Limnology articles within Nature Geoscience

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Earth system models project that lake temperatures will warm beyond the range of natural variability to which aquatic ecosystems are adapted in the coming decades, with conditions exceeding natural analogues sooner at lower latitudes.

    • Lei Huang
    • , R. Iestyn Woolway
    •  & Ryohei Yamaguchi

  • Research Briefing |

    Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau are projected to expand significantly, increasing in area by approximately 50% by 2100 under a low emissions scenario. This expansion will reshape the hydrological connectivity of the lake basins, and submerge a large number of roads, settlements, and ecological components.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Over the past 620,000 years, three distinct phases of climate variability in eastern Africa coincided with shifts in hominin evolution and dispersal, according to an analysis of environmental proxy records from a core collected in the Chew Bahir basin of Ethiopia.

    • Verena Foerster
    • , Asfawossen Asrat
    •  & Martin H. Trauth

  • Editorial |

    Wetlands provide a wealth of societal and climatic benefits. Balanced conservation strategies are needed to ensure their protection in the twenty-first century and beyond.

  • News & Views |

    Turbidites record ground motion in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. Recent events are now revealing how turbidites record earthquakes, but turbidites are triggered in many ways, and testing if ancient turbidites are earthquake-triggered remains challenging.

    • Peter J. Talling

  • Article |

    Tropical deforestation induces the loss and transport of old and biolabile soil organic carbon into rivers, suggest analyses of dissolved organic matter in deforested and pristine catchments in the Congo Basin. The mobilized soil carbon is likely to turn into a carbon source.

    • Travis W. Drake
    • , Kristof Van Oost
    •  & Robert G. M. Spencer

  • Article |

    Many lakes that currently mix once or twice a year may become permanently stratified or mix only once in a warming climate, suggest numerical simulations of lake mixing regimes. Mixing regimes are most affected by ice-cover duration and surface temperatures.

    • R. Iestyn Woolway
    •  & Christopher J. Merchant

  • Article |

    Bubble-mediated gas exchange in high-energy streams accelerates faster as energy dissipation intensifies than does turbulent-diffusion-driven gas exchange in low-energy streams, according to an analysis of new measurements and published data.

    • Amber J. Ulseth
    • , Robert O. Hall Jr
    •  & Tom J. Battin

  • News & Views |

    Most of the net water transferred over the past 15 years from non-glaciated land to the oceans has originated from landlocked basins, according to satellite data. This source of sea-level rise is often overlooked.

    • Tamlin M. Pavelsky

  • Article |

    Rivers in the Western Siberian Lowland, the world’s largest peatland, play a significant role in the release of terrestrial carbon to the atmosphere, according to in situ measurements of carbon dioxide emissions from rivers.

    • S. Serikova
    • , O. S. Pokrovsky
    •  & J. Karlsson

  • Editorial |

    The world's inland waters are under siege. A system-level view of watersheds is needed to inform both our scientific understanding and management decisions for these precious resources.

  • Perspective |

    Many of the world's saline lakes have been shrinking due to consumptive water use. The Great Salt Lake, USA, provides an example for how the health of and ecosystem services provided by saline lakes can be sustained.

    • Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh
    • , Craig Miller
    •  & Johnnie Moore

  • Article |

    Subglacial lakes contain active microbial ecosystems capable of cycling methane. In a subglacial lake in West Antarctica, methane that is produced is subsequently consumed, limiting the potential for methane emissions during lake drainage.

    • Alexander B. Michaud
    • , John E. Dore
    •  & John C. Priscu

  • Article |

    Dissolved inorganic carbon is buried in dryland basins that do not drain to the sea. Based on measurements of sediment chemistry in twelve of these sites, closed basins are estimated to store 0.15 Pg of dissolved inorganic carbon annually.

    • Yu Li
    • , Chengqi Zhang
    •  & Wangting Ye

  • Article |

    Inland waters are important sources of greenhouse gases. Measurements over eight years suggest that African inland waters are a substantial source of greenhouse gases, equivalent to a quarter of the global land and ocean carbon sink.

    • Alberto V. Borges
    • , François Darchambeau
    •  & Steven Bouillon

  • Letter |

    Carbon dioxide emissions from lakes contribute to the continental carbon balance. Water chemistry analyses of reservoirs in Spain suggest that carbonate weathering causes CO2 supersaturation in lakes above a threshold alkalinity.

    • Rafael Marcé
    • , Biel Obrador
    •  & Joan Armengol

  • News & Views |

    The classical view of fluvial sediment transport considers only physical interactions between the river flow and riverbed particles. Experiments and theory suggest that microbial biofilms reduce sediment mobility by binding many grains together.

    • Aaron Packman

  • Letter |

    In spring 2011, a record-breaking flood necessitated diversion of water from the lower Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya River Basin. A comparison between the dynamics in the two basins based on field-calibrated satellite observations and in situ data suggests that river-mouth dynamics and wetland sedimentation are directly linked.

    • Federico Falcini
    • , Nicole S. Khan
    •  & Douglas J. Jerolmack

  • Commentary |

    Estimates of stream and river area have relied on observations at coarse resolution. Consideration of the smallest and most dynamic streams could reveal a greater role for river networks in global biogeochemical cycling than previously thought.

    • Jonathan P. Benstead
    •  & David S. Leigh

  • Letter |

    Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that destroys stratospheric ozone. Measurements of nitrous oxide emissions from a Canadian river suggest that future increases in nitrate export to rivers will not necessarily lead to higher nitrous oxide emissions, but more widespread hypoxia most likely will.

    • Madeline S. Rosamond
    • , Simon J. Thuss
    •  & Sherry L. Schiff

  • News & Views |

    The southeastern US coastline is under threat as land subsides and sea level rises. Measurements of the 2011 Mississippi River flood suggest that the river carries enough sandy sediment to offset some of this coastal drowning.

    • Wonsuck Kim

  • Article |

    The expansion of land plants led to the development of new river and floodplain morphologies. Field studies suggest that the expansion of tree habitats in the Carboniferous period caused the development of river systems dominated by multiple channels and stable alluvial islands.

    • Neil S. Davies
    •  & Martin R. Gibling

  • News & Views |

    How groundwater flow varies when long-term external conditions change is little documented. Geochemical evidence shows that sea-level rise at the end of the last glacial period led to a shift in the flow patterns of coastal groundwater beneath Florida.

    • Ward E. Sanford

  • Letter |

    Sea-level fluctuations can have a profound impact on coastal groundwater circulation. The geochemistry of groundwater in the Floridan aquifer system suggests that the fresh water in the upper aquifer was emplaced primarily during the last glacial period, when sea level was more than 100 m lower than at present.

    • Sheila K. Morrissey
    • , Jordan F. Clark
    •  & Martin Stute

  • Letter |

    River canyons are thought to be cut slowly over millions of years. However, at Lake Canyon Gorge, Texas, a seven-metre-deep canyon was cut in just three days in 2002, providing insight into the erosion processes operating during megaflood events.

    • Michael P. Lamb
    •  & Mark A. Fonstad

  • News & Views |

    Arsenic occurs naturally in the groundwater of southern Asia. Analyses of an agricultural site in Bangladesh suggest that human activities, including widespread farming practices, can dictate where elevated arsenic is found.

    • Shawn Benner

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