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Combining historical aerial surveys, expedition photographs, and both spy and modern satellite imagery reveals a pronounced retreat of peripheral glaciers in east and west Greenland, linked to changes in precipitation associated with the NAO.
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 subduction of Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) moves heat into the upper ocean. Changes in wind forcing has thickened, deepened and warmed SAMW; increases in wind forcing could further deepen this water mass, increasing ocean heat content.
Climate change is predicted to increase soil carbon losses. However, manipulation experiments suggest detritivore feeding activity — a key driver of organic matter decomposition — will decline with warming and drying, reducing positive soil feedbacks.
Effective integration of climate knowledge into policy requires trust between climate science producers and users. This Perspective identifies risks associated with the dynamics of trust at the climate science–policy interface and how they may be overcome.
Global cooperation is required to address climate change. In the Arctic region, the abatement of black carbon can be achieved by countries taking self-interested action, whereas methane abatement requires more cooperation due to its diffuse geographical impacts.
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.
Ice loss from Antarctica is sensitive to changes in ice shelves. Finite-element modelling reveals that localized ice-shelf thinning, particularly in locations vulnerable to warm water intrusion, can have far-reaching impacts via tele-buttressing.
The cost of preserving ecosystem storage of carbon varies depending on local land-use and socio-political pressures. A survey of experts suggests a cost-minimizing distribution would be more effective for mitigation than equitable distribution.
Climate impact models have a limited ability to represent risks to the poor and vulnerable. Wider adoption of best practices and new model features that incorporate social heterogeneity and different policy mechanisms are needed to address this shortcoming.
Many of the measures required to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals while complementing decarbonization efforts required to reduce long-term climate change.
After years of working towards a climate accord, the Paris Agreement of 2015 marked the shift from negotiating to reach consensus on climate action to implementation of such action. The challenge now is to ensure transparency in the processes and identify the details of what is required.
Debate over effective climate change communication must be grounded in rigorous affective science. Rather than treating emotions as simple levers to be pulled to promote desired outcomes, emotions should be viewed as one integral component of a cognitive feedback system guiding responses to challenging decision-making problems.
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.
Changes in deep-water ventilation could potentially cause acidification from organic matter breakdown. The Sea of Japan has an acidification rate 27% higher at depth than at the surface, showing how reduced ventilation from warming could impact the deep ocean.