Adjustable adaptation -

doi:10.1038/ngeo576

Humans have been responding to fluctuating sea levels for millennia. Adapting to future change will require a swift start on developing innovative infrastructure while keeping the option to adjust in the long term.

Full text - Information storage | PDF (303 KB) - Information storage

Focus on known active faults -

John McCloskey

doi:10.1038/ngeo1221

Full text - Information storage | PDF (214 KB) - Information storage

Sustaining coastal urban ecosystems -

Torbjörn E. Törnqvist & Douglas J. Meffert

doi:10.1038/ngeo365

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season once again highlighted the challenges awaiting low-lying population centres close to the ocean. In the face of global sea-level rise, unconventional thinking is required to make urban coasts more resilient.

Full text - Information storage | PDF (2,029 KB) - Information storage

Urban waste -

Anna Armstrong

doi:10.1038/ngeo680

Full text - Information storage | PDF (143 KB) - Information storage

Brief relief -

Anna Armstrong

doi:10.1038/ngeo542

Full text - Information storage | PDF (167 KB) - Information storage

Pollution meets sea salt -

Roland von Glasow

doi:10.1038/ngeo192

In densely populated coastal areas, reactions of polluted air with sea salt aerosol from the ocean can lead to high surface ozone levels that affect air quality.

Full text - Information storage | PDF (181 KB) - Information storage

Sinking deltas due to human activities -

James P. M. Syvitski, Albert J. Kettner, Irina Overeem, Eric W. H. Hutton, Mark T. Hannon, G. Robert Brakenridge, John Day, Charles Vörösmarty, Yoshiki Saito, Liviu Giosan & Robert J. Nicholls

doi:10.1038/ngeo629

Many of the world's deltas are densely populated and intensively farmed. An assessment of recent publications indicates that the majority of these deltas have been subject to intense flooding over the past decade, and that this threat will grow as global sea-level rises and as the deltas subside.

Abstract - Information storage | Full text - Information storage | PDF (971 KB) - Information storage

Consistent geographical patterns of changes in high-impact European heatwaves -

E. M. Fischer & C. Schär

doi:10.1038/ngeo866

Climate-change projections suggest that European summer heatwaves will become more frequent and severe during this century. An analysis of a set of high-resolution regional climate simulations reveals consistent geographical patterns in these changes, with the most severe health impacts in southern European river basins and along the Mediterranean coasts.

First paragraph - Information storage | Full text - Information storage | PDF (5,978 KB) - Information storage

Deforestation driven by urban population growth and agricultural trade in the twenty-first century -

Ruth S. DeFries, Thomas Rudel, Maria Uriarte & Matthew Hansen

doi:10.1038/ngeo756

Reducing tropical deforestation is at present considered a cost-effective option for mitigating climate change. Satellite-based estimates of forest loss suggest that urban population growth and urban and international demand for agricultural products are key drivers of deforestation in the tropics.

First paragraph - Information storage | Full text - Information storage | PDF (313 KB) - Information storage

Model projections of rapid sea-level rise on the northeast coast of the United States -

Jianjun Yin, Michael E. Schlesinger & Ronald J. Stouffer

doi:10.1038/ngeo462

Human-induced climate change is expected to cause sea-level rise globally as well as regionally. An analysis of state-of-the-art climate models indicates that the northeastern US coast is particularly likely to experience substantial rises in regional sea level as a result of the projected slowdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

First paragraph - Information storage | Full text - Information storage | PDF (1,958 KB) - Information storage

Olympic atmosphere -

doi:10.1038/ngeo930

Veerabhadran Ramanathan, James Schauer, Hung Nguyen and colleagues found the Beijing Olympics to be conducive to international collaboration in science, as well as sport, as they attempted to assess the effect of emission restrictions on climate forcing.

Full text - Information storage | PDF (216 KB) - Information storage