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| Open AccessCollaborative and privacy-preserving retired battery sorting for profitable direct recycling via federated machine learning
Unsorted retired batteries pose recycling challenges due to diverse cathodes. Here, the authors propose a privacy-preserving machine learning system that enables accurate sorting with minimal data, important for a sustainable battery recycling industry.
- Shengyu Tao
- , Haizhou Liu
- & Hongbin Sun
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Article
| Open AccessMicroplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces
Microplastic uptake by animals is often assumed to reflect the level of contamination in the environment. Here, the authors compile a global inventory of individual microplastic body burden in benthic marine invertebrates and find that feeding mode and geographic location are more important predictors than environmental microplastic loading.
- Adam Porter
- , Jasmin A. Godbold
- & Tamara S. Galloway
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| Open AccessExploring interactions between socioeconomic context and natural hazards on human population displacement
Ronco and colleagues analyze disaster-induced movements in the presence of floods, storms, and landslides during 2016–2021, providing empirical evidence that differential vulnerability exists and quantifying its extent. They achieve this by employing explainable machine learning techniques to model and understand internal displacement flows and patterns from observational data.
- Michele Ronco
- , José María Tárraga
- & Gustau Camps-Valls
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| Open AccessSynthesizing evidence for the external cycling of NOx in high- to low-NOx atmospheres
External cycling regenerates nitrogen oxides from the NOx oxidative reservoir, NOz. Aircraft observations reveal NOx external cycling compensates for NOx aging, sustaining NOx distribution and production of OH radicals far from NOx emission sources
- Chunxiang Ye
- , Xianliang Zhou
- & Shaojie Song
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Article
| Open AccessMarine toxin domoic acid alters nitrogen cycling in sediments
Domoic acid, a red tide algal toxin, enhances nitrification, dissimilates nitrate reduction to ammonification in sediments, while concurrently inhibiting denitrification, anammox, and nitrogen fixation.
- Zelong Li
- , Jing Wang
- & Jingfeng Fan
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| Open AccessWarming-induced vapor pressure deficit suppression of vegetation growth diminished in northern peatlands
Growing vapor pressure deficit inhibits vegetation growth. Here, Chen et al. combine satellite and eddy covariance data with field experiments showing that plant growth in northern peatlands is not constrained by water even in the presence of a warming-induced water pressure deficit.
- Ning Chen
- , Yifei Zhang
- & Xianwei Wang
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| Open AccessRisk to rely on soil carbon sequestration to offset global ruminant emissions
While accounting for intrinsic differences between short- and long-lived greenhouse gases, solely relying on soil carbon sequestration in grasslands to offset warming effect of emissions from current ruminant systems is not feasible
- Yue Wang
- , Imke J. M. de Boer
- & Corina E. van Middelaar
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| Open AccessSurrounding greenness is associated with lower risk and burden of low birth weight in Iran
Quantifying well-being effects of greenness is of great importance for achieving the Global Nutrition Targets 2025 for low birth weight. Here, the authors show underlying health benefits of improved green space in lowering low birth weight risk and burden in Iran.
- Siqi Luo
- , Yaqi Wang
- & Yunquan Zhang
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| Open AccessExperimental mining plumes and ocean warming trigger stress in a deep pelagic jellyfish
The deep ocean is increasingly subjected to human-induced environmental change, but little is known about species-specific responses to stressors, including those from deep sea mining. This study shows that elevated temperatures and simulated sediment plumes cause physiological stress in a cosmopolitan deep-sea jellyfish, confirming the detrimental impact of seabed mining.
- Vanessa I. Stenvers
- , Helena Hauss
- & Henk-Jan T. Hoving
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| Open AccessEconomic valuation of temperature-related mortality attributed to urban heat islands in European cities
Urban heat islands have the greatest acute impacts on human mortality risk during extreme heat. However, protracted cold seasons result in greater annually integrated protective effects in most European cities under the current climate.
- Wan Ting Katty Huang
- , Pierre Masselot
- & Gabriele Manoli
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Article
| Open AccessA fish cartel for Africa
Englander and Costello note that African coastal waters are among the world’s most biologically rich, but African countries earn much less than their peers from selling access to foreign fishers. They find forming a “fish cartel" would increase African fish biomass by 16% and profits by 23%.
- Gabriel Englander
- & Christopher Costello
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| Open AccessMangrove removal exacerbates estuarine infilling through landscape-scale bio-morphodynamic feedbacks
Upstream land-use changes are transforming coastal environments around the globe. Mangrove removal aims at restoring estuarine ecosystems but counterintuitively enhances sediment trapping. More holistic management approaches are needed.
- Danghan Xie
- , Christian Schwarz
- & Barend van Maanen
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| Open AccessReversed asymmetric warming of sub-diurnal temperature over land during recent decades
The authors find a significant increase in daily maximum temperature warming rates, while daily minimum temperatures remain stable over land in recent decades. This may be due to reduced cloud cover, leading to increased incoming solar radiation.
- Ziqian Zhong
- , Bin He
- & Xiang Zhao
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| Open AccessDecarbonization potential of electrifying 50% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales by 2030
Electric vehicle sales goals alone will not achieve light duty vehicle emissions targets. Other actions including decarbonizing the electric grid, mode shifting, vehicle downsizing, reducing travel demand, and accelerating fleet turnover, are needed.
- Maxwell Woody
- , Gregory A. Keoleian
- & Parth Vaishnav
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| Open AccessCumulative effect of PM2.5 components is larger than the effect of PM2.5 mass on child health in India
Health impact of air pollution is estimated using PM2.5 mass as exposure metric. Here authors show that the impacts on child health is underestimated in India using this metric relative to the cumulative impact of the various PM2.5 components.
- Ekta Chaudhary
- , Franciosalgeo George
- & Unnati Mehta
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| Open AccessA super liquid-repellent hierarchical porous membrane for enhanced membrane distillation
Membrane distillation is an emerging desalination technology to obtain freshwater from saline based on low-grade energy. Here the authors report on novel superhydrophobic hierarchical porous membranes with enhanced distillation flux suitable for desalination or wastewater treatment.
- Youmin Hou
- , Prexa Shah
- & Hans-Jürgen Butt
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| Open AccessMortality risks from a spectrum of causes associated with sand and dust storms in China
Sand and dust storms pose considerable health risks worldwide. Here, the authors conduct a nationwide multicenter time-series study to examine sand and dust storm-associated mortality risks.
- Can Zhang
- , Meilin Yan
- & Tiantian Li
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| Open AccessCircular wood use can accelerate global decarbonisation but requires cross-sectoral coordination
Cascading and especially circular wood uses enhance climate-change mitigation achieved by forestry. In combination, these measures could cumulatively mitigate 258.8 million tonnes CO2e by 2050 in the UK but implementation barriers must be overcome.
- Eilidh J. Forster
- , John R. Healey
- & David Styles
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| Open AccessPatterns and drivers of evapotranspiration in South American wetlands
Wetlands can affect regional climate by altering surface-atmosphere interactions. This paper investigates drivers and patterns of evapotranspiration in South American wetlands, from the Amazon floodplains to the large Pantanal system.
- Ayan Santos Fleischmann
- , Leonardo Laipelt
- & Anderson Ruhoff
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| Open AccessControls of thermal response of temperate lakes to atmospheric warming
This study shows that lake heating in response to atmospheric warming slows as surface waters warm and evaporate. Lake sensitivity to warming air is higher in clear, cold, undisturbed, or elevated lakes, but declines when land-use practices fertilize basins.
- Jian Zhou
- , Peter R. Leavitt
- & Boqiang Qin
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| Open AccessAchieving health-oriented air pollution control requires integrating unequal toxicities of industrial particles
Health-oriented emissions reduction in China focusing on the iron and steel industry can reduce costs by 1.56 billion dollars while lowering the population-weighted toxic potency-adjusted exposure risk.
- Di Wu
- , Haotian Zheng
- & Jiming Hao
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| Open AccessChar dominates black carbon aerosol emission and its historic reduction in China
Black carbon (BC) is distinguished into two parts (char vs soot) in emission sources and inventories, char is revealed as the core component of China’s historical emissions and the optimal target for future BC reductions.
- Junjie Cai
- , Hongxing Jiang
- & Gan Zhang
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| Open AccessImproved human greenspace exposure equality during 21st century urbanization
A study of 1,028 global cities from 2000-2018 shows increased human exposure to greenspace, reducing greenspace inequality. Notably, cities in the Global South improved nearly four times faster than those in the Global North. These insights can guide city greening strategies.
- Shengbiao Wu
- , Bin Chen
- & Peng Gong
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| Open AccessOver 200,000 kilometers of free-flowing river habitat in Europe is altered due to impoundments
European rivers have over a million barriers hindering aquatic species migration and altering freshwater habitats. This study quantifies the spatial extent of upstream fish habitat alteration caused by physical blockage and shows that impoundments have altered 10% or 200,000 km of free-flowing river habitat in Europe.
- Piotr Parasiewicz
- , Kamila Belka
- & Wiesław Wiśniewolski
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| Open AccessRebound effects undermine carbon footprint reduction potential of autonomous electric vehicles
Autonomous electric vehicles reduce operational emissions but increase manufacturing emissions due to rebound effects. Recycling helps, but their full life cycle emits 8% more greenhouse gases. Embrace renewable energy, circular economy, cleaner manufacturing, and improved efficiency.
- Nuri C. Onat
- , Jafar Mandouri
- & Abdel Magid Hamouda
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| Open AccessCosts and health benefits of the rural energy transition to carbon neutrality in China
Electric cooking and air-to-air heat pump adoption in China advances carbon neutrality and the rural energy transition, with the transformation costs offset by monetized health benefits in most provinces.
- Teng Ma
- , Silu Zhang
- & Yang Xie
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| Open AccessReducing risks of antibiotics to crop production requires land system intensification within thresholds
Crop intensification has increased agricultural production albeit with an increase in field antibiotic pollution. Here, Chen et al. project how antibiotic pollution undermines production and how intensification needs to be kept below a threshold.
- Fangkai Zhao
- , Lei Yang
- & Liding Chen
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Article
| Open AccessCausal inference from cross-sectional earth system data with geographical convergent cross mapping
Temporal causation models perform poorly in causal inference for variables with limited temporal variations. This paper establishes a causal inference model, which can reveal the nonlinear complex casual associations based on cross-sectional Earth System data.
- Bingbo Gao
- , Jianyu Yang
- & Jinfeng Wang
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| Open AccessAir quality related equity implications of U.S. decarbonization policy
U.S. federal climate policies can reduce air pollutant emissions and associated health impacts from fine particulate matter. However, near-term CO2 reductions alone are insufficient to address racial/ethnic disparities in pollution exposure.
- Paul Picciano
- , Minghao Qiu
- & Noelle E. Selin
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| Open AccessGlobal mean nitrogen recovery efficiency in croplands can be enhanced by optimal nutrient, crop and soil management practices
Enhancing nitrogen use efficiency can improve global food production while minimizing environmental damage. Here, the authors combine 29 meta-analyses revealing that tailored practices based on local conditions can boost NUEr by 30% with variation between high- and middle-income regions.
- Luncheng You
- , Gerard H. Ros
- & Wim de Vries
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| Open AccessDrought as a possible contributor to the Visigothic Kingdom crisis and Islamic expansion in the Iberian Peninsula
Here, the authors compile pollen records from across Iberia and Morocco, comparing them with other paleohydrological and archaeological data, as well as historical sources. Using these data, they suggest that a series of strong droughts could have contributed to the decline of the Visigothic Kingdom and subsequent Islamic expansion.
- Jon Camuera
- , Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo
- & Manuel Castro-Priego
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| Open AccessDrainage network response to Arctic warming
Rapid Arctic warming may increase erosion and stream channel formation, which alters the flux of sediments, carbon, and nutrients in these sensitive ecosystems. Yet, understanding landscape change is hampered by a lack of predictive tools applicable to permafrost settings.
- Joel C. Rowland
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| Open AccessThe origin of suspended particulate matter in the Great Barrier Reef
This multidisciplinary fingerprinting study, using isotopic, structural and genetic fingerprints, has shown that the suspended particulate matter in the Great Barrier Reef does not have terrestrial origin but produced locally by marine phytoplankton
- Mohammad Bahadori
- , Chengrong Chen
- & Tom Stevens
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| Open AccessFeeding climate and biodiversity goals with novel plant-based meat and milk alternatives
Meat and dairy alternatives are promoted for diet sustainability. Here, the authors use a modelling approach to show that replacing 50% of pork, chicken, beef and milk globally with plant-based alternatives can reduce GHG emissions by 6.3 Gt CO2eq year-1 and more than half biodiversity loss by 2050.
- Marta Kozicka
- , Petr Havlík
- & Noel Gurwick
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| Open AccessGlobal land and water limits to electrolytic hydrogen production using wind and solar resources
This study composes a country-specific analysis of land and water requirements for electrolytic hydrogen production, revealing nations constrained in achieving self-sufficiency in hydrogen supply and nations who can become hydrogen exporters.
- Davide Tonelli
- , Lorenzo Rosa
- & Francesco Contino
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| Open AccessProjecting the future incidence and burden of dengue in Southeast Asia
Climate change and other factors are expected to further drive global dengue spread. This study projects changes in future dengue incidence in Southeast Asia up to 2099, predicting a peak this century. Equatorial areas will see the biggest increases, Thailand and Cambodia will show the biggest decreases in incidence.
- Felipe J. Colón-González
- , Rory Gibb
- & Oliver J. Brady
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| Open AccessReversal of trends in global fine particulate matter air pollution
Global fine particulate matter air pollution recently pivots from increase to decrease as inferred from satellite observations, driven by unprecedented exposure reduction in China and slowed exposure growth in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
- Chi Li
- , Aaron van Donkelaar
- & Randall V. Martin
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| Open AccessThe challenge of population aging for mitigating deaths from PM2.5 air pollution in China
Estimating health burden of air pollution against the background of population aging is of significance for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.9. Here, the authors show that population aging is expected to be the leading contributor to increased deaths attributable to PM2.5 in China by 2035, which will counter the positive gains achieved by improvements in air pollution and healthcare.
- Fangjin Xu
- , Qingxu Huang
- & Brett A. Bryan
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| Open AccessBioinspired “cage traps” for closed-loop lead management of perovskite solar cells under real-world contamination assessment
Potential lead contamination risk and environmental vulnerability risk impose a significant obstacle for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells. Here, the authors create a biomimetic cage traps to mitigate lead leakage and establish a sustainable closed-loop lead management process.
- Huaiqing Luo
- , Pengwei Li
- & Yanlin Song
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| Open AccessNear-term pathways for decarbonizing global concrete production
This work quantifies the climate benefits of efficiently utilizing concrete through improved material and structural design, and it shows that over 75% of CO2 emissions from global concrete production could be cut with already implementable measures
- Josefine A. Olsson
- , Sabbie A. Miller
- & Mark G. Alexander
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| Open AccessGlobal air pollution exposure and poverty
This study shows that 716 million of the world’s lowest income people live in areas with unsafe levels of air pollution, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. With limited access to healthcare, they are especially vulnerable.
- Jun Rentschler
- & Nadezda Leonova
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| Open AccessOptimal reactive nitrogen control pathways identified for cost-effective PM2.5 mitigation in Europe
Reactive nitrogen (Nr) contributes strongly to PM2.5 air pollution in Europe. Here, authors identify diverse Nr control pathways for Europe depending on emission and pollution formation and a priority of NH3 control when costs are considered.
- Zehui Liu
- , Harald E. Rieder
- & Lin Zhang
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| Open AccessShort-term particulate matter contamination severely compromises insect antennal olfactory perception
The consequences for insects of sub-lethal levels of ambient particulate matter pollution exposure have not received much attention. Here, the authors show that accumulation of particulate matter on houseflies severely compromises their olfactory and other key physiological functions.
- Qike Wang
- , Genting Liu
- & Mark A. Elgar
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Article
| Open AccessHow to make climate-neutral aviation fly
Europe’s aviation must reduce more than just flight CO2 emissions to achieve net-zero. Synthetic fuels and carbon capture and storage could help but decreasing air traffic is crucial due to non-CO2 climate impacts and resource constraints.
- Romain Sacchi
- , Viola Becattini
- & Marco Mazzotti
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| Open AccessStakeholder integration predicts better outcomes from groundwater sustainability policy
This paper shows that integrating diverse stakeholders into management plans results in better protection, especially for those most vulnerable to the impacts of natural resource depletion.
- Debra Perrone
- , Melissa M. Rohde
- & E. J. Remson
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Article
| Open AccessTracing metal footprints via global renewable power value chains
In this study, the authors report that, developed economies allocate metal-intensive-low value-added production activities to developing economies in global renewable power value chains. It necessitates building metal-efficient and green supply chains for just transition of power sector.
- Rao Fu
- , Kun Peng
- & Jiashuo Li
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| Open AccessOccurrence and backtracking of microplastic mass loads including tire wear particles in northern Atlantic air
Microplastics the marine atmosphere are a highly relevant subject, yet barely investigated. This study showed their ubiquity in the nanogram range even in remote Artic regions and depict the ocean acts as both a sink and source for microplastics
- Isabel Goßmann
- , Dorte Herzke
- & Barbara M. Scholz-Böttcher
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| Open AccessIndustrial source identification of polyhalogenated carbazoles and preliminary assessment of their global emissions
Recognition on sources of polyhalogenated carbazoles is needed to understand their environmental accumulation. Here, release of polyhalogenated carbazoles from 13 industries including 122 plants is identified and estimated.
- Yuxiang Sun
- , Lili Yang
- & Guorui Liu
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| Open AccessQuantitative evaluation of large corporate climate action initiatives shows mixed progress in their first half-decade
More companies are setting climate targets, but detailed evaluations remain scarce, raising questions on their effectiveness. Here, authors assess the progress of 102 of the largest companies in the world by revenue for the period 2015–2019.
- Ivan Ruiz Manuel
- & Kornelis Blok