Highlight articles

Increasing earthquake awareness: seismo-at-school Switzerland

Although Switzerland faces moderate seismic hazard, earthquakes represent the natural risk with the greatest impact potential. As most residents have never experienced a damaging earthquake, education is critical for raising awareness and enhancing preparedness. In a recent project, we expanded the seismo@school program in Switzerland by developing new teaching materials in four languages, related classroom activities, and by installing Raspberry Shake seismometers in schools across the country.

Internal tides–cyclonic eddy interaction and intermodal energy pathways: evidence from 3 km NEMO-AMAZON36 simulations

Our research investigates how large waves travel deep within the ocean. Using a detailed computer model, we show that when these deep waves meet giant ocean circulation, their path is dramatically changed. They can be bent off course, split apart, or stopped completely. An underwater mountain works with this circulation to transfer the wave energy between different ocean layers. Understanding this process is vital because it controls ocean mixing.

Mineral-bound organic carbon exposed by hillslope thermokarst terrain: case study in Cape Bounty, Canadian High Arctic

SOIL
DOI 10.5194/soil-12-633-2026
19 May 2026

This study examines organic carbon (OC)–mineral interactions in permafrost soils undergoing thermokarst degradation in Cape Bounty (Melville Island, Canada). Chemically stabilized OC accounts for 13 ± 5 % as organo-metallic complexes and 6 ± 2 % as associations with iron oxides. Including physical protection, up to 64 ± 10 % of OC is mineral-protected. Deeper layers show a sharp decline in mineral-bound OC, suggesting increased vulnerability to degradation when exposed by deep thaw features.

Love number computation within the Ice-sheet and Sea-level System Model (ISSM v4.24)

Presented here is a new model of the solid-Earth response to tides and mass changes in ice sheets, oceans, and groundwater, in of terms of gravity change and bedrock motion. The model is capable simulating mantle deformation including elasticity, transient and steady-state viscous flow. We detail our approach to numerical optimization, and report the accuracy of results with respect to community benchmarks. The resulting coupled system features kilometer-scale resolution and fast computation.

Impact of spectral aerosol radiative forcing at the Izaña observatory during the August 2023 extreme wildfires

This study presents a unique near-source observational analysis of the spectral radiative effects of extreme biomass-burning aerosols during the August 2023 wildfire on Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). The exceptional proximity of the wildfire to the Izaña Observatory (2400 m a.s.l.) enabled a rare characterisation of aerosol optical properties, spectral solar irradiance, and surface radiative forcing under free-tropospheric conditions.

Climate change drove Late Miocene to Pliocene rise and fall of C₄ vegetation at the crossroads of Africa and Eurasia (Anatolia, Türkiye)

We present a new stable carbon isotope dataset from Anatolian Late Miocene to Holocene soil carbonates, which reveals that C₄ grasslands emerged during Late Miocene Cooling. Uniquely, Anatolia saw a persistent return to C₃ vegetation in the Early Pliocene, which impacted mammal populations. We link the return to C₃vegetation to changes in rainfall seasonality, thereby tying ecosystem responses to climatic shifts in a hotspot of projected anthropogenic climatic change.

High-latitude eddy statistics from SWOT compared with in situ observations

We use new observations from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission (SWOT) satellite to reveal the structure of ocean eddies in the Labrador Sea at unprecedented resolution. By comparison with ship-based measurements, we show that SWOT reliably detects these features even at high latitudes, where conventional altimetry is limited. Our results provide the first detailed view of mesoscale eddies in the Labrador Sea and highlight SWOT's potential in polar regions.

Modelling primary production: multitude of theories, or multitude of languages?

Marine primary production (PP) is a key component of the Earth's climate system, but its current estimates and future projections are highly uncertain. We review the PP uncertainties and discuss their sources both across the ecosystem and satellite models. We propose to reduce the PP uncertainties by better addressing the PP model structures and parametrizations. We also argue that for many models it is desirable to consider spatial and temporal variability in the model parameter values.

Developing Guidelines for working with Multi-Model Ensembles in CMIP

Multi-model ensembles are a key approach in climate model analysis, but their use involves many complex considerations. In this work, we review relevant literature and synthesize existing studies to contribute to the development of guidelines for designing and conducting ensemble analyses. This is complemented by a collection of useful resources and a discussion of emerging trends, supported by statistics tracing the number of publications.

The Scotland–Canada overturning array (SCOTIA): twenty years of meridional overturning in the subpolar North Atlantic

The Atlantic ocean circulation that helps regulate climate is expected to weaken this century. Long-term measurements in the subtropics now show signs of weakening, but northern data are shorter and more variable. By combining several observing systems, we reconstructed northern circulation since 2004 and found strong ups and downs, but no clear long-term weakening so far.

News Highlight articles

Highlight articles

Information for

External links