East Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
High-elevation rivers in permafrost of the East Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are hotspots of methane emissions, according to measurements of methane fluxes in the region.
- Liwei Zhang
- , Xinghui Xia
- & Peter A. Raymond
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The river–groundwater interface as a hotspot for arsenic release
The interface between riverbed and aquifer is a biogeochemical reaction hotspot for arsenic release from river sediments, according to numerical simulations of groundwater flow and biogeochemical reaction processes.
- Ilka Wallis
- , Henning Prommer
- & Rolf Kipfer
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Thiolated arsenic species observed in rice paddy pore waters
Thioarsenates are found in the pore waters of rice paddy fields, comparable in concentration to methylated oxyarsenates, according to field, mesocosm and soil incubation studies.
- Jiajia Wang
- , Carolin F. Kerl
- & Britta Planer-Friedrich
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Perspective |
Transparency on greenhouse gas emissions from mining to enable climate change mitigation
Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from mining for green technologies need to be accurately and transparently accounted for, as highlighted by a case study of Chilean copper mining.
- Mehdi Azadi
- , Stephen A. Northey
- & Mansour Edraki
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Changes in atmospheric shortwave absorption as important driver of dimming and brightening
Changes in the atmospheric absorption of shortwave radiation, probably through cloud and aerosol effects, is the main reason for the dimming and brightening over China and Europe in past decades, according to co-located surface and space observations.
- M. Schwarz
- , D. Folini
- & M. Wild
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Rapid transfer of oxygen to the deep ocean mediated by bubbles
Bubble-mediated flux of oxygen into the Labrador Sea surface ocean contributes to air–sea gas exchange, suggest observations from moored profiling and Argo float data. Climate models that omit the process may underestimate oxygen in the deep ocean.
- D. Atamanchuk
- , J. Koelling
- & D. W. R. Wallace
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News & Views |
Some may like it hot
The biomass of some of the smallest ocean organisms may be stable or even increase in a warming world, suggests a data analysis based on machine-learning techniques.
- Daniele Iudicone
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Article |
Dunes in the world’s big rivers are characterized by low-angle lee-side slopes and a complex shape
Dunes in the world’s big rivers are dominated by lee-side slopes with angles of less than 10°, according to a bedform analysis of high-resolution bathymetric datasets.
- Julia Cisneros
- , Jim Best
- & Yuanfeng Zhang
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Reduced methane seepage from Arctic sediments during cold bottom-water conditions
Methane release rate from Arctic Ocean sediments in winter is significantly lower than in summer, according to surveys of cold-seep activity along the shelf break offshore Svalbard.
- Bénédicte Ferré
- , Pär G. Jansson
- & Helge Niemann
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Irrigation-triggered landslides in a Peruvian desert caused by modern intensive farming
Slow-moving landslides in two valleys in Peru were initiated by irrigation programmes in the region, suggest analyses of 40 years of satellite data.
- Pascal Lacroix
- , Amaury Dehecq
- & Edu Taipe
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Efficient control of atmospheric sulfate production based on three formation regimes
Distinct dependence of atmospheric SO42– formation on NOx levels in haze-fog events is revealed by SO42– production isopleths that are obtained through simulations of atmospheric chemistry with a box model.
- Jian Xue
- , Xin Yu
- & Jian Zhen Yu
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A two-pollutant strategy for improving ozone and particulate air quality in China
Observations confirm that cleaning up fine particulate matter in the North China Plain has exacerbated ozone pollution, suggesting that both NOx and VOC emissions need to be reduced to improve air quality.
- Ke Li
- , Daniel J. Jacob
- & Shixian Zhai
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Australian hot and dry extremes induced by weakenings of the stratospheric polar vortex
Hot and dry climate extremes in Australia are linked to stratospheric polar vortex weakening, with potential implications for their predictability, according to statistical analyses of observational data from the past 40 years.
- Eun-Pa Lim
- , Harry H. Hendon
- & Julie M. Arblaster
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Impact of communal irrigation on the 2018 Palu earthquake-triggered landslides
Landslides triggered during the Palu 2018 earthquake correlate spatially with the presence of irrigation systems according to satellite analyses, suggesting that liquefaction of alluvial fans played a role.
- Ian M. Watkinson
- & Robert Hall
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Perspective |
Global-change controls on soil-carbon accumulation and loss in coastal vegetated ecosystems
Coastal vegetated ecosystems have experienced rapid changes in climate and environmental conditions. These changes have caused disturbances to the amount of carbon they store in soils by altering the decomposition process of organic carbon.
- Amanda C. Spivak
- , Jonathan Sanderman
- & Charles S. Hopkinson
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News & Views |
A silicon memory of subduction
Subduction processes may have operated very early in Earth’s history according to the heavy silicon isotope compositions of Archaean igneous rocks. The silicon that precipitated out of the Archaean oceans as chert was subducted and melted to yield seawater-like heavy isotope signatures in early granitic rocks.
- Franck Poitrasson
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Sponge skeletons as an important sink of silicon in the global oceans
Inclusion of sponge spicules and radiolarians increases the global ocean biological sink of silicon by 28%, with 95% of that increase attributed to sponges, according to examination of sediments from 17 marine cores.
- Manuel Maldonado
- , MarÃa López-Acosta
- & Aude Leynaert
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Important contribution of macroalgae to oceanic carbon sequestration
Macroalgae can be transported across the open ocean, and substantial amounts can reach the seafloor at 4,000 m depth, according to analyses of metagenome data from global expeditions. Macroalgae are a potentially important oceanic carbon sink globally.
- Alejandra Ortega
- , Nathan R. Geraldi
- & Carlos M. Duarte
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Global fire emissions buffered by the production of pyrogenic carbon
Pyrogenic carbon produced from vegetation fires could be a globally important carbon sink, which amounts to 12% of the carbon emitted from wildfires annually, according to a global fire emission database that incorporates the estimate of pyrogenic carbon.
- Matthew W. Jones
- , Cristina SantÃn
- & Stefan H. Doerr
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Perspective |
Challenges for the recovery of the ozone layer
Recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer above Antarctica has not been straightforward, as a result of human activities and climate change. The recovery process might be delayed by up to decades if further mitigation actions are not taken.
- Xuekun Fang
- , John A. Pyle
- & Ronald G. Prinn
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Ice nucleation by aerosols from anthropogenic pollution
Polluted continental aerosols contain a considerable fraction of ice nucleating particles, suggest analyses of satellite observations and simulations with cloud-resolving models.
- Bin Zhao
- , Yuan Wang
- & Yuk L. Yung
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Editorial |
Cleaner air for China
China’s rigorous air-pollution control has greatly reduced the levels of fine particles in the atmosphere. Further progress for air quality more broadly will rely on fully accounting for complex chemical reactions between pollutants.
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News & Views |
Ancient rust
Confidence that banded iron formations record oxic conditions during deposition is established, as a model demonstrates that they are formed of primary iron oxides rather than secondarily altered silicate minerals.
- Eva E. Stüeken
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Article |
Human domination of the global water cycle absent from depictions and perceptions
Only about 15% of water cycle diagrams include human interaction with water, although human freshwater appropriation amounts to about half of global river discharge, according to an analysis of 464 water cycle diagrams and a synthesis of the global water cycle.
- Benjamin W. Abbott
- , Kevin Bishop
- & Gilles Pinay
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News & Views |
China’s nitrogen management
Nitrogen deposition in China has stabilized over the past decade, thanks to efficient regulation of fertilizer use, suggests an analysis of wet and dry deposition.
- Maria Kanakidou
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Article |
Proterozoic seawater sulfate scarcity and the evolution of ocean–atmosphere chemistry
In the Proterozoic, sulfate concentrations in the oceans were low and atmospheric methane levels high, according to mass balance and diagenetic models that investigate the oxidation state of the Proterozoic oceans.
- Mojtaba Fakhraee
- , Olivier Hancisse
- & Sergei Katsev
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Stabilization of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in China over the past decade
Nitrogen deposition in China has been almost constant over the past decade, as decreasing wet deposition has balanced increasing dry deposition, according to analyses of extensive datasets on wet and dry nitrogen depositions in China.
- Guirui Yu
- , Yanlong Jia
- & Keith Goulding
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Atmospheric transport and deposition of microplastics in a remote mountain catchment
Microplastics can reach and affect regions far from where they are released because of atmospheric transport, suggest analyses of atmospheric deposition in a remote, pristine mountain catchment in France.
- Steve Allen
- , Deonie Allen
- & Didier Galop
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Glacially sourced dust as a potentially significant source of ice nucleating particles
Dusts from glaciers may contribute significantly to ice nucleation in Arctic low-level clouds, according to analyses of glacial outwash sediments in Svalbard.
- Yutaka Tobo
- , Kouji Adachi
- & Makoto Koike
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Distinct air–water gas exchange regimes in low- and high-energy streams
Bubble-mediated gas exchange in high-energy streams accelerates faster as energy dissipation intensifies than does turbulent-diffusion-driven gas exchange in low-energy streams, according to an analysis of new measurements and published data.
- Amber J. Ulseth
- , Robert O. Hall Jr
- & Tom J. Battin
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Negligible cycling of terrestrial carbon in many lakes of the arid circumpolar landscape
Many lakes in arid, organic-poor permafrost landscapes have a negligible role in mineralizing terrestrial carbon, according to metabolic analyses of lakes in the arid Yukon Flats Basin.
- Matthew J. Bogard
- , Catherine D. Kuhn
- & David E. Butman
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News & Views |
Burning questions about ecosystems
Cumulative wildfires or prescribed burning produce different outcomes for the vegetation, suggest two long-term analyses of fire-affected ecosystems. Climate change and land management practices are altering how ecosystems function.
- Mark A. Cochrane
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Article |
Long-term impacts of wildfire and logging on forest soils
Fires and logging alter soil composition and result in a significant reduction of soil nutrients that lasts for decades after the disturbance, suggests an analysis of soil samples across a multi-century sequence in mountain ash forests.
- Elle J. Bowd
- , Sam C. Banks
- & David B. Lindenmayer
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Biodegradation as an important sink of aromatic hydrocarbons in the oceans
Microbial degradation is a key process for removing aromatic hydrocarbons from the oceans, according to measurements in plankton and seawater with 64 types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their microbial degradation genes in four ocean basins.
- Belén González-Gaya
- , Alicia MartÃnez-Varela
- & Jordi Dachs
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News & Views |
Anthropogenic chlorine under watch
Atmospheric levels of chloroform, an ozone-depleting substance not part of the Montreal Protocol, have risen. The increase may be attributable to industrial emissions in Eastern China.
- Susann Tegtmeier
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Rapid increase in ozone-depleting chloroform emissions from China
Atmospheric levels of chloroform increased after 2010, as a result of emissions in eastern China, according to analyses of measurements and inverse modelling.
- Xuekun Fang
- , Sunyoung Park
- & Ronald G. Prinn