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Rapid soil degradation following deforestation in Eastern Africa

Deforestation for croplands on tropical hillslopes causes severe soil degradation and loss of fertile topsoil. We found that this leads to a steep decline in soil fertility, including organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. This makes the land unproductive, often leading farmers to abandon it. Replanting with Eucalyptus trees doesn't restore fertility. This degradation leads to cropland lifespans of only 145±56 years and poses a serious threat to future food production.

On describing particle nucleation within the Volatility Basis Set

A new theory has the potential to accurately describe changes to atmospheric particle formation from the pre-industrial to the present and onwards along socioeconomic pathways addressing air pollution and climate. The model places organic nucleation in the context of the Volatility Basis Set and reveals a competition between chemistry, which accelerates as temperature rises, and vapor pressure, which drops as temperature decreases. The model reproduces observations from the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber.

Denitrification as the dominant process in nitrous oxide production in the water column of two eutrophic reservoirs

Reservoirs act as nitrogen sinks and emit nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas and major ozone-depleting substance. We studied two reservoirs and found that nitrification and denitrification produce nitrous oxide in the water column, but denitrification is the main source, fueled by fresh organic matter from phytoplankton. Our results also suggest that nitrous oxide is actively consumed. This study highlights the need to include reservoirs in global nitrous oxide budgets.

Atmospheric river trajectories organise along a global transport network

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) move vast amounts of water through the atmosphere and often cause weather extremes, yet they are usually studied as regional events. Using 84 years of mapped AR trajectories, we reveal the global "roadmap" of ARs, a transport network of high-activity hubs, sparse atmospheric highways & hierarchical basins. Our approach shows how water vapor is systematically channelled through an atmospheric transport network, offering new ways to study changes in the global water cycle.

Quantitative climate reconstruction from sedimentary ancient DNA: framework, validation and application

We introduce a new climate proxy based on plant DNA preserved in lake sediments. Validated with a large surface sample dataset and applied to a sediment record, this method provides more accurate and robust reconstructions of past climate change than traditional vegetation proxies like pollen, likely due to a higher taxonomic resolution and more localized signal.

The Pluvial Flood Index (PFI): a new instrument for evaluating flash flood hazards and facilitating real-time warning

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-26-2673-2026
10 June 2026

Pluvial (flash) floods, caused by intense local rainfall, result in surface runoff and overland flow, making them different from fluvial floods. A new Pluvial Flood Index (PFI) combines precipitation, hydrological, and hydrodynamic processes to assess surface flooding hazards. The PFI, based on flood hazard areas, helps forecast flash floods and supports real-time warning systems, aiding municipal decision-making, preparedness, and planning.

The influence of ocean waves on Antarctic sea-ice albedo and seasonal melting, and potential coupled physical and biological feedbacks

This paper advances understanding of why and how Antarctic sea ice can retreat so rapidly each summer, and identifies critical gaps in climate models, by highlighting 3 previously-neglected wave-driven processes and 5 associated feedbacks that accelerate seasonal ice melting and link physics to biology (wave flooding, wave pulverisation and wave greening). There are major implications for Earth’s radiation budget, Antarctic ecosystems and the accuracy of future sea-ice and climate projections.

Wikimpacts 1.0: a new global climate impact database based on automated information extraction from Wikipedia

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-26-2609-2026
4 June 2026

Climate extremes threaten society and ecosystems, making impact understanding critical. Wikimpacts 1.0 provides an automated pipeline processing Wikipedia texts with underexploited information on climate impacts, yielding comprehensive socio-economic impact data for 2726 climate events from 1034–2024. It offers broader storm-related impacts and finer spatial resolution than established databases, showcasing natural language processing's potential to advance climate impact data.

From real-time to long-term source apportionment of PM₁₀ using high-time-resolution measurements of aerosol physical properties: methodology and example application at an urban background site (Aosta, Italy)

RASPBERRY is a new method to identify aerosol emission sources using physical properties (particle size and light absorption) measured at high time resolution by cost-effective optical instruments, instead of labour-intensive chemical analyses. Applied over five years in Aosta, Italy, it identified six main sources – traffic, biomass burning, two types of secondary particles, desert dust, and local resuspension. Validation against chemical apportionment and real-time applications are presented.

Arctic Weather Satellite assessment and assimilation at ECMWF

Satellite data used in weather forecast models needs to be of a very high quality. Previously, this has been delivered by bus-sized satellites. The new Arctic Weather Satellite shifts this paradigm, delivering high quality observations from a small satellite. Here we analyse the performance and test its impact with a state-of-the-art weather forecast model. It compares well to heritage instruments and has a positive impact on forecast skill.

The TSUSY Database: a global database of historical tsunami events and a tsunami-occurrence criterion based on historical earthquakes

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-26-2415-2026
29 May 2026

Tsunamis can have devastating consequences, yet it remains challenging to identify which earthquakes generate them. This study presents a criterion for identifying tsunamigenic events based on numerical simulations, as well as a global database of tsunami simulations based on historical earthquakes. By comparing the results with historical records, this approach can improve tsunami identification and support tsunami warnings worldwide.

Cryptotephra in the East Antarctic Mount Brown South ice core

The ~300 m Mount Brown South ice core (MBS) was drilled in coastal East Antarctica in 2017-2018. Here, we combine atmospheric modeling, ice core chemistry, and eruption records to sample a ~20 m MBS companion core for volcanic ash. We identified two ash layers, geochemically correlated with eruptions of Mt. Erebus (1985) and Cerro Hudson (1991). This study proves long-range transport of ash to East Antarctica, validating MBS as an untapped record of high latitude Southern Hemisphere volcanism.

Shoreline exposure controls teal carbon accumulation in boreal lakes

Aquatic vegetated ecosystems are important for global carbon storage, but freshwater shorelines remain understudied. We found that the sedimentary organic carbon (SOC) stocks ranged from 0 to 40.8 kg m⁻², with a large spatial variability. Large SOC stocks were found in sheltered areas, with the predominance of fine-grained sediments. In exposed areas, vegetation might also impact SOC accumulation. Accounting for shoreline exposure is crucial for improving regional carbon budget estimates.

Stratospheric gravity waves in three high-resolution models and AIRS satellite observations

Gravity waves are small-scale processes that drive the circulation in the middle and upper atmosphere. In this work, we assess 3 new high-resolution (3-5km horizontal resolution) models against satellite data. Generally, models capture the spatial patterns and represent stratospheric northern hemisphere mountain generated waves well. However, they still underestimate amplitudes globally and struggle with the representation of southern hemispheric convective waves.

Tide of the Time: Global tidal characteristics observed from in-situ measurements

Ocean tides are a critical component of the global climate system, influencing a wide range of geophysical processes. Tide gauges have been a valuable source for developing the theory of ocean tides and for understanding their variability. We provide updated and new insights on tidal properties using the Global Extreme Sea Level Analysis tide gauge dataset, intended to be useful to a range of applications, from navigation and fishing communities to ocean scientists and tidal experts.

A novel classifier-guided ensemble framework for global terrestrial evapotranspiration estimates

Existing global evapotranspiration algorithms rely on sparse local measurements and each comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. Here, we proposed an ensemble framework that employed a machine learning system to dynamically select the most appropriate algorithm to be used across spatial and temporal scales, thus fully utilizing the distinct strengths of each method. In multi-scale validations, our framework exhibited enhanced extrapolation performance, stability, and interpretability.

Beyond discrete stratocumulus regimes: a ternary continuum of morphology reveals within-regime variability in cloud susceptibilities

We introduce a new way to describe marine low cloud morphologies as a continuous range rather than discrete types. Using this approach, we show that cloud brightness responses to changes in droplet concentrations vary strongly across cloud morphologies, but the overall effect is small. This suggests that marine cloud brightening may rely more on increasing cloud cover than on making existing clouds brighter.

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.