Featured
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Article
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Global patterns in river water storage dependent on residence time
A global gauge-corrected monthly river flow and storage dataset suggests that residence time is a key driver of water storage and variability and indicates substantial freshwater discharge to the ocean from the Maritime Continent.
- Elyssa L. Collins
- , Cédric H. David
- & Georgina M. Sanchez
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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
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News & Views |
Pervasive fluorinated chemicals
Pollution by per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) is widespread in global water resources and likely to be underestimated, according to global analysis of available PFAS data.
- Mark Strynar
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Article
| Open Access
Underestimated burden of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in global surface waters and groundwaters
A global data analysis suggests that a large fraction of surface waters and groundwaters globally have concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that exceed international advisories or national regulations.
- Diana Ackerman Grunfeld
- , Daniel Gilbert
- & Denis M. O’Carroll
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News & Views |
Light on dark waters
Canal networks in Southeast Asian peatlands are zones of rapid, light-driven biogeochemical cycling. The canals increase carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and decrease organic carbon export to the ocean.
- Christopher Evans
- & Pierre Taillardat
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Research Briefing |
Locally surprising megafloods in Europe can be anticipated from continent-wide observations
Megafloods are rare and hence difficult to predict. However, using a collation of historical flood observations across Europe, it is now shown that recent megafloods could have been anticipated — local surprises are in fact not surprising at the continental scale.
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Megafloods in Europe can be anticipated from observations in hydrologically similar catchments
European river discharge observations suggest that catchments with similar flood generation processes produce similar extremes, enabling better predictability of megafloods using a continental scale perspective.
- Miriam Bertola
- , Günter Blöschl
- & Nenad Zivkovic
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Research Briefing |
A Grand Canyon palaeoclimate record shows a strengthened Early Holocene monsoon
From a stalagmite that grew 14,000–8,500 years ago, isotopic data provide a detailed history of groundwater infiltration associated with a strengthening North American monsoon, as the climate transitioned from a cool dry late-glacial period into a warmer and wetter Early Holocene.
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Research Briefing |
Dissolved phosphorus concentrations are increasing in streams across the Great Lakes Basin
Phosphorus from intensive agriculture contributes to increased algal blooms, threatening ecosystems and drinking water sources. We found increasing dissolved phosphorus concentrations in more than 170 Great Lakes Basin streams, despite stable or decreasing total phosphorus levels. Higher latitudes experienced greater relative increases, potentially due to warmer winters and altered flow pathways.
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Widespread increases in soluble phosphorus concentrations in streams across the transboundary Great Lakes Basin
Analyses of phosphorus concentrations in more than 370 watersheds of the Great Lakes Basin from 2003 to 2019 suggest widespread increases in soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations, despite often decreasing or non-significant trends in total phosphorus.
- Nitin K. Singh
- , Kimberly J. Van Meter
- & Nandita B. Basu
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Research Briefing |
The sinuosity patterns of lowland meandering rivers on Earth and Mars
Two contrasting sinuosity patterns were identified in lowland rivers on Earth and Mars. The channel sinuosity either substantially increases or remains constant towards the coast. These bimodal patterns reflect the age of the channels and their lateral migration rates, which are associated with sediment supply and discharge variability.
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Lowland river sinuosity on Earth and Mars set by the pace of meandering and avulsion
Spatial patterns of channel sinuosity near river outlets reflect the interplay between the channel migration rate and the avulsion timescale, according to sinuosity measurements of lowland rivers on Earth and Mars and channel evolution simulations.
- Chenliang Wu
- , Wonsuck Kim
- & An Li
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Article
| Open Access
Groundwater springs formed during glacial retreat are a large source of methane in the high Arctic
Groundwater springs formed during the retreat of a melting glacier are likely hotspots of methane emissions in the high Arctic according to measurements of methane concentrations in springs recently formed in central Svalbard.
- Gabrielle E. Kleber
- , Andrew J. Hodson
- & Alexandra V. Turchyn
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Article |
Widespread partial-depth hydrofractures in ice sheets driven by supraglacial streams
Surface fractures that intersect glacial streams can propagate deeply in ice sheets and can increase their dynamic instability as melting intensifies, according to a new observationally-constrained modelling study of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
- David M. Chandler
- & Alun Hubbard
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Research Briefing |
Quantifying ice mass loss caused by the replacement of glacial ice with lake water
Subaqueous glacier mass losses are not accounted for by traditional geodetic mass balance calculations. Estimates based on proglacial lake volume changes revealed that the mass loss of glaciers terminating into lakes in the greater Himalaya during 2000−2020 was previously underestimated by approximately 6.5%, with the largest underestimation in the central Himalaya.
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Underestimated mass loss from lake-terminating glaciers in the greater Himalaya
Accounting for subaqueous melting from lake-terminating glaciers increases estimated glacier mass loss across the Himalaya by 7% over the past 20 years, according to analysis of satellite observations and bathymetric measurements.
- Guoqing Zhang
- , Tobias Bolch
- & Weicai Wang
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News & Views |
Blame the river not the rain
The devastating intensity of exceptional floods in some rivers can be anticipated, and surprisingly traces back to the river basins themselves, rather than the amount of rain they receive.
- Cédric H. David
- & Renato P. d. M. Frasson
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Article
| Open Access
Extreme flooding controlled by stream network organization and flow regime
Extreme flood risk can be predicted based on stream network organization and flow regime, according to analysis of hydroclimatic observational records.
- Stefano Basso
- , Ralf Merz
- & Arianna Miniussi
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Perspective |
Diminishing lake area across the northern permafrost zone
Lake drainage due to permafrost thaw in the northern permafrost zone is occurring sooner than anticipated.
- Elizabeth E. Webb
- & Anna K. Liljedahl
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Article
| Open Access
Global patterns of water storage in the rooting zones of vegetation
Global estimations of the water-storage capacity in the rooting zone from satellite data reveal plant access to deep water across a third of Earth’s vegetated surface.
- Benjamin D. Stocker
- , Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Dávila
- & Robert B. Jackson
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Review Article |
Coupling and interactions across the Martian whole atmosphere system
Spacecraft observations and climate modelling have revealed how atmospheric waves, dust storms and atmospheric loss processes are coupled throughout the atmosphere of Mars.
- Erdal Yiğit
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Article
| Open Access
Agricultural drought over water-scarce Central Asia aggravated by internal climate variability
The interplay between anthropogenic forcing and internal variability associated with the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation has exacerbated agricultural droughts over southern Central Asia since 1992, according to large ensemble simulations.
- Jie Jiang
- & Tianjun Zhou
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Article
| Open Access
Mixing dynamics at river confluences governed by intermodal behaviour
Mixing dynamics at river confluences where shallow flows merge in rivers consist of switching between wake and mixing-layer modes, as shown in theoretical and field-scale physical modelling.
- A. N. Sukhodolov
- , O. O. Shumilova
- & B. L. Rhoads
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News & Views |
Plants water the planet
Greening of the planet has increased global surface water availability, but vegetation changes can have diverse local and remote impacts across different regions.
- Arie Staal
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Article |
Global water availability boosted by vegetation-driven changes in atmospheric moisture transport
Vegetation change over the past two decades has limited the decline in global water availability by enhancing rainfall over evapotranspiration, according to analysis of observation-based atmospheric moisture transport data.
- Jiangpeng Cui
- , Xu Lian
- & Shilong Piao
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Research Briefing |
Hidden rivers under Antarctica impact ice flow and stability
Large channels of meltwater snake beneath the ice in the Weddell Sea region of Antarctica. This water affects the speed of ice flow above and the melt rate of the ice when it reaches the ocean, having a direct role in the response of Antarctica to climate change.
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Antarctic basal environment shaped by high-pressure flow through a subglacial river system
A 400-km-long subglacial dendritic river system in Antarctica transports freshwater at high pressures, potentially enhancing ice flow and ice-shelf melt, according to numerical modelling and geophysical data.
- C. F. Dow
- , N. Ross
- & M. J. Siegert
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News & Views |
The bedrock of forest drought
Bedrock composition can play a critical role in determining the structure and water demand of forests, influencing their vulnerability to drought. The properties of bedrock can help explain within-region patterns of tree mortality in the 2011–2017 California drought.
- Christina Tague
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Article |
Forest vulnerability to drought controlled by bedrock composition
Spatial variability in forest dieback during the severe drought in California between 2011 and 2017 can be explained by variations in bedrock composition and thus weatherability, according to analyses of the drought responses a series of geologically distinct sites.
- Russell P. Callahan
- , Clifford S. Riebe
- & W. Steven Holbrook
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Rewetting global wetlands effectively reduces major greenhouse gas emissions
Global in situ observations show greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands are lowest when the water table is near the surface, and therefore rewetting wetlands could substantially reduce future emissions.
- Junyu Zou
- , Alan D. Ziegler
- & Zhenzhong Zeng
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Sedimentary basins reduce stability of Antarctic ice streams through groundwater feedbacks
A machine-learning-based mapping of Antarctic subglacial geology suggests sedimentary basins lie beneath some of the most dynamic ice streams, increasing their vulnerability to rapid ice retreat.
- Lu Li
- , Alan R. A. Aitken
- & Bernd Kulessa
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Mapping peat thickness and carbon stocks of the central Congo Basin using field data
Field surveys suggest peatlands in the central Congo Basin are globally significant carbon stocks, storing approximately 28% of the world’s tropical peat carbon.
- Bart Crezee
- , Greta C. Dargie
- & Simon L. Lewis
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Perspective |
High Mountain Asia hydropower systems threatened by climate-driven landscape instability
Climate change is exacerbating geohazards in High Mountain Asia that pose a growing risk to hydropower and water infrastructure across the region.
- Dongfeng Li
- , Xixi Lu
- & Tobias Bolch
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Research Briefing |
Wetter and drier regions as large-scale tree restoration shifts water fluxes
Tree restoration is a popular approach to mitigating climate change, but its hydrological impacts are often overlooked. Tree restoration increases evaporation, as well as increasing downwind precipitation due to enhanced moisture recycling. Our study shows that these combined effects can affect regions’ wetness or dryness, streamflow and water availability.
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Article
| Open Access
Shifts in regional water availability due to global tree restoration
Global tree restoration could cause substantial and regionally variable changes in water availability, according to an ensemble of Budyko models and moisture recycling data.
- Anne J. Hoek van Dijke
- , Martin Herold
- & Adriaan J. Teuling
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Article |
Cyclical geothermal unrest as a precursor to Iceland’s 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption
Ingression of magmatic gas into a geothermal aquifer generated cyclical deformation and primed the system for the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption, Iceland, according to a catalogue of 39,500 precursory earthquakes combined with a poroelastic model.
- Ólafur G. Flóvenz
- , Rongjiang Wang
- & Claus Milkereit
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Contrasting effects of aridity and seasonality on global salinization
Aridity and rainfall seasonality have contrasting effects on global salinization, according to an analysis combining soil observations and ecohydrological modelling.
- Saverio Perri
- , Annalisa Molini
- & Amilcare Porporato
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A century of groundwater accumulation in Pakistan and northwest India
Observations suggest early twentieth-century human activities, in the form of canal construction, increased groundwater availability in northwest India and Pakistan, in contrast to recent depletion driven by tubewell development and low rainfall.
- D. J. MacAllister
- , G. Krishan
- & A. M. MacDonald
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Risks to carbon storage from land-use change revealed by peat thickness maps of Peru
Changes in land use threaten the stability of carbon in Peru’s peatlands, which store almost as much carbon as the entirety of the above-ground Peruvian carbon stock but in 5% of the land area, according to maps of the extent and depth of peat.
- Adam Hastie
- , Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado
- & Ian T. Lawson
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Drought self-propagation in drylands due to land–atmosphere feedbacks
Dryland droughts are prone to self-propagation due to the enhanced soil water stress, according to atmospheric moisture-tracking analysis of recent major droughts around the world.
- Dominik L. Schumacher
- , Jessica Keune
- & Diego G. Miralles
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Perspective |
Confronting the water potential information gap
Continuous and discoverable observations of water potential could vastly improve understanding of biophysical processes throughout the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum and are achievable thanks to recent technological advances.
- Kimberly A. Novick
- , Darren L. Ficklin
- & Jeffrey D. Wood
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Article |
Tributary channel networks formed by depositional processes
Drainage divides between coastal plain channel networks can be constructed through depositional, rather than erosional, processes according to a lidar-based topographic analysis of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain.
- John M. Swartz
- , Benjamin T. Cardenas
- & Paola Passalacqua
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Perspective |
Managing nitrogen legacies to accelerate water quality improvement
Agricultural nitrogen legacies are delaying improvements to water quality. Comprehensive management strategies that address legacy issues are needed to ensure better environmental outcomes.
- Nandita B. Basu
- , Kimberly J. Van Meter
- & Søren Bøye Olsen
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Impact of warmer climate periods on flood hazard in the European Alps
Moderate flooding in the European Alps declined during past warmer periods, whereas extreme floods both increased and decreased, according to an analysis of palaeoflood records.
- B. Wilhelm
- , W. Rapuc
- & S. B. Wirth
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Development of ice-shelf estuaries promotes fractures and calving
Ice-shelf surface rivers can form estuaries that promote fracturing and enhance calving, according to observations from the Petermann and Ryder ice shelves in Greenland.
- Alexandra L. Boghosian
- , Lincoln H. Pitcher
- & Robin E. Bell
Tectonics regulate CO2 release more strongly than chemical weathering in central Italy