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Constraining climate sensitivity is a top priority for climate science. Now research shows that the details of how stratospheric ozone is represented in models can have a strong influence on warming projections.
Global models highlight that environmental change in marine ecosystems is caused by multiple stressors. Now a study puts these projections into a biogeographical framework suitable for integration with wider biological understanding and more robust impact assessment.
Non-genetic transgenerational acclimation cannot always be relied upon to provide populations with an effective, short-term response to climatic changes.
Interactions between soil microbes, the physical soil environment and vegetation will determine the magnitude of the terrestrial carbon sink under climate change.
Direct experience of global warming is expected to increase the number of people who accept that it is real and human-caused. A study now shows that people's perceptions about abnormal temperatures mostly match actual measurements but do not affect climate change beliefs.
Many international river basins are suffering from climate-driven impacts, with implications for national security. Now, research highlights the need to analyse shifting river boundaries to better understand potential socio-political threats.
Natural climate variability complicates the detection of anthropogenic climate change in the twenty-first century. Now, research shows that evidence of human influence first emerges from sea level rather than temperature rise.
The regular beat of the seasons and between day and night are far more noticeable than recent increases in surface temperature. Researchers now show that these rhythms are changing in a way that parallels the pattern of long-term surface warming.
In recent decades, over nine-tenths of Earth's top-of-the-atmosphere energy imbalance has been stored in the ocean, which is rising as it warms. Combining satellite sea-level data with ocean mass data or model results allows insights into ocean warming.
Climate change mitigation can benefit human health by reducing air pollution. Research now shows that the economic value of health improvements can substantially outweigh mitigation costs, and that more flexible policies could have higher benefits.
Low oxygen levels in tropical oceans shape marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry, and climate change is expected to expand these regions. Now a study indicates that regional dynamics control tropical oxygen trends, bucking projected global reductions in ocean oxygen.
Land-use change from pre-industrial times to the present day has altered Earth's surface energy balance. Until now, the role of volatile hydrocarbons, emitted by plants, in controlling this balance and driving climate change has been overlooked.
Increasing temperatures are expected to increase decomposition rates in soils, potentially reducing ecosystem carbon storage. Research now indicates that — in a tropical montane forest — soil carbon stocks are unaffected by higher temperatures despite substantially increased rates of CO2 release from the soil.
City-level policies have often been unable to limit natural disaster losses. Research on New York City now shows progress in devising flexible adaptation policies that accept uncertainty about future climate-related risks and work around it.
Courageous steps are required to reform the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. To this end, an independent carbon authority has been proposed — this is a move in the right direction, but should be part of a much broader discussion about reforming emissions trading.
The long-held assumption that the storage of starch and related compounds helps plants cope with drought stress is now supported by much needed experimental evidence.
Severe air pollution episodes are caused by certain types of weather. Now, research suggests these meteorological conditions will become more common due to climate change.
Sugar cane ethanol replaces fossil fuels, but changes in soil carbon could offset some of the benefit. Now, a study shows minor loss of soil carbon when pastures and croplands are converted to cane, but larger losses when converting native savannahs.
