Research Briefing in 2023

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  • A statistical analysis of data from global surveys reveals that soils react to the number of stressors as well as to the individual stressor types. Moreover, the increasing number of stressors above a critical threshold reduces soil biodiversity and impedes the delivery of various ecosystem processes.

    Research Briefing
  • Causal links between plankton taxa were inferred using long-term data from ten Swiss lakes, revealing the effect of warming and nutrient levels on entire ecological networks. The resulting model suggests that warming generally reduces the number of network interactions and alters which taxa control the food webs.

    Research Briefing
  • An integrated Earth system analysis is applied to project the probability of sequential hazards from tropical cyclones along the US East and Gulf coasts. Even a moderate-emissions scenario increases the chances of back-to-back tropical cyclone hazards and, possibly, two extreme tropical cyclone events impacting the United States within a short period of time.

    Research Briefing
  • Using empirical models to estimate changes in carbon stocks reveals that climate change could lead to tropical regions losing 6.8–12% of the total carbon they stored in 1950 by 2100, with the highest losses in the southeastern Amazon. Under a higher emissions scenario, total carbon losses from the tropics could double.

    Research Briefing
  • Over the past four decades, Arctic sea ice has experienced a drastic decline in winter when it is recovering from summer melt. Observations and model simulations reveal that atmospheric rivers are more frequently reaching the Arctic in winter, preventing the sea ice from growing to the extent that is possible at the freezing temperature.

    Research Briefing
  • Statistical analysis of a climate institutions dataset has identified four national models of climate governance used across countries with high emissions. These models are associated with the climate policy ambition and performance of each country. This analysis reveals that the effectiveness of climate policymaking could be strengthened by building climate institutions.

    Research Briefing
  • A meta-analysis reveals that a steep and immediate uptick in investment in climate-relevant infrastructure is needed to reach net-zero pathways in Europe. The investment needs are further intensified by the ambition to become independent from Russian gas imports and highlight the importance of redirecting finance flows with adequate green financial policies.

    Research Briefing