Upwelled plankton community modulates surface bloom succession and nutrient availability in a natural plankton assemblage Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-19-5911-2022 24 February 2023 We investigated how different deep water chemistry and biology modulate the response of surface phytoplankton communities to upwelling in the Peruvian coastal zone. Our results show that the most influential drivers were the ratio of inorganic nutrients (N:P) and the microbial community present in upwelling source water. These led to unexpected and variable development in the phytoplankton assemblage that could not be predicted by the amount of inorganic nutrients alone. Read more
The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report WGIII climate assessment of mitigation pathways: from emissions to global temperatures Geoscientific Model Development DOI 10.5194/gmd-15-9075-2022 22 February 2023 Assessing hundreds or thousands of emission scenarios in terms of their global mean temperature implications requires standardised procedures of infilling, harmonisation, and probabilistic temperature assessments. We here present the open-source “climate-assessment” workflow that was used in the IPCC AR6 Working Group III report. The paper provides key insight for anyone wishing to understand the assessment of climate outcomes of mitigation pathways in the context of the Paris Agreement. Read more
Product distribution, kinetics, and aerosol formation from the OH oxidation of dimethyl sulfide under different RO2 regimes Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-16003-2022 20 February 2023 The atmospheric oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a major natural source of sulfate particles in the atmosphere. However, its mechanism is poorly constrained. In our work, laboratory measurements and mechanistic modelling were conducted to comprehensively investigate DMS oxidation products and key reaction rates. We find that the peroxy radical (RO2) has a controlling effect on product distribution and aerosol yield, with the isomerization of RO2 leading to the suppression of aerosol yield. Read more
Quantification of blue carbon in salt marshes of the Pacific coast of Canada Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-19-5751-2022 17 February 2023 Salt marshes are thought to be important carbon sinks because of their ability to store carbon in their soils. We provide the first estimates of how much blue carbon is stored in salt marshes on the Pacific coast of Canada. We find that the carbon stored in the marshes is low compared to other marshes around the world, likely because of their young age. Still, the high marshes take up carbon at rates faster than the global average, making them potentially important carbon sinks in the future. Read more
Reconstructing Holocene temperatures in time and space using paleoclimate data assimilation Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-2599-2022 15 February 2023 To look at climate over the past 12 000 years, we reconstruct spatial temperature using natural climate archives and information from model simulations. Our results show mild global mean warmth around 6000 years ago, which differs somewhat from past reconstructions. Undiagnosed seasonal biases in the data could explain some of the observed temperature change, but this still would not explain the large difference between many reconstructions and climate models over this period. Read more
Solar wind magnetic holes can cross the bow shock and enter the magnetosheath Annales Geophysicae DOI 10.5194/angeo-40-687-2022 13 February 2023 Magnetic holes are curious localized dropouts of magnetic field strength in the solar wind (the flow of ionized gas continuously streaming out from the sun). In this paper we show that these magnetic holes can cross the bow shock (where the solar wind brake down to subsonic velocity) and enter the region close to Earth’s magnetosphere. These structures may therefore represent a new type of non-uniform solar wind–magnetosphere interaction. Read more
Rapid attribution analysis of the extraordinary heat wave on the Pacific coast of the US and Canada in June 2021 Earth System Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esd-13-1689-2022 10 February 2023 In June 2021, the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada saw record temperatures far exceeding those previously observed. This attribution study found such a severe heat wave would have been virtually impossible without human-induced climate change. Assuming no nonlinear interactions, such events have become at least 150 times more common, are about 2 ℃ hotter and will become even more common as warming continues. Therefore, adaptation and mitigation are urgently needed to prepare society. Read more
Validation of the Aeolus L2B wind product with airborne wind lidar measurements in the polar North Atlantic region and in the tropics Atmospheric Measurement Techniques DOI 10.5194/amt-15-7049-2022 8 February 2023 In August 2018, the first wind lidar Aeolus was launched into space and has since then been providing data of the global wind field. The primary goal of Aeolus was the improvement of numerical weather prediction. To verify the quality of Aeolus wind data, DLR performed four airborne validation campaigns with two wind lidar systems. In this paper, we report on results from the two later campaigns, performed in Iceland and the tropics. Read more
Estimating emissions of methane consistent with atmospheric measurements of methane and δ13C of methane Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-15351-2022 6 February 2023 Atmospheric methane (CH4) has been growing steadily since 2007 for reasons that are not well understood. Here we determine sources of methane using a technique informed by atmospheric measurements of CH₄ and its isotopologue 13CH4. Measurements of 13CH4 provide for better separation of microbial, fossil, and fire sources of methane than CH4 measurements alone. Compared to previous assessments such as the Global Carbon Project, we find a larger microbial contribution to the post-2007 increase. Read more
Size, shape and orientation matter: fast and semi-automatic measurement of grain geometries from 3D point clouds Earth Surface Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esurf-10-1211-2022 3 February 2023 The morphology and size of sediments influence erosion efficiency, sediment transport and the quality of aquatic ecosystem. In turn, the spatial evolution of sediment size provides information on the past dynamics of erosion and sediment transport. We have developed a new software which semi-automatically identifies and measures sediments based on 3D point clouds. This software is fast and efficient, offering a new avenue to measure the geometrical properties of large numbers of sediment grains. Read more
Evidence of localised Amazon rainforest dieback in CMIP6 models Earth System Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esd-13-1667-2022 1 February 2023 Despite little evidence of regional Amazon rainforest dieback, many localised abrupt dieback events are observed in the latest state-of-the-art global climate models under anthropogenic climate change. The detected dieback events would still cause severe consequences for local communities and ecosystems. This study suggests that 7±5 % of the northern South America region would experience abrupt downward shifts in vegetation carbon for every degree of global warming past 1.5 °C. Read more
The evolution and dynamics of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai sulfate aerosol plume in the stratosphere Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022 30 January 2023 The long-duration atmospheric impact of the Tonga eruption in January 2022 is a plume of water and sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere that persisted for more than 6 months. We study this evolution using several satellite instruments and analyse the unusual behaviour of this plume as sulfates and water first moved down rapidly and then separated into two layers. We also report the self-organization in compact and long-lived patches. Read more
Exploring TikTok as a promising platform for geoscience communication Geoscience Communication DOI 10.5194/gc-5-363-2022 27 January 2023 To determine the best strategies for geoscience communication on TikTok, we created a TikTok account called “Terra Explore”. We produced 48 educational geoscience videos and evaluated each video’s performance. Our most-viewed videos received nearly all of their views from TikTok’s algorithmic recommendation feed, and the videos that received the most views were related to a recent newsworthy event (e.g., earthquake) or explained the geology of a recognizable area. Read more
Internal tides off the Amazon shelf during two contrasted seasons: interactions with background circulation and SSH imprints Ocean Science DOI 10.5194/os-18-1591-2022 25 January 2023 This high-resolution model-based study investigates the variability in the generation, propagation, and sea height signature (SSH) of the internal tide off the Amazon shelf during two contrasted seasons. ITs propagate further north during the season characterized by weak currents and mesoscale eddies and a shallow and strong pycnocline. IT imprints on SSH dominate those of the geostrophic motion for horizontal scales below 200 km; moreover, the SSH is mainly incoherent below 70 km. Read more
Global biomass burning fuel consumption and emissions at 500m spatial resolution based on the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED) Geoscientific Model Development DOI 10.5194/gmd-15-8411-2022 23 January 2023 We present a global fire emission model based on the GFED model framework with a spatial resolution of 500 m. The higher resolution allowed for a more detailed representation of spatial heterogeneity in fuels and emissions. Specific modules were developed to model, for example, emissions from fire-related forest loss and belowground burning. Results from the 500 m model were compared to GFED4s, showing that global emissions were relatively similar but that spatial differences were substantial. Read more
Building confidence in STEM students through breaking (unseen) barriers Geoscience Communication DOI 10.5194/gc-5-355-2022 20 January 2023 Science, technology, engineering, and maths subjects have historically struggled to be inclusive to students from diverse backgrounds. We outline here an outreach course designed to improve critical thinking for people in prison. Based on course feedback, we share advice for working with students who do not engage in formal education – specifically those who have low self-confidence. We focus on how to create a classroom dynamic that is accessible, inclusive, and relatable to all students. Read more
The climate impact of hydrogen-powered hypersonic transport Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-14323-2022 18 January 2023 Very fast aircraft can travel long distances in extremely short times and can fly at high altitudes (15 to 35 km). These aircraft emit water vapour, nitrogen oxides, and hydrogen. Water vapour emissions remain for months to several years at these altitudes and have an important impact on temperature. We investigate two aircraft fleets flying at 26 and 35 km. Ozone is depleted more, and the water vapour perturbation and temperature change are larger for the aircraft flying at 35 km. Read more
Highest methane concentrations in an Arctic river linked to local terrestrial inputs Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-19-5059-2022 16 January 2023 Permafrost thaw releases methane that can be emitted into the atmosphere or transported by Arctic rivers. Methane measurements are lacking in large Arctic river regions. In the Kolyma River (northeast Siberia), we measured dissolved methane to map its distribution with great spatial detail. The river’s edge and river junctions had the highest methane concentrations compared to other river areas. Microbial communities in the river showed that the river’s methane likely is from the adjacent land. Read more
Improving interpretation of sea-level projections through a machine-learning-based local explanation approach The Cryosphere DOI 10.5194/tc-16-4637-2022 13 January 2023 To improve the interpretability of process-based projections of the sea-level contribution from land ice components, we apply the machine-learning-based “SHapley Additive exPlanations” approach to a subset of a multi-model ensemble study for the Greenland ice sheet. This allows us to quantify the influence of particular modelling decisions (related to numerical implementation, initial conditions, or parametrisation of ice-sheet processes) directly in terms of sea-level change contribution. Read more
Not all types of secondary organic aerosol mix: two phases observed when mixing different secondary organic aerosol types Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-13783-2022 11 January 2023 The number of condensed phases in mixtures of different secondary organic aerosol (SOA) types determines their impact on air quality and climate. Here we observe the number of phases in individual particles that contain mixtures of two different types of SOA. We find that SOA mixtures can form one- or two-phase particles, depending on the difference in the average oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) ratios of the two SOA types that are internally mixed within individual particles. Read more
Dynamics of the Great Oxidation Event from a 3D photochemical–climate model Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-2421-2022 9 January 2023 In the context of understanding the 3D photochemical effect on the Earth’s oxygenation that happened around 2.4 Ga, we developed a 3D photochemical–climate model to investigate the possible impact of atmospheric circulation and the coupling between the climate and the dynamics of oxidation. We show that the diurnal, seasonal and transport variations do not bring significant changes compared to 1D models. Nevertheless, we highlight a temperature dependence for atmospheric photochemical losses. Read more
Is it possible to estimate aerosol optical depth from historic colour paintings? Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-2345-2022 6 January 2023 This study investigates the possibility of inferring information on aerosol optical depth from photographs of historic paintings. The idea – which has been applied in previous studies – is very interesting because it would provide an archive of the atmospheric aerosol loading covering many centuries. We show that twilight colours depend not only on the aerosol optical thickness, but also on several other parameters, making a quantitative estimate of aerosol optical depth very difficult. Read more
Exceptional freshening and cooling in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic caused by reduced Labrador Sea surface heat loss Ocean Science DOI 10.5194/os-18-1507-2022 4 January 2023 Observations of the eastern subpolar North Atlantic in the 2010s show exceptional freshening and cooling of the upper ocean, peaking in 2016 with the lowest salinities recorded for 120 years. Using results from a high-resolution ocean model, supported by observations, we propose that the leading cause is reduced surface cooling over the preceding decade in the Labrador Sea, leading to increased outflow of less dense water and so to freshening and cooling of the eastern subpolar North Atlantic. Read more
Opinion: Coordinated development of emission inventories for climate forcers and air pollutants Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-13201-2022 2 January 2023 Emissions into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollutants, quantified in emission inventories, impact human health, ecosystems, and the climate. We review how air pollutant and GHG inventory activities have historically been structured and their different uses and requirements. We discuss the benefits of increasing coordination between air pollutant and GHG inventory development efforts, but also caution that there are differences in appropriate methodologies and applications. Read more
High-resolution drought simulations and comparison to soil moisture observations in Germany Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-26-5137-2022 30 December 2022 In this paper, we deliver an evaluation of the second generation operational German drought monitor (www.ufz.de/duerremonitor) with a state-of-the-art compilation of observed soil moisture data from 40 locations and four different measurement methods in Germany. We show that the expressed stakeholder needs for higher resolution drought information at the one-kilometer scale can be met and that the agreement of simulated and observed soil moisture dynamics can be moderately improved. Read more
Early life stages of a Mediterranean coral are vulnerable to ocean warming and acidification Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-19-4767-2022 28 December 2022 For the first time, our study highlights the synergistic effects of a 9-month warming and acidification combined stress on the early life stages of a Mediterranean azooxanthellate coral, Astroides calycularis. Our results predict a decrease in dispersion, settlement, post-settlement linear extension, budding and survival under future global change and that larvae and recruits of A. calycularis are stages of interest for this Mediterranean coral resistance, resilience and conservation. Read more
The potential for using video games to teach geoscience: learning about the geology and geomorphology of Hokkaido (Japan) from playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus Geoscience Communication DOI 10.5194/gc-5-325-2022 26 December 2022 The fictional landscape of Hisui from Pokémon Legends: Arceus is inspired by the real-world island of Hokkaido, Japan. This paper illustrates how the game can be used to explore geological concepts including volcanology, economic geology, and hazard mitigation, by comparing in-game features to their real-world counterparts on Hokkaido. Applications from this study include increasing geoscientific interest and facilitating the self-learning or formal teaching of geoscience worldwide. Read more
Improving hydrologic models for predictions and process understanding using neural ODEs Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-26-5085-2022 23 December 2022 Neural ODEs fuse physics-based models with deep learning: neural networks substitute terms in differential equations that represent the mechanistic structure of the system. The approach combines the flexibility of machine learning with physical constraints for inter- and extrapolation. We demonstrate that neural ODE models achieve state-of-the-art predictive performance while keeping full interpretability of model states and processes in hydrologic modelling over multiple catchments. Read more
The Antarctic contribution to 21st-century sea-level rise predicted by the UK Earth System Model with an interactive ice sheet The Cryosphere DOI 10.5194/tc-16-4053-2022 21 December 2022 The UK Earth System Model is the first to fully include interactions of the atmosphere and ocean with the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Under the low-greenhouse-gas SSP1–1.9 (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway) scenario, the ice sheet remains stable over the 21st century. Under the strong-greenhouse-gas SSP5–8.5 scenario, the model predicts strong increases in melting of large ice shelves and snow accumulation on the surface. The dominance of accumulation leads to a sea level fall at the end of the century. Read more
Predicting soil moisture conditions across a heterogeneous boreal catchment using terrain indices Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-26-4837-2022 19 December 2022 Terrain indices constitute a good candidate for modelling the spatial variation of soil moisture conditions in many landscapes. In this study, we evaluate nine terrain indices on varying DEM resolution and user-defined thresholds with validation using an extensive field soil moisture class inventory. We demonstrate the importance of field validation for selecting the appropriate DEM resolution and user-defined thresholds and that failing to do so can result in ambiguous and incorrect results. Read more
GC Insights: Diversifying the geosciences in higher education: a manifesto for change Geoscience Communication DOI 10.5194/gc-5-275-2022 16 December 2022 In this manifesto, we offer six points of reflection that higher education geoscience educators can act upon to recognise and unlearn their biases and diversify the geosciences in higher education, complementing current calls for institutional and organisational change. This serves as a starting point to gather momentum to establish community-built opportunities for implementing and strengthening diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice holistically in geoscience education. Read more
Cloud adjustments from large-scale smoke–circulation interactions strongly modulate the southeastern Atlantic stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-12113-2022 14 December 2022 Smoke from southern Africa blankets the southeast Atlantic from June-October, overlying a major transition region between overcast and scattered clouds. The smoke affects Earth’s radiation budget by absorbing sunlight and changing cloud properties. We investigate these effects in regional climate and large eddy simulation models based on international field campaigns. We find that large-scale circulation changes more strongly affect cloud transitions than smoke microphysical effects in our case. Read more
Progress and challenges in glacial lake outburst flood research (2017–2021): a research community perspective Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-3041-2022 12 December 2022 Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have attracted increased research attention recently. In this work, we review GLOF research papers published between 2017 and 2021 and complement the analysis with research community insights gained from the 2021 GLOF conference we organized. The transdisciplinary character of the conference together with broad geographical coverage allowed us to identify progress, trends and challenges in GLOF research and outline future research needs and directions. Read more
Observation-constrained estimates of the global ocean carbon sink from Earth system models Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-19-4431-2022 9 December 2022 Estimates of the ocean sink of anthropogenic carbon vary across various approaches. We show that the global ocean carbon sink can be estimated by three parameters, two of which approximate the ocean ventilation in the Southern Ocean and the North Atlantic, and one of which approximates the chemical capacity of the ocean to take up carbon. With observations of these parameters, we estimate that the global ocean carbon sink is 10% larger than previously assumed, and we cut uncertainties in half. Read more
Hydrography, circulation, and response to atmospheric forcing in the vicinity of the central Getz Ice Shelf, Amundsen Sea, Antarctica Ocean Science DOI 10.5194/os-18-1339-2022 7 December 2022 Ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea are thinning rapidly as ocean currents bring warm water into cavities beneath the floating ice. We use 2-year-long mooring records and 16-year-long model simulations to describe the hydrography and circulation near the ice front between Siple and Carney Islands. We find that temperatures here are lower than at neighbouring ice fronts and that the transport of heat toward the cavity is governed by wind stress over the Amundsen Sea continental shelf. Read more
Shallow marine carbonates as recorders of orbitally induced past climate changes – example from the Oxfordian of the Swiss Jura Mountains Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-2117-2022 5 December 2022 Some 155 million years ago, sediments were deposited in a shallow subtropical sea. Coral reefs formed in a warm and arid climate during high sea level, and clays were washed into the ocean at low sea level and when it rained. Climate and sea level changes were induced by cyclical insolation changes. Analysing the sedimentary record, it appears that sea level rise today (as a result of global warming) is more than 10 times faster than the fastest rise reconstructed from the geologic past. Read more
Contrasting drought legacy effects on gross primary productivity in a mixed versus pure beech forest Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-19-4315-2022 2 December 2022 Identifying drought legacy effects is challenging because they are superimposed on variability driven by climate conditions in the recovery period. We develop a residual-based approach to quantify legacies on gross primary productivity (GPP) from eddy covariance data. The GPP reduction due to legacy effects is comparable to the concurrent effects at two sites in Germany, which reveals the importance of legacy effects. Our novel methodology can be used to quantify drought legacies elsewhere. Read more
Recession or resilience? Long-range socioeconomic consequences of the 17th century volcanic eruptions in northern Fennoscandia Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-2077-2022 30 November 2022 Tree-ring data and written sources from northern Fennoscandia reveal that large 17th century eruptions had considerable climatic, agricultural, and socioeconomic impacts far away from the eruption locations. Yet, micro-regional investigation shows that the human consequences were commonly indirect, as various factors, like agro-ecosystems, resource availability, institutions, and personal networks, dictated how the volcanic cold pulses and related crop failures materialized on a societal level. Read more
HORAYZON v1.2: an efficient and flexible ray-tracing algorithm to compute horizon and sky view factor Geoscientific Model Development DOI 10.5194/gmd-15-6817-2022 28 November 2022 Terrain horizon and sky view factor are crucial quantities for many geoscientific applications; e.g. they are used to account for effects of terrain on surface radiation in climate and land surface models. Because typical terrain horizon algorithms are inefficient for high-resolution (< 30 m) elevation data, we developed a new algorithm based on a ray-tracing library. A comparison with two conventional methods revealed both its high performance and its accuracy for complex terrain. Read more
Reliability of flood marks and practical relevance for flood hazard assessment in southwestern Germany Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-2963-2022 25 November 2022 Encouraging a systematic use of flood marks for more comprehensive flood risk management, we collected a large number of marks along the Kinzig, southwestern Germany, and tested them for plausibility and temporal continuance. Despite uncertainty, the marks appeared to be an overall consistent and practical source that may also increase flood risk awareness. A wide agreement between the current flood hazard maps and the collected flood marks moreover indicated a robust local hazard assessment. Read more
South American Summer Monsoon variability over the last millennium in paleoclimate records and isotope-enabled climate models Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-2045-2022 23 November 2022 We evaluated the South American Summer Monsoon over the last millennium and dynamically interpreted the principal modes of variability. We find the spatial patterns of the monsoon are an intrinsic feature of the climate modulated by external forcings. Multi-centennial mean state departures during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age show regionally coherent patterns of hydroclimatic change in both a multi-archive network of oxygen isotope records and isotope-enabled climate models. Read more
Ice core evidence for major volcanic eruptions at the onset of Dansgaard–Oeschger warming events Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-2021-2022 21 November 2022 Major volcanic eruptions are known to cause considerable short-term impacts on the global climate. Their influence on long-term climate variability and regime shifts is less well-understood. Here we show that very large, bipolar eruptions occurred more frequently than expected by chance just before abrupt climate change events in the last glacial period (Dansgaard–Oeschger events). Thus, such large eruptions may in some cases act as short-term triggers for abrupt regime shifts of the climate. Read more
Comprehensive space–time hydrometeorological simulations for estimating very rare floods at multiple sites in a large river basin Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-2891-2022 18 November 2022 Estimating the magnitude of rare to very rare floods is a challenging task due to a lack of sufficiently long observations. The challenge is even greater in large river basins, where precipitation patterns and amounts differ considerably between individual events and floods from different parts of the basin coincide. We show that a hydrometeorological model chain can provide plausible estimates in this setting and can thus inform flood risk and safety assessments for critical infrastructure. Read more
Bayesian assessment of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) and halon banks suggest large reservoirs still present in old equipment Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-11125-2022 16 November 2022 Halocarbons contained in equipment continue to be emitted after production has ceased. These “banks” must be carefully accounted for in evaluating compliance with the Montreal Protocol. We extend a Bayesian model to the suite of regulated chemicals subject to banking. We find that banks are substantially larger than previous estimates, and we identify banks by chemical and equipment type whose future emissions will contribute to global warming and delay ozone-hole recovery if left unrecovered. Read more
The impact of climate oscillations on the surface energy budget over the Greenland Ice Sheet in a changing climate The Cryosphere DOI 10.5194/tc-16-3375-2022 14 November 2022 To overcome internal climate variability, this study uses k-means clustering to combine NAO, GBI and IWV over the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and names the approach as the North Atlantic influence on Greenland (NAG). With the support of a polar-adapted RCM, spatio-temporal changes on SEB components within NAG phases are investigated. We report atmospheric warming and moistening across all NAG phases as well as large-scale and regional-scale contributions to GrIS mass loss and their interactions. Read more
Invited perspectives: Views of 350 natural hazard community members on key challenges in natural hazards research and the Sustainable Development Goals Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-22-2771-2022 11 November 2022 Here we present survey responses of 350 natural hazard community members to key challenges in natural hazards research and step changes to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Challenges identified range from technical (e.g. model development, early warning) to governance (e.g. co-production with community members). Step changes needed are equally broad; however, the majority of answers showed a need for wider stakeholder engagement, increased risk management and interdisciplinary work. Read more
Effects of orbital forcing, greenhouse gases and ice sheets on Saharan greening in past and future multi-millennia Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-18-1897-2022 9 November 2022 Using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity, we quantify contributions of the Earth’s orbit, greenhouse gases (GHGs) and ice sheets to the strength of Saharan greening during late Quaternary African humid periods (AHPs). Orbital forcing is found as the dominant factor, having a critical threshold and accounting for most of the changes in the vegetation response. However, results suggest that GHGs may influence the orbital threshold and thus may play a pivotal role for future AHPs. Read more
TermPicks: a century of Greenland glacier terminus data for use in scientific and machine learning applications The Cryosphere DOI 10.5194/tc-16-3215-2022 7 November 2022 Terminus traces have been used to understand how Greenland’s glaciers have changed over time; however, manual digitization is time-intensive, and a lack of coordination leads to duplication of efforts. We have compiled a dataset of over 39 000 terminus traces for 278 glaciers for scientific and machine learning applications. We also provide an overview of an updated version of the Google Earth Engine Digitization Tool (GEEDiT), which has been developed specifically for the Greenland Ice Sheet. Read more
Bedrock depth influences spatial patterns of summer baseflow, temperature and flow disconnection for mountainous headwater streams Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-26-3989-2022 4 November 2022 The geologic structure of mountain watersheds may control how groundwater and streamwater exchange, influencing where streams dry. We measured bedrock depth at 191 locations along eight headwater streams paired with stream temperature records, baseflow separation and observations of channel dewatering. The data indicated a prevalence of shallow bedrock generally less than 3 m depth, and local variation in that depth can drive stream dewatering but also influence stream baseflow supply. Read more
Quantifying methane emissions from the global scale down to point sources using satellite observations of atmospheric methane Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-22-9617-2022 2 November 2022 We review the capability of satellite observations of atmospheric methane to quantify methane emissions on all scales. We cover retrieval methods, precision requirements, inverse methods for inferring emissions, source detection thresholds, and observations of system completeness. We show that current instruments already enable quantification of regional and national emissions including contributions from large point sources. Coverage and resolution will increase significantly in coming years. Read more