Browse Articles

A firn layer covers the Earth’s ice sheets. This Review outlines techniques to observe and model changes in firn properties and meltwater retention to understand how this firn layer will respond to climate change.

Regions with low electricity generation and minor reliance on fossil fuels have the capacity to avoid fossil fuel dependence and directly transition to renewable energy systems. This Perspective explores the capacity of African countries for this transition while meeting growing electricity demands.

Coastal groundwater systems provide water resources and support ecosystems but are vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. This Review describes the expected response of coastal groundwater systems to climatic impact-drivers, interactions with anthropogenic stressors and potential ecosystem responses.

Wind-waves have important Earth system impacts. This Review outlines observed and projected changes in wind-waves for global oceans, revealing historic and future increases in wave height across the Southern and Arctic Oceans, but decreases in the North Atlantic and North Pacific.

Sonification uses non-speech audio to convey complex data patterns in both space and time, overcoming visual and language barriers to science communication. Data sonification is primed to aid interpretations of multi-dimensional Earth and environmental data streams, perhaps even revealing unrecognized patterns and feedbacks in unwieldy datasets.

An article in Geophysical Research Letters outlines that a positive trend in the Southern Annular Mode is unlikely to have caused observed cooling in Southern Ocean sea surface temperatures.

Earth’s climate responds to astronomical forcing cycles that occur over tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. This Review explores the distinct Earth-system responses to astronomical forcing over the pre-Cenozoic era and explains how astronomical cycles are used to calibrate geologic time.

Krill are food sources for megafauna, are drivers of carbon export and are being impacted by sea-ice declines and changing climate conditions. This Review examines changes in krill populations, habitats and behaviour in the Southern Ocean, and discusses their potential drivers and implications for fishery management in the future.

Volcanic eruptions are major natural hazards, but forecasting their activity remains challenging. This Review discusses scientific and monitoring approaches used to forecast magmatic eruptions.

Induced earthquakes can occur during several industrial activities, including geothermal developments and underground storage. This Review discusses the current physics-based understanding of induced earthquakes and the implications for forecasting, monitoring, seismic hazard and risk assessments and mitigation strategies.

Disaster risk communication traditionally focuses on authorities conveying hazard and risk information to at-risk populations, with little consideration of local community knowledge. To enable risk reduction and resilience, disaster management must forge partnerships with local communities and empower citizen-led initiatives.

Non-perennial segments of rivers undergo cycles of flowing, non-flowing and dry phases, influencing ecosystem dynamics and services across the river network. This Review describes the occurrence, ecology and future of these intermittent and ephemeral flows and highlights the importance of protecting these segments.

Various methods of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) are being pursued in response to the climate crisis, but they are mostly not proven at scale. Climate experts are divided over whether CDR is a necessary requirement or a dangerous distraction from limiting emissions. In this Viewpoint, six experts offer their views on the CDR debate.

Warmer temperatures, increased CO₂ concentrations and changing water availability affect cereal crop production. This Review examines changes in crop yield in response to these variables and discusses adaptation strategies.

An article in Soil & Environmental Health finds ghost forests are distinct from freshwater forested wetlands and salt marshes.

An article in Marine Policy assessed the abundance and causes of discarded fishing gear in Kerala, India, to help inform fishing debris management practices.

Widespread use of salts in food, construction, road deicing and industry is driving salinization of water, soil and air. This Review describes the anthropogenic salt cycle, compares it with natural processes and examines its environmental consequences.

An article in Space Weather estimates that an event like the Halloween solar storm of 2003 could cause large economic losses in the aviation sector if it occurred in the present day.