News & press Highlight articles

European Geosciences Union

www.egu.eu

Highlight articles

Some features of www.egu.eu will not appear or function properly if your browser does not have JavaScript enabled, or does not support it.

Search

1457 items found

10 20 50

Towards automatic finite-element methods for geodynamics via Firedrake

Firedrake is a state-of-the-art system that automatically generates highly optimised code for simulating finite-element (FE) problems in geophysical fluid dynamics. It creates a separation of concerns between employing the FE method and implementing it. Here, we demonstrate the applicability and benefits of Firedrake for simulating geodynamical flows, with a focus on the slow creeping motion of Earth’s mantle over geological timescales, which is ultimately the engine driving our dynamic Earth.

The 852/3 CE Mount Churchill eruption: examining the potential climatic and societal impacts and the timing of the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the North Atlantic region

We assess the climatic and societal impact of the 852/3 CE Alaska Mount Churchill eruption using environmental reconstructions, historical records and climate simulations. The eruption is associated with significant Northern Hemisphere summer cooling, despite having only a moderate sulfate-based climate forcing potential; however, evidence of a widespread societal response is lacking. We discuss the difficulties of confirming volcanic impacts of a single eruption even when it is precisely dated.

Lessons from the 2018–2019 European droughts: a collective need for unifying drought risk management

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-2201-2022
19 September 2022

Recent drought events caused enormous damage in Europe. We therefore questioned the existence and effect of current drought management strategies on the actual impacts and how drought is perceived by relevant stakeholders. Over 700 participants from 28 European countries provided insights into drought hazard and impact perception and current management strategies. The study concludes with an urgent need to collectively combat drought risk via a European macro-level drought governance approach.

Effects of climate change in European croplands and grasslands: productivity, greenhouse gas balance and soil carbon storage

Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-19-3021-2022
16 September 2022

Crop and grassland production indicates a strong reduction due to the shortening of the length of the growing cycle associated with rising temperatures. Greenhouse gas emissions will increase exponentially over the century, often exceeding the CO2 accumulation of agro-ecosystems. Water demand will double in the next few decades, whereas the benefits in terms of yield will not fill the gap of C losses due to climate perturbation. Climate change will have a regionally distributed effect in the EU.

The Sun’s role in decadal climate predictability in the North Atlantic

Solar irradiance varies with a period of approximately 11 years. Using a unique large chemistry-climate model dataset, we investigate the solar surface signal in the North Atlantic and European region and find that it changes over time, depending on the strength of the solar cycle. For the first time, we estimate the potential predictability associated with including realistic solar forcing in a model. These results may improve seasonal to decadal predictions of European climate.

Data-driven automated predictions of the avalanche danger level for dry-snow conditions in Switzerland

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-2031-2022
12 September 2022

A fully data-driven approach to predicting the danger level for dry-snow avalanche conditions in Switzerland was developed. Two classifiers were trained using a large database of meteorological data, snow cover simulations, and danger levels. The models performed well throughout the Swiss Alps, reaching a performance similar to the current experience-based avalanche forecasts. This approach shows the potential to be a valuable supplementary decision support tool for assessing avalanche hazard.

Morphological controls on surface runoff: an interpretation of steady-state energy patterns, maximum power states and dissipation regimes within a thermodynamic framework

In hydrology the formation of landform patterns is of special interest as changing forcings of the natural systems, such as climate or land use, will change these structures. In our study we developed a thermodynamic framework for surface runoff on hill slopes and highlight the differences of energy conversion patterns on two related spatial and temporal scales. The results indicate that surface runoff on hill slopes approaches a maximum power state.

Agricultural intensification vs. climate change: what drives long-term changes in sediment load?

This study explored the quantitative contribution of agricultural intensification and climate change to the sediment load of a small agricultural watershed. Rather than a change in climatic conditions, changes in the land structure notably altered sediment concentrations under high-flow conditions, thereby contributing most to the increase in annual sediment loads. More consideration of land structure improvement is required when combating the transfer of soil from land to water.

Climate bifurcations in a Schwarzschild equation model of the Arctic atmosphere

Climate change is causing rapid temperature increases in the polar regions. A fundamental question is whether these temperature increases are reversible. If we control carbon dioxide emissions, will the temperatures revert or will we have passed a tipping point beyond which return to the present state is impossible? Our mathematical model of the Arctic climate indicates that under present emissions the Arctic climate will change irreversibly to a warm climate before the end of the century.

The influence of vegetation water dynamics on the ASCAT backscatter–incidence angle relationship in the Amazon

This study investigates spatial and temporal patterns in the incidence angle dependence of backscatter from the ASCAT C-band scatterometer and relates those to precipitation, humidity, and radiation data and GRACE equivalent water thickness in ecoregions in the Amazon. The results show that the ASCAT data record offers a unique perspective on vegetation water dynamics exhibiting sensitivity to moisture availability and demand and phenological change at interannual, seasonal, and diurnal scales.

Effects of rotation and topography on internal solitary waves governed by the rotating Gardner equation

Internal solitons are an important class of nonlinear waves commonly observed in coastal oceans. Their propagation is affected by the Earth’s rotation and the variation in the water depth. We consider an interplay of these factors using the corresponding extension of the Gardner equation. This model allows a limiting soliton amplitude and the corresponding increase in wavelength, making the effects of rotation and topography on a shoaling wave especially significant.

Determination of atmospheric column condensate using active and passive remote sensing technology

It is necessary to correctly evaluate the amount of cloud water resources in an area. Currently, there is a lack of effective observation methods for atmospheric column condensate evaluation. We propose a method for atmospheric column condensate by combining millimetre cloud radar, lidar and microwave radiometers. The method can realise determination of atmospheric column condensate. The variation of cloud before precipitation is considered, and the atmospheric column is deduced and obtained.

Invited perspectives: Challenges and step changes for natural hazard – perspectives from the German Committee for Disaster Reduction (DKKV)

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-1969-2022
26 August 2022

The worldwide challenge of the present as well as the future is to navigate the global community to a sustainable and secure future. Humanity is increasingly facing multiple risks under more challenging conditions. The continuation of climate change and the ever more frequent occurrence of extreme, multi-hazard, and cascading events are interacting with increasingly complex and interconnected societies.

Australian wildfire smoke in the stratosphere: the decay phase in 2020/2021 and impact on ozone depletion

We present and discuss 2 years of long-term lidar observations of the largest stratospheric perturbation by wildfire smoke ever observed. The smoke originated from the record-breaking Australian fires in 2019–2020 and affects climate conditions and even the ozone layer in the Southern Hemisphere. The obvious link between dense smoke occurrence in the stratosphere and strong ozone depletion found in the Arctic and in the Antarctic in 2020 can be regarded as a new aspect of climate change.

New insights on the prevalence of drizzle in marine stratocumulus clouds based on a machine learning algorithm applied to radar Doppler spectra

Drizzle (small rain droplets) is an important component of warm clouds; however, its existence is poorly understood. In this study, we capitalized on a machine-learning algorithm to develop a drizzle detection method. We applied this algorithm to investigate drizzle occurrence and found out that drizzle is far more ubiquitous than previously thought. This study demonstrates the ubiquitous nature of drizzle in clouds and will improve understanding of the associated microphysical process.

Glacial runoff buffers droughts through the 21st century

Global climate models suggest that droughts could worsen over the coming century. In mountain basins with glaciers, glacial runoff can ease droughts, but glaciers are retreating worldwide. We analysed how one measure of drought conditions changes when accounting for glacial runoff that changes over time. Surprisingly, we found that glacial runoff can continue to buffer drought throughout the 21st century in most cases, even as the total amount of runoff declines.

Downscaling of climate change scenarios for a high-resolution, site-specific assessment of drought stress risk for two viticultural regions with heterogeneous landscapes

We modelled water budget developments of viticultural growing regions on the spatial scale of individual vineyard plots with respect to landscape features like the available water capacity of the soils, slope, and aspect of the sites. We used an ensemble of climate simulations and focused on the occurrence of drought stress. The results show a high bandwidth of projected changes where the risk of potential drought stress becomes more apparent in steep-slope regions.

Multi-century dynamics of the climate and carbon cycle under both high and net negative emissions scenarios

We explore the long-term dynamics of Earth’s climate and carbon cycles under a pair of contrasting scenarios to the year 2300 using six models that include both climate and carbon cycle dynamics. One scenario assumes very high emissions, while the second assumes a peak in emissions, followed by rapid declines to net negative emissions. We show that the models generally agree that warming is roughly proportional to carbon emissions but that many other aspects of the model projections differ.

Gaps in network infrastructure limit our understanding of biogenic methane emissions for the United States

To understand the CH4 flux potential of natural ecosystems and agricultural lands in the United States of America, a multi-scale CH4 observation network focused on CH4 flux rates, processes, and scaling methods is required. This can be achieved with a network of ground-based observations that are distributed based on climatic regions and land cover.

Currents generated by the sea breeze in the southern Caspian Sea

The smaller thermal heat capacity of land relative to the sea results in land–sea thermal gradients with a daily cycle, called sea breeze systems, with the same daily periodicity. Since tides in the Caspian, as the largest enclosed basin with a persistent sea breeze system through the year, are very weak we found that most of the higher-frequency variations in coastal currents are a response to the sea breeze system.

Training a supermodel with noisy and sparse observations: a case study with CPT and the synch rule on SPEEDO – v.1

In this study, we present a novel formulation to build a dynamical combination of models, the so-called supermodel, which needs to be trained based on data. Previously, we assumed complete and noise-free observations. Here, we move towards a realistic scenario and develop adaptations to the training methods in order to cope with sparse and noisy observations. The results are very promising and shed light on how to apply the method with state of the art general circulation models.

Lévy noise versus Gaussian-noise-induced transitions in the Ghil–Sellers energy balance model

In most of the investigations on metastable systems, the stochastic forcing is modulated by Gaussian noise. Lévy noise laws, which describe jump processes, have recently received a lot of attention, but much less is known. We study stochastic versions of the Ghil–Sellers energy balance model, and we highlight the fundamental difference between how transitions are performed between the competing warm and snowball states, depending on whether Gaussian or Lévy noise acts as forcing.

Assessing the consequences of including aerosol absorption in potential stratospheric aerosol injection climate intervention strategies

Simulations are presented investigating the influence of moderately absorbing aerosol in the stratosphere to combat the impacts of climate change. A number of detrimental impacts are noted compared to sulfate aerosol, including (i) reduced cooling efficiency, (ii) increased deficits in global precipitation, (iii) delays in the recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole, and (iv) disruption of the stratospheric circulation and the wintertime storm tracks that impact European precipitation.

The onset of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the coastal North Sea supports the Disturbance Recovery Hypothesis

In oceanic waters, the accumulation of phytoplankton biomass in winter, when light still limits growth, is attributed to a decrease in grazing as the mixed layer deepens. However, in coastal areas, it is not clear whether winter biomass can accumulate without this deepening. Using 21 years of weekly data, we found that in the Scottish coastal North Sea, the seasonal increase in light availability triggers the accumulation of phytoplankton biomass in winter, when light limitation is strongest.

Warming of 0.5 °C may cause double the economic loss and increase the population affected by floods in China

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-1577-2022
29 July 2022

The impact of extreme events is increasing with global warming. Based on future scenario data and an improved quantitative assessment model of natural-disaster risk, this study analyses the spatial and temporal patterns of floods in China at 1.5 °C and 2 °C of global warming, quantitatively assesses the socioeconomic risks posed by floods, and determines the integrated risk levels. Global warming of 1.5 °C can effectively reduce the population affected and the economic risks of floods.

Projections of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions and the resulting global warming based on recent trends in observed abundances and current policies

The emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have increased significantly in the past as a result of the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances. Observations indicate that HFCs are used much less in certain refrigeration applications than previously projected. Current policies are projected to reduce emissions and the surface temperature contribution of HFCs from 0.28–0.44 °C to 0.14–0.31 °C in 2100. The Kigali Amendment is projected to reduce the contributions further to 0.04 °C in 2100.

Marine heatwaves in the Arabian Sea

Marine heatwaves refer to discrete, prolonged warm ocean conditions known to cause severe destruction in marine ecosystems. We find that coastal waters off the west coast of India have experienced a rapid multifold increase in heatwave days since the early 80s. This resulted in more frequent and longer marine heatwave events in the last decade. We show that the rapid warming in the Arabian Sea in the last decade is the primary cause of the observed enhanced heatwave events in this basin.

Using neural networks to improve simulations in the gray zone

Our regional numerical weather prediction models run at kilometer-scale resolutions. Processes that occur at smaller scales not yet resolved contribute significantly to the atmospheric flow. We use a neural network (NN) to represent the unresolved part of physical process such as cumulus clouds. We test this approach on a simplified, yet representative, 1D model and find that the NN corrections vastly improve the model forecast up to a couple of days.

Establishing an integrated workflow identifying and linking surface and subsurface lineaments for mineral exploration under cover: example from the Gawler Craton, South Australia

The insights of this study will help to improve our understanding on how to identify basement linear structures and how these lineaments could be related to surface lineaments or geology in the context of the Central Gawler Craton, South Australia. This contribution suggests a targeting concept for identifying the structural footprint of subsurface mineral systems by combining remotely sensed data corresponding to surface and subsurface features.

HESS Opinions: Chemical transport modeling in subsurface hydrological systems – space, time, and the “holy grail” of “upscaling”

Extensive efforts have focused on quantifying conservative chemical transport in geological formations. We assert that an explicit accounting of temporal information, under uncertainty, in addition to spatial information, is fundamental to an effective modelling formulation. We further assert that efforts to apply chemical transport equations at large length scales, based on measurements and model parameter values relevant to significantly smaller length scales, are an unattainable “holy grail”.

Technical Note: Past and future warming – direct comparison on multi-century timescales

Global mean surface temperatures are rising to levels unprecedented in over 100 000 years. This conclusion takes into account both recent global warming and likely future warming, which thereby enables a direct comparison with paleotemperature reconstructions on multi-century timescales.

The Lehtinen–Pirjola method modified for efficient modelling of geomagnetically induced currents in multiple voltage levels of a power network

The Lehtinen-Pirjola (LP) method is widely used for modelling geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) in power systems but was developed when the main aim was to model GIC in only the highest voltage level of a power network. Here we present a modification to the LP method designed to provide an efficient method for modelling GIC in multiple voltage levels. We also show how existing software can easily be converted to the new method and provide examples of calculations.

Coupling human and natural systems for sustainability: experience from China’s Loess Plateau

To understand the dynamics of a coupled human and natural system (CHANS) and promote its sustainability, we propose a conceptual “pattern-process-service-sustainability” cascade framework. The use of this framework is systematically illustrated by a review of CHANS research experience in China’s Loess Plateau in terms of coupling landscape patterns and ecological processes, linking ecological processes to ecosystem services, and promoting social-ecological sustainability.

Impact of bioenergy crop expansion on climate–carbon cycle feedbacks in overshoot scenarios

The deployment of bioenergy crops for capturing carbon from the atmosphere facilitates global warming mitigation via generating negative CO2 emissions. Here, we explored the consequences of large-scale energy crops deployment on the land carbon cycle. The land-use change for energy crops leads to carbon emissions and loss of future potential increase in carbon uptake by natural ecosystems. This impact should be taken into account by the modelling teams and accounted for in mitigation policies.

Advances in air quality research – current and emerging challenges

This review of air quality research focuses on developments over the past decade. The article considers current and future challenges that are important from air quality research and policy perspectives and highlights emerging prominent gaps of knowledge. The review also examines how air pollution management needs to adapt to new challenges and makes recommendations to guide the direction for future air quality research within the wider community and to provide support for policy.

Enhancing MAX-DOAS atmospheric state retrievals by multispectral polarimetry – studies using synthetic data

MAX-DOAS is a widely used measurement technique for the remote detection of atmospheric aerosol and trace gases. It relies on the analysis of ultra-violet and visible radiation spectra of skylight. To date, information contained in the skylight’s polarisation state has not been utilised. On the basis of synthetic data, we carried out sensitivity analyses to assess the potential of polarimetry for MAX-DOAS applications.

Low biodegradability of particulate organic carbon mobilized from thaw slumps on the Peel Plateau, NT, and possible chemosynthesis and sorption effects

Permafrost thaw-driven landslides in the western Arctic are increasing organic carbon delivered to headwaters of drainage networks in the western Canadian Arctic by orders of magnitude. Through a series of laboratory experiments, we show that less than 10% of this organic carbon is likely to be mineralized to greenhouse gases during transport in these networks. Rather most of the organic carbon is likely destined for burial and sequestration for centuries to millennia.

A stratospheric prognostic ozone for seamless Earth system models: performance, impacts and future

The stratosphere is emerging as one of the keys to improve tropospheric weather and climate predictions. This study provides evidence of the role the stratospheric ozone layer plays in improving weather predictions at different timescales. Using a new ozone modelling approach suitable for high-resolution global models that provide operational forecasts from days to seasons, we find significant improvements in stratospheric meteorological fields and stratosphere–troposphere coupling.

Comparing the transport-limited and ξ–q models for sediment transport

By comparing two models for the transport of sediment, we find that they share a similar steady-state solution that adequately predicts the shape of most depositional systems made of a fan and an alluvial plain. The length of the fan is controlled by the size of the mountain drainage area feeding the sedimentary system and its slope by the incoming sedimentary flux. We show that the models differ in their transient behaviour to external forcing and are characterized by different response times.

Uncertainty estimation with deep learning for rainfall–runoff modeling

This contribution evaluates distributional run-off predictions from deep-learning-based approaches. We propose a benchmarking setup and establish four strong baselines. The results show that accurate, precise, and reliable uncertainty estimation can be achieved with deep learning.

Full latitudinal marine atmospheric measurements of iodine monoxide

We have undertaken atmospheric iodine monoxide (IO) observations in the global marine boundary layer with a wide latitudinal coverage and sea surface temperature (SST) range. We conclude that atmospheric iodine is abundant over the Western Pacific warm pool, appearing as an iodine fountain, where ozone (O3) minima occur. Our study also found negative correlations between IO and O3 concentrations over IO maxima, which requires reconsideration of the initiation process of halogen activation.

Arctic glaciers and ice caps through the Holocene:a circumpolar synthesis of lake-based reconstructions

This paper synthesizes 66 records of glacier variations over the Holocene from lake archives across seven Arctic regions. We find that summers only moderately warmer than today drove major environmental change across the Arctic in the early Holocene, including the widespread loss of glaciers. In comparison, future projections of Arctic temperature change far exceed estimated early Holocene values in most locations, portending the eventual loss of most of the Arctic’s small glaciers.

Strong increase in thawing of subsea permafrost in the 22nd century caused by anthropogenic climate change

Thawing permafrost releases carbon to the atmosphere, enhancing global warming. Part of the permafrost soils have been flooded by rising sea levels since the last ice age, becoming subsea permafrost (SSPF). The SSPF is less studied than the part on land. In this study we use a global model to obtain rates of thawing of SSPF under different future climate scenarios until the year 3000. After the year 2100 the scenarios strongly diverge, closely connected to the eventual disappearance of sea ice.

Towards hybrid modeling of the global hydrological cycle

We present a physics-aware machine learning model of the global hydrological cycle. As the model uses neural networks under the hood, the simulations of the water cycle are learned from data, and yet they are informed and constrained by physical knowledge. The simulated patterns lie within the range of existing hydrological models and are plausible. The hybrid modeling approach has the potential to tackle key environmental questions from a novel perspective.

Evaporation enhancement drives the European water-budget deficit during multi-year droughts

Droughts are a creeping disaster, meaning that their onset, duration and recovery are challenging to monitor and forecast. Here, we provide further evidence of an additional challenge of droughts, i.e. the fact that the deficit in water supply during droughts is generally much more than expected based on the observed decline in precipitation. At a European scale we explain this with enhanced evapotranspiration, sustained by higher atmospheric demand for moisture during such dry periods.

Performance of temperature and productivity proxies based on long-chain alkane-1, mid-chain diols at test: a 5-year sediment trap record from the Mauritanian upwelling

A 5-year record of long-chain mid-chain diol export flux and composition is presented with a 1- to 3-week resolution sediment trap CBeu (in the NW African upwelling). All environmental parameters as well as the diol composition are dominated by the seasonal cycle, albeit with different phase relations for temperature and upwelling. Most diol-based proxies are dominated by upwelling. The long-chain diol index reflects temperatures of the oligotrophic summer sea surface.

101 geodynamic modelling: how to design, interpret, and communicate numerical studies of the solid Earth

Geodynamic modelling of the solid Earth provides a powerful tool to investigate processes in the Earth’s crust and mantle that are not directly observable. In this review, we present a comprehensive yet concise overview of the modelling process with an emphasis on best practices, clear communication, and synergies with related fields. Hence, this review is the perfect starting point for anyone wishing to (re)gain a solid understanding of geodynamic modelling as a whole.

Magnitude, frequency and climate forcing of global volcanism during the last glacial period as seen in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores

We employ acidity records from Greenland and Antarctic ice cores to estimate the emission strength, frequency and climatic forcing for large volcanic eruptions from the last half of the last glacial period. A total of 25 volcanic eruptions are found to be larger than any eruption in the last 2500 years, and we identify more eruptions than obtained from geological evidence. Towards the end of the glacial period, there is a notable increase in volcanic activity observed for Greenland.

A predictive viscosity model for aqueous electrolytes and mixed organic–inorganic aerosol phases

Depending on temperature and chemical makeup, certain aerosols can be highly viscous or glassy, with atmospheric implications. We have therefore implemented two major upgrades to the predictive viscosity model AIOMFAC-VISC. First, we created a new viscosity model for aqueous electrolyte solutions containing an arbitrary number of ion species. Second, we integrated the electrolyte model within the existing AIOMFAC-VISC framework to enable viscosity predictions for organic–inorganic mixtures.

Persistence of moist plumes from overshooting convection in the Asian monsoon anticyclone

The Asian monsoon anticyclone is the key contributor to the global annual maximum in lower stratospheric water vapour. We investigate the impact of deep convection on the lower stratospheric water using a unique set of observations aboard the high-altitude M55-Geophysica aircraft deployed in Nepal in summer 2017 within the EU StratoClim project. We find that convective plumes of wet air can persist within the Asian anticyclone for weeks, thereby enhancing the occurrence of high-level clouds.