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| Open AccessClimate analogues suggest limited potential for intensification of production on current croplands under climate change
Simulations of the impact of future climate change on crop yield vary considerably. Here, the authors use a climate analogue approach to estimate the response of maximum attainable yield to climate change and predict that large shifts in land use and crop choice would be required to meet demand.
- T.A.M. Pugh
- , C. Müller
- & A. Arneth
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| Open AccessThe sources of atmospheric black carbon at a European gateway to the Arctic
Black carbon (BC) contributes positively to the radiation budget, yet models are unable to correctly capture its seasonal variability in the Arctic. Here, the authors demonstrate improved model skill in simulating BC concentration and sources when including estimates of BC emissions from fires.
- P Winiger
- , A Andersson
- & Ö. Gustafsson
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| Open AccessIntertidal resource use over millennia enhances forest productivity
Human settlements are often associated with degraded landscapes. Trant and colleagues now show that near-shore settlements in British Columbia have locally enhanced forest productivity over millennia by enriching soils with calcium and phosphorous derived from shellfish remnants.
- Andrew J. Trant
- , Wiebe Nijland
- & Brian M. Starzomski
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| Open AccessSource identification and distribution reveals the potential of the geochemical Antarctic sea ice proxy IPSO25
The sedimentary presence of the diatom lipid diene II (hereafter IPSO25) has been proposed as a proxy for palaeo Antarctic sea ice. Here, the authors identify a source of IPSO25and hypothesize that its sedimentary distribution may provide proxy evidence of landfast ice influenced by freshwater discharge.
- S. T. Belt
- , L. Smik
- & K. W. R. Taylor
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| Open AccessSources of black carbon to the Himalayan–Tibetan Plateau glaciers
Black carbon accelerates melting of glaciers in the Himalayas and Tibet, yet the source of these aerosols remains enigmatic. Here, the authors use isotope fingerprinting techniques to determine the origin of black carbon preserved in glacier ice cores recovered from the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau.
- Chaoliu Li
- , Carme Bosch
- & Örjan Gustafsson
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| Open AccessSixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation
Habitat loss and urbanization are primary components of human impact on the environment. Here, Venter et al.use global data on infrastructure, agriculture, and urbanization to show that the human footprint is growing slower than the human population, but footprints are increasing in biodiverse regions.
- Oscar Venter
- , Eric W. Sanderson
- & James E. M. Watson
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| Open AccessMechanisms of increased Trichodesmium fitness under iron and phosphorus co-limitation in the present and future ocean
Cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation supplies bioavailable nitrogen to marine ecosystems, but the mechanisms governing iron and phosphorus co-limitation in elevated CO2remain unknown. Here, the authors show a complex cellular response to co-limitation characterized by changes in growth, cell size, and the proteome.
- Nathan G. Walworth
- , Fei-Xue Fu
- & David A. Hutchins
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| Open AccessSeeking a geochemical identifier for authigenic carbonate
Distinguishing between authigenic carbonate and primary marine carbonate is fundamental to our understanding of Earth’s carbon, oxygen and calcium cycles. Here, the authors show that a combination of uranium concentration and carbon isotope composition is able to distinguish between the two carbonate sinks.
- Ming-Yu Zhao
- , Yong-Fei Zheng
- & Yan-Yan Zhao
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| Open AccessAgriculture causes nitrate fertilization of remote alpine lakes
The long-range atmospheric transport and deposition of reactive nitrogen may be affected by human activities. Here, the authors use isotope data to constrain sources of reactive nitrogen to high elevation lakes in the Uinta Mountains, finding that the majority originates from distant agricultural activities.
- E. J. Hundey
- , S. D. Russell
- & K. A. Moser
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Article
| Open AccessEvidence for methane in Martian meteorites
Extremophiles on Earth are known to respire methane, and the potential existence of methane on Mars indicates similar organisms could survive there. Here, the authors present data from Martian meteorites confirming the presence of methane, indicating that a habitat capable of supporting organisms exists on Mars.
- Nigel J. F. Blamey
- , John Parnell
- & Roberta L. Flemming
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Geochemistry of silicate-rich rocks can curtail spreading of carbon dioxide in subsurface aquifers
Carbon sequestration will be vital in mitigating future climate change, and understanding how CO2 behaves in aquifers is important for developing technologies. Here, the authors suggest that silicate-rich rocks inhibit the transport of CO2, which may have consequences for future engineered storage facilities.
- S. S. S. Cardoso
- & J. T. H. Andres
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Terrestrial selenium distribution in China is potentially linked to monsoonal climate
Selenium deficiency is a major health problem, particularly in the selenium-poor belt in China, yet its distribution in the terrestrial environment is poorly understood. Here, the authors combine geochemical and palaeoclimate data and show that selenium distribution in China may be related to East Asian monsoon rainfall.
- Tim Blazina
- , Youbin Sun
- & Lenny H.E. Winkel
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Anthropogenic radionuclides in atmospheric air over Switzerland during the last few decades
Plutonium and caesium radioisotopes have been injected into the atmosphere during nuclear weapon tests and via other anthropogenic sources. Alvarado et al. show that volcanic eruptions can redistribute those isotopes in the lower atmosphere, using the Eyjafjallajökull eruption as an example.
- J. A. Corcho Alvarado
- , P. Steinmann
- & P. Froidevaux
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Mobile uranium(IV)-bearing colloids in a mining-impacted wetland
The radioactive element uranium tends to accumulate in wetland soils in the insoluble and immobile tetravalent form. Wang et al. show that uranium(IV) can associate with highly mobile organic- and iron(II)-bearing colloids and that its mobility in organic-rich environments may be severely underestimated.
- Yuheng Wang
- , Manon Frutschi
- & Rizlan Bernier-Latmani
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Photochemical reflectance index as an indirect estimator of foliar isoprenoid emissions at the ecosystem level
Isoprene and monoterpenes, emitted by terrestrial plants, have an important role in both plant biology and environment, but they are poorly quantified at the ecosystem level. Peñuelas et al.show that the photochemical reflectance index can be used to indirectly estimate foliar isoprenoid emissions remotely.
- Josep Peñuelas
- , Giovanni Marino
- & Iolanda Filella
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Oxygen consumption rates in subseafloor basaltic crust derived from a reaction transport model
Deep oceanic crust could host a wealth of microbial life, but biogeochemical reactions therein are poorly understood. Orcutt et al.combine measurements of sedimentary oxygen and pore water chemistry from basement crust with a reactive transport box model to shed light on oxygen consumption in basaltic crust.
- Beth N. Orcutt
- , C. Geoffrey Wheat
- & Wolfgang Bach
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Estimating the tolerance of species to the effects of global environmental change
Global environmental change is affecting the strength of interspecific interactions. The authors here estimate how much change species can tolerate before becoming extinct, and they find that species tolerance is very sensitive to the net direction of change.
- Serguei Saavedra
- , Rudolf P. Rohr
- & Jordi Bascompte
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The oceanic biological pump modulates the atmospheric transport of persistent organic pollutants to the Arctic
Persistent organic pollutants can reach and pollute pristine environments, such as the Arctic Ocean, through atmospheric transport. This study shows that the oceanic biological pump can sequester atmospheric polychlorinated biphenyls, reducing the transport of pollutants to the Arctic Ocean.
- Cristóbal Galbán-Malagón
- , Naiara Berrojalbiz
- & Jordi Dachs
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Environmental noise exposure degrades normal listening processes
The damaging effects of loud noise on auditory function are well established, but the effects of low-level noise are not so well understood. Zhou and Merzenich chronically expose adult rats to structured low-level noise and find that it causes auditory cortex damage and sound discrimination impairment.
- Xiaoming Zhou
- & Michael M. Merzenich
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A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppress the bright infrared sky
The night sky viewed from Earth is very bright at infrared wavelengths due to atmospheric emission, making land-based astronomy difficult in this spectral region. Here, a photonic filter is demonstrated to suppress this unwanted light, opening new paths to infrared astronomy with current and future telescopes.
- J. Bland-Hawthorn
- , S.C. Ellis
- & C. Trinh
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Ice as a protocellular medium for RNA replication
A crucial transition in the origin of life was the emergence of self-replicating RNA and its compartmentalization within protocellular structures. Here it is shown that the physicochemical properties of ice, a simple medium widespread on a temperate early earth, could have mediated this transition.
- James Attwater
- , Aniela Wochner
- & Philipp Holliger