News & Views in 2017

Well-mixed water around 500 m depth in the Southern Ocean has been warming. Now research reveals how strengthening wind increases the volume of the warm water.

The thinning of floating ice shelves around Antarctica enhances upstream ice flow, contributing to sea-level rise. Ice-shelf thinning is now shown to influence glacial movement over much larger distances than previously thought.

Stable layering in the ocean limits the rate that human-derived carbon dioxide can acidify the deep ocean. Now observations show that ocean warming, however, can enhance deep-ocean acidification through increased organic matter decomposition.

Large, intense thunderstorms frequently cause flooding and fatalities. Now, research finds that these storms may see a threefold increase in frequency and produce significantly heavier downpours in the future, far exceeding previous estimates.

Earth system models disagree on the fate of soil organic carbon under climate change. Reproducing spatial patterns of the climatological temperature sensitivity of soil carbon is a necessary condition for trustworthy simulations of the carbon-cycle–climate feedback.

Given the complexity and multi-faceted nature of policy processes, national-level policy preferences are notoriously difficult to capture. Now, research applying an automated text mining approach helps to shed light on country-level differences and priorities in the context of marine climate issues.

There is tension in developing countries between financial incentives to clear forests and climate regulation benefits of preserving trees. Now research shows that paying private forest owners in Uganda reduced deforestation, adding to the debate on the use of monetary incentives in forest conservation.

Loss and Damage (L&D) has been gaining traction since the Paris Agreement took the issue on as a separate article, arguably creating a third pillar of international climate policy. Debate so far has led to vague definitions of the remit of the L&D mechanism; research on actor perspectives may help to propel this discourse forward.

Higher air temperatures cause roadway surfaces to deteriorate more rapidly. Now research suggests that adapting design and material selection procedures to use future climate information can dramatically decrease the damage and ensuing repair cost.

Strategies that reduce fossil-fuel use can achieve both global carbon mitigation and local health-protection goals. Now research shows the dual benefits of compact urban design and circular economy policies in Chinese cities.

A trait-based approach for assessing physiological sensitivity to climate change can connect a species' evolutionary past with its future vulnerability. Now a global assessment of freshwater and marine fishes reveals patterns of warming sensitivity, highlighting the importance of different biogeographies and identifying places where vulnerability runs high.

Data and model-based evidence suggests that future weather patterns will be more complex than simply those of the past plus background warming. Now research offers physical explanations of how short-term climate variability might adjust.

With climate change, urban development and economic growth, more assets and infrastructures will be exposed to flooding. Now research shows that investments in flood protection are globally beneficial, but have varied levels of benefit locally.

It is assumed that sea-level rise due to climate change will be so severe that those living near sea level will be forced to relocate. However, new research around a series of islands that have suffered subsidence due to a recent earthquake suggests that instead, island residents remain and use a range of strategies to adapt to regular flooding.

A weakening land–ocean temperature difference, owing to a rapidly warming Indian Ocean, has seen the Indian monsoon trending downward since the 1950s. New research gives hope for a revival in monsoon rainfall as land warming catches up with, and exceeds, ocean warming.

Ambitious greenhouse–gas emissions cuts are needed to limit the global mean annual temperature increase to 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels. A study now finds that the land sink for CO₂ appears much smaller than is currently factored into climate models, suggesting that emissions cuts may need to be even more ambitious than currently estimated.

There is widespread speculation as to whether hailstorms are getting more intense or frequent as the global climate warms. Now research suggests a potential increase in both the mean hail size and frequency of larger hail events over North America.

Permafrost soils represent a massive pool of organic carbon that could be released to the atmosphere due to future climate change. A study now shows that previously frozen soil carbon contained in peatlands may make a relatively modest contribution to future methane emissions following permafrost thaw.

Individuals are often asked to reduce their home energy consumption. But new research suggests that reminders of these personal energy savings may undermine public support for national-level policies.

Estimates of the social cost of carbon vary widely as a function of different ethical parameters. Faced with values ranging from US$10 to US$1,000 per tCO₂ and above, some perplexed policymakers have adopted 'target-consistent' carbon pricing instead.