Highlight articles

Coordinating an operational data distribution network for CMIP6 data

The distribution of data contributed to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) is via the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). The ESGF is a network of internationally distributed sites that together work as a federated data archive.

Evolution of events before and after the 17 June 2017 rock avalanche at Karrat Fjord, West Greenland – a multidisciplinary approach to detecting andlocating unstable rock slopes in a remote Arctic area

The 17 June 2017 Karrat landslide in Greenland caused a tsunami that killed four people. We apply a multidisciplinary workflow to reconstruct a timeline of events and find that three historic landslides occurred in 2009, 2016, and 2017. We also find evidence of much older periods of landslide activity. Three newly discovered active slopes might pose a future hazard. We speculate that the trigger for the recent events is melting permafrost due to a warming climate.

Tectonic exhumation of the Central Alps recorded by detrital zircon in theMolasse Basin, Switzerland

Solid Earth
DOI 10.5194/se-11-2197-2020
23 December 2020

We present new U–Pb age data to provide insights into the source of sediment for the Molasse Sedimentary Basin in Switzerland. The paper aims to help shed light on the processes that built the Central Alpine Mountains between ~35 and ~15 Ma. A primary conclusion drawn from the results is that at ~21 Ma there was a significant change in the sediment sources for the basin. We feel this change indicates major tectonic changes within the Central Alps.

European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regionalclimate models (RCMs) andhigh-resolution globalclimate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP)

Now that global climate models (GCMs) can run at similar resolutions to regional climate models (RCMs), one may wonder whether GCMs and RCMs provide similar regional climate information. We perform an evaluation for daily precipitation distribution in PRIMAVERA GCMs (25–50 km resolution) and CORDEX RCMs (12–50 km resolution) over Europe. We show that PRIMAVERA and CORDEX simulate similar distributions. Considering both datasets at such a resolution results in large benefits for impact studies.

The Making of the New European Wind Atlas – Part 2: Production and evaluation

This is the second of two papers that document the creation of the New European Wind Atlas (NEWA). The paper includes a detailed description of the technical and practical aspects that went into running the mesoscale simulations and the microscale downscaling for generating the climatology. A comprehensive evaluation of each component of the NEWA model chain is presented using observations from a large set of tall masts located all over Europe.

Topographic controls on divide migration, stream capture, anddiversification in riverine life

Organisms evolve in ever-changing environments under complex process interactions. We applied a new software modelling tool to assess how changes in river course impact the evolution of riverine species. Models illustrate the climatically and tectonically forced landscape changes that can drive riverine biodiversity, especially where topographic relief is low. This research demonstrates that river course changes can contribute to the high riverine biodiversity found in real-world lowland basins.

Impact of horizontal resolution on global ocean–sea ice model simulationsbased on the experimental protocols of the Ocean Model IntercomparisonProject phase 2 (OMIP-2)

This paper presents global comparisons of fundamental global climate variables from a suite of four pairs of matched low- and high-resolution ocean and sea ice simulations to assess the robustness of climate-relevant improvements in ocean simulations associated with moving from coarse (∼1°) to eddy-resolving (∼0.1°) horizontal resolutions. Despite significant improvements, greatly enhanced horizontal resolution does not deliver unambiguous bias reduction in all regions for all models.

Dominant process zones in a mixed fluvial–tidal delta are morphologically distinct

We propose a machine learning approach for the classification and analysis of large delta systems. The approach uses remotely sensed data, channel network extraction, and the analysis of 10 metrics to identify clusters of islands with similar characteristics. The 12 clusters are grouped in six main classes related to morphological processes acting on the system. The approach allows us to identify spatial patterns in large river deltas to inform modeling and the collection of field observations.

Timing of exotic, far-traveled boulder emplacement and paleo-outburstflooding in the central Himalayas

Large boulders found in two Himalayan valleys show signs of long fluvial transport (>10 km). Paleo-discharges required to mobilize these boulders exceed typical monsoon discharges. Exposure dating shows that a cluster of these boulders was emplaced ca. 5 kyr ago. This period is coeval with a weakening of the Indian monsoon and glacier retreat in the area. We, therefore, suggest that glacier lake outburst floods are likely mechanisms that can explain these exceptional transport processes.

An improved mechanistic model for ammonia volatilization in Earth system models: Flow of Agricultural Nitrogen version 2 (FANv2)

Mostly emitted by the agricultural sector, ammonia has an important role in atmospheric chemistry. We developed a model to simulate how ammonia emissions respond to changes in temperature and soil moisture, and we evaluated agricultural ammonia emissions globally. The simulated emissions agree with earlier estimates over many regions, but the results highlight the variability of ammonia emissions and suggest that emissions in warm climates may be higher than previously thought.

GM Geomorphology Highlight articles

Highlight articles

Coordinating an operational data distribution network for CMIP6 data

Evolution of events before and after the 17 June 2017 rock avalanche at Karrat Fjord, West Greenland – a multidisciplinary approach to detecting andlocating unstable rock slopes in a remote Arctic area

Tectonic exhumation of the Central Alps recorded by detrital zircon in theMolasse Basin, Switzerland

European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regionalclimate models (RCMs) andhigh-resolution globalclimate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP)

The Making of the New European Wind Atlas – Part 2: Production and evaluation

Topographic controls on divide migration, stream capture, anddiversification in riverine life

Impact of horizontal resolution on global ocean–sea ice model simulationsbased on the experimental protocols of the Ocean Model IntercomparisonProject phase 2 (OMIP-2)

Dominant process zones in a mixed fluvial–tidal delta are morphologically distinct

Timing of exotic, far-traveled boulder emplacement and paleo-outburstflooding in the central Himalayas

An improved mechanistic model for ammonia volatilization in Earth system models: Flow of Agricultural Nitrogen version 2 (FANv2)

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