Review Articles

An increasingly ice-free Arctic Ocean could have significant implications for greenhouse-gas sources and sinks in the Northern high latitudes. In this Review, the impact of diminishing sea-ice extent on greenhouse-gas exchange in both marine and terrestrial Arctic environments is synthesised and discussed.

Earthworms play an essential part in determining the greenhouse-gas balance of soils worldwide but whether their activity moves soils towards being a net source or sink remains controversial. This Review of the overall effect of earthworms on the greenhouse-gas balance of soils suggests that although beneficial to fertility, earthworms tend to increase the net soil emissions of such gases.

Historical evidence provides a valuable context for models that predict the biological impacts of climate change, but such long-term data sets are sparse for aquatic systems. This Review outlines the potential of aquatic biochronologies — generated from the hard parts of fish, molluscs and corals — to provide long-term ecological insights into marine and freshwater environments.

Groundwater is of crucial importance for water and food security and for sustaining ecosystems. This Review assesses the likely impacts of climate change on groundwater and groundwater-driven feedbacks to the climate system.

Society's response to climate change is inevitably mediated by culture. In a Review Article that analyses important new research from across the social sciences, climate change is shown to threaten important cultural dimensions of people's lives and livelihoods — including material and lived aspects of culture, identity, community cohesion and sense of place.

This Review focuses on how policymakers and others deal with scientific information about the climate, with the aim of understanding how potentially useful information becomes used (or usable) in practice. A conceptual model of the path between usefulness and usability is presented.

Natural sciences analyse the biophysical effects of climate change, whereas social sciences estimate their consequences for humans. How we should respond to climate change depends on how we think we should live our lives, and there are many different opinions on this matter. Ethics can bring clarity and order to these ideas.

The multitude of forest die-off events within the last decade strongly suggests that forest mortality is an emerging global phenomenon, constituting a major uncertainty in projections of climate impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, climate-ecosystem interactions, and carbon-cycle feedbacks. This Review considers the societal and ecological consequences of dying forests.

Tien Shan is known as the 'water tower of Central Asia'. This article reviews evidence for regional glacier retreat and explores the implications of climate-driven changes in glacier-fed stream-flow regimes for freshwater supply, irrigation and hydropower potential, explaining how environmental change resulting from continuing glacier retreat could exacerbate regional conflicts.

Hydrological processes in the humid tropics differ from other regions in having greater energy inputs and faster rates of change. In this Review it is argued that understanding of the key hydrological interactions there remains limited, and a vision of future research designed to address these shortcomings is outlined.

More than one billion people live in regions affected by the South Asian summer monsoon. This Review provides an overview of our understanding of summer monsoon rainfall variability and its causes, and considers how the monsoon will change as a consequence of global warming.

Human stress on the environment has long been debated and different views about the human drivers of greenhouse-gas emissions have emerged. Now research synthesizes the debate by looking at empirical evidence and offers new insights on the role of human population, affluence, urbanization, trade, culture and institutions on greenhouse-gas emissions trends.

This Review discusses current knowledge regarding agriculture as a source for nitrous oxide — a major greenhouse gas. It offers an outlook on future developments about the consequences of increasing use of biofuels and the potential importance of aquaculture, as well as options for mitigation.

Substantial work has shown the potential energy and climate benefits of full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) — an important policy option to mitigate climate change — but there are still uncertainties about their market diffusion. Research shows the importance of assessing BEV diffusion from an integrated perspective, focusing on the interaction between technology and behaviour.

Converging evidence from the behavioural and brain sciences suggests that climate change fails to generate strong moral intuitions and therefore it does not stimulate an urgent need for action. However, adequate communication strategies could enhance moral intuitions about climate change and therefore motivate greater support for ameliorative actions and policies.

Global marine fisheries research shows how climate change is likely to impact the economics of world fisheries by affecting primary productivity, distribution and the potential yield of exploited species. Despite the gaps in understanding climate change effects on fisheries, the available information highlights the need for mitigation and adapation policies to minimize impacts.

The processes of abstraction, conveyance and treatment of fresh water and wastewater are all energy-intensive processes. This systematic review shows that the growing energy use and greenhouse-gas emissions from the water sector are under-recognized, suggesting the need for energy use to be further quantified and integrated into water resources management.

A tipping point occurs when an external forcing causes a qualitative change in a system. Human-induced climate change could push several large elements of the climate system, such as the Greenland ice sheet, past a tipping point. Given the severity of the potential impacts, early warning of these changes would be advantageous. This Review discusses the most promising approaches to early warning of tipping points.