Collection 06 March 2024

The Top 25 Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences Articles of 2023

We are pleased to share with you the 25 most downloaded Nature Communications articles* across Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences published in 2023. Featuring authors from around the world, these papers highlight valuable research from an international community.

Browse all Top 25 subject area collections.

_{*Data obtained from SN Insights (based on Digital Science's Dimensions) and have been normalised to account for articles published later in the year.}

Top Articles

Warning of a forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a major tipping element in the climate system. Here, data-driven estimators for the time of tipping predict a potential AMOC collapse mid-century under the current emission scenario.
- Peter Ditlevsen
- Susanne Ditlevsen
ArticleOpen Access25 Jul 2023 Nature Communications
Worldwide Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene population declines in extant megafauna are associated with Homo sapiens expansion rather than climate change

Extinction of megafauna is a defining trend of the last 50,000 years. Here, the authors use genomic data to infer population histories of 139 extant megafauna, suggesting that their population decline is better explained by Homo sapiens expansion than by climate change.
- Juraj Bergman
- Rasmus Ø. Pedersen
- Jens-Christian Svenning
ArticleOpen Access24 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
Integrating climate change induced flood risk into future population projections

Using historical data across the U.S., the authors find that population declines are associated with flood exposure. Projecting this relationship to 2053, the authors find that flood risk may result in 7% lower growth than otherwise expected.
- Evelyn G. Shu
- Jeremy R. Porter
- Edward Kearns
ArticleOpen Access18 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
Risk to rely on soil carbon sequestration to offset global ruminant emissions

While accounting for intrinsic differences between short- and long-lived greenhouse gases, solely relying on soil carbon sequestration in grasslands to offset warming effect of emissions from current ruminant systems is not feasible
- Yue Wang
- Imke J. M. de Boer
- Corina E. van Middelaar
ArticleOpen Access22 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
An ancient river landscape preserved beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

Using satellite and survey data, an ancient river landscape 300 km wide has been discovered buried and preserved beneath the ice in East Antarctica. It has likely survived largely intact for up to 34 million years since before ice sheet growth.
- Stewart S. R. Jamieson
- Neil Ross
- Martin J. Siegert
ArticleOpen Access24 Oct 2023 Nature Communications
The most at-risk regions in the world for high-impact heatwaves

The global risk of record-breaking heatwaves is assessed, with the most at-risk regions identified. It is shown that record-smashing events that currently appear implausible could happen anywhere as a result of climate change.
- Vikki Thompson
- Dann Mitchell
- Julia M. Slingo
ArticleOpen Access25 Apr 2023 Nature Communications
The global costs of extreme weather that are attributable to climate change

Neman and Noy estimate the global climate change costs of extreme weather and find that US$\$$ 143 B/yr of the costs of extreme events is attributable to climatic change. The majority of this is due to human loss of life.
- Rebecca Newman
- Ilan Noy
ArticleOpen Access29 Sep 2023 Nature Communications
Observationally-constrained projections of an ice-free Arctic even under a low emission scenario

A dominant influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gas increases on Arctic sea ice area is detectable in all months. By scaling climate models’ sea ice response to best match observed trends, an ice-free Arctic in September is projected under all scenarios.
- Yeon-Hee Kim
- Seung-Ki Min
- Elizaveta Malinina
ArticleOpen Access6 Jun 2023 Nature Communications
Metal toxin threat in wildland fires determined by geology and fire severity

Carcinogenic heavy metals are an underappreciated public health concern from wildfire. Fire severity, geology, and ecosystem type influence landscape-scale production of hexavalent chromium, concentrated in wind-dispersible particles.
- Alandra Marie Lopez
- Juan Lezama Pacheco
- Scott Fendorf
ArticleOpen Access12 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
Aerosols overtake greenhouse gases causing a warmer climate and more weather extremes toward carbon neutrality

Future aerosol reductions significantly contribute to climate warming and increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather toward carbon neutrality. Aerosol impacts far outweigh those of greenhouse gases and tropospheric ozone.
- Pinya Wang
- Yang Yang
- Hong Liao
ArticleOpen Access9 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland

North Greenland ice shelves have lost more than a third of their masses, thinning dramatically from below due to increased ocean temperatures. In response, grounding lines have retreated and the amount of ice discharged into the ocean has increased.
- R. Millan
- E. Jager
- A. Bjørk
ArticleOpen Access7 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
Uracil in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Uracil was identified in the sample returned from the asteroid Ryugu. Having been provided to the early Earth as a component in such asteroidal materials, these molecules might have played a role for prebiotic chemical evolution on the early Earth
- Yasuhiro Oba
- Toshiki Koga
- Hayabusa2-initial-analysis SOM team
ArticleOpen Access21 Mar 2023 Nature Communications
Compensating transport trends in the Drake Passage frontal regions yield no acceleration in net transport

Time series of high spatial resolution ocean temperature, salinity and velocity across Drake Passage show that compensating trends across the frontal regions yield no acceleration in net transport over the last 15 years despite increased wind stress.
- Manuel O. Gutierrez-Villanueva
- Teresa K. Chereskin
- Janet Sprintall
ArticleOpen Access28 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
Up-to-fivefold reverberating waves through the Earth’s center and distinctly anisotropic innermost inner core

This study presents hitherto unreported multiply-reverberating seismic body waves through the Earth’s center. Their travel times confirm a distinct internal shell within the inner core, existing possibly due to a past change in the inner core growth.
- Thanh-Son Phạm
- Hrvoje Tkalčić
ArticleOpen Access21 Feb 2023 Nature Communications
Recent acceleration in global ocean heat accumulation by mode and intermediate waters

By analyzing historical and Argo observations, the authors find that the warming of mode and intermediate water layers drives most of the global upper 2000 m ocean warming, highlighting the outsized heat uptake by regional water masses in both hemispheres.
- Zhi Li
- Matthew H. England
- Sjoerd Groeskamp
ArticleOpen Access28 Oct 2023 Nature Communications
Inner core static tilt inferred from intradecadal oscillation in the Earth’s rotation

A static tilt of some 0.17° between the rotation axes of the solid inner core and the mantle is inferred from the observed approximate 8.5 year periodic inner core wobble in both polar motion and length-of-day variations of the Earth’s rotation.
- Yachong An
- Hao Ding
- Weiping Jiang
ArticleOpen Access8 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
Higher Antarctic ice sheet accumulation and surface melt rates revealed at 2 km resolution

High-resolution 2-km Antarctic maps reveal higher snowfall and surface melt than low-resolution products, reconciling satellite-observed ice sheet mass change. Projected higher surface melt near grounding lines threatens future ice shelf stability.
- Brice Noël
- J. Melchior van Wessem
- Michiel R. van den Broeke
ArticleOpen Access1 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
Approaching national climate targets in China considering the challenge of regional inequality

Aggressive or uniform actions on climate targets may exacerbate regional inequality and induce economic losses in China. The proposed collaborative strategy for carbon neutrality can avoid up to 1.54% of GDP losses while 90% of provinces would gain.
- Biying Yu
- Zihao Zhao
- Hua Liao
ArticleOpen Access15 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
Glacial lake outburst floods threaten millions globally

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a major hazard to downstream populations. Here, the authors show that 15 million people globally are potentially exposed to GLOF impacts, with more than half of these living in India, Pakistan, Peru and China.
- Caroline Taylor
- Tom R. Robinson
- Matthew Westoby
ArticleOpen Access7 Feb 2023 Nature Communications
Ocean warming drives rapid dynamic activation of marine-terminating glacier on the west Antarctic Peninsula

Warm ocean waters and favourable bathymetry caused Cadman Glacier on the Antarctic Peninsula to increase speed by 94% from 2018 to 2019. This led to increased ice discharge, glacier retreat of 8 kilometres, and glacier thinning by 20 meters per year.
- Benjamin J. Wallis
- Anna E. Hogg
- Carlos Moffat
ArticleOpen Access28 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
Particle-associated denitrification is the primary source of N₂O in oxic coastal waters

Incomplete denitrification associated with the micro-niche of marine particles, instead of nitrification as previously assumed, is a major source of N₂O in the turbid coastal waters, even though the water is well-oxygenated.
- Xianhui S. Wan
- Hua-Xia Sheng
- Shuh-Ji Kao
ArticleOpen Access13 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
Potential drivers of the recent large Antarctic ozone holes

The record-breaking ozone holes of recent years contribute to a steady decline of mid-spring ozone in the Antarctic, contrary to signs of early-spring recovery. Changes in descending air at the core of the ozone hole might be the driver.
- Hannah E. Kessenich
- Annika Seppälä
- Craig J. Rodger
ArticleOpen Access21 Nov 2023 Nature Communications
Carbonate chemistry and carbon sequestration driven by inorganic carbon outwelling from mangroves and saltmarshes

Global observations from mangroves and saltmarshes unravel hidden carbon pathways. Inorganic carbon outwelling is revealed to dominate carbon budgets, impact coastal pH, and enhance the climate mitigation potential of blue carbon ecosystems.
- Gloria M. S. Reithmaier
- Alex Cabral
- Isaac R. Santos
ArticleOpen Access11 Dec 2023 Nature Communications
Emplacement of the Argyle diamond deposit into an ancient rift zone triggered by supercontinent breakup

The Argyle deposit erupted 1.3 billion years ago into an ancient rift at the edge of a craton. Argyle coincided with supercontinent breakup, highlighting the link between diamond emplacement, former rifts and continental breakup.
- Hugo K. H. Olierook
- Denis Fougerouse
- Michael T. D. Wingate
ArticleOpen Access19 Sep 2023 Nature Communications
Adjusting 1.5 degree C climate change mitigation pathways in light of adverse new information

Emerging limitations on climate and low-carbon technology would require adjusting our 15.C climate change mitigation pathways. However, this could increase average annual emissions reductions to around 3GtCO₂/year using a broad portfolio of mitigation measures.
- Ajay Gambhir
- Shivika Mittal
- Jason A. Lowe
ArticleOpen Access23 Aug 2023 Nature Communications

The Top 25 Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences Articles of 2023

Top Articles

Warning of a forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Worldwide Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene population declines in extant megafauna are associated with Homo sapiens expansion rather than climate change

Integrating climate change induced flood risk into future population projections

Risk to rely on soil carbon sequestration to offset global ruminant emissions

An ancient river landscape preserved beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

The most at-risk regions in the world for high-impact heatwaves

The global costs of extreme weather that are attributable to climate change

Observationally-constrained projections of an ice-free Arctic even under a low emission scenario

Metal toxin threat in wildland fires determined by geology and fire severity

Aerosols overtake greenhouse gases causing a warmer climate and more weather extremes toward carbon neutrality

Rapid disintegration and weakening of ice shelves in North Greenland

Uracil in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Compensating transport trends in the Drake Passage frontal regions yield no acceleration in net transport

Up-to-fivefold reverberating waves through the Earth’s center and distinctly anisotropic innermost inner core

Recent acceleration in global ocean heat accumulation by mode and intermediate waters

Inner core static tilt inferred from intradecadal oscillation in the Earth’s rotation

Higher Antarctic ice sheet accumulation and surface melt rates revealed at 2 km resolution

Approaching national climate targets in China considering the challenge of regional inequality

Glacial lake outburst floods threaten millions globally

Ocean warming drives rapid dynamic activation of marine-terminating glacier on the west Antarctic Peninsula

Particle-associated denitrification is the primary source of N₂O in oxic coastal waters

Potential drivers of the recent large Antarctic ozone holes

Carbonate chemistry and carbon sequestration driven by inorganic carbon outwelling from mangroves and saltmarshes

Emplacement of the Argyle diamond deposit into an ancient rift zone triggered by supercontinent breakup

Adjusting 1.5 degree C climate change mitigation pathways in light of adverse new information

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