Venice flooding and sea level: past evolution, present issues, and future projections (introduction to the special issue) Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-21-2633-2021 11 October 2021 Venice is an iconic place, and a paradigm of huge historical and cultural value is at risk. The threat posed by floods has dramatically increased in recent decades and is expected to continue to grow – and even accelerate – through this century. There is a need to better understand the future evolution of the relative sea level and its extremes and to develop adaptive planning strategies appropriate for present uncertainty, which might not be substantially reduced in the near future. Read more
Sea-level rise in Venice: historic and future trends (review article) Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-21-2643-2021 8 October 2021 Relative sea level in Venice rose by about 2.5 mm/year in the past 150 years due to the combined effect of subsidence and mean sea-level rise. We estimate the likely range of mean sea-level rise in Venice by 2100 due to climate changes to be between about 10 and 110 cm, with an improbable yet possible high-end scenario of about 170 cm. Projections of subsidence are not available, but historical evidence demonstrates that they can increase the hazard posed by climatically induced sea-level rise. Read more
Opinion: Papers that shaped tropospheric chemistry Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-21-12909-2021 6 October 2021 Which published papers have transformed our understanding of the chemical processes in the troposphere and shaped the field of atmospheric chemistry? We explore how these papers have shaped the development of the field of atmospheric chemistry and identify the major landmarks in the field of atmospheric chemistry through the lens of those papers’ impact on science, legislation and environmental events. Read more
Rainbow color map distorts and misleads research in hydrology – guidance for better visualizations and science communication Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-25-4549-2021 4 October 2021 We found with a scientific paper survey (~ 1000 papers) that 45 % of the papers used rainbow color maps or red–green visualizations. Those rainbow visualizations, although attracting the media’s attention, will not be accessible for up to 10 % of people due to color vision deficiency. The rainbow color map distorts and misleads scientific communication. The study gives guidance on how to avoid, improve and trust color and how the flaws of the rainbow color map should be communicated in science. Read more
Milankovitch, the father of paleoclimate modeling Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-17-1727-2021 1 October 2021 The history of the long-term variations in the astronomical elements used in paleoclimate research shows that, contrary to what might be thought, Milutin Milankovitch is not the father of the astronomical theory but he is definitely the father of paleoclimate modeling. He did not calculate these long-term variations himself but used them extensively for calculating the “secular march” of incoming solar radiation. He advanced our understanding of Quaternary climate variations by two important and original contributions fully described in his Canon of insolation. These are the definition and use of caloric seasons and the concept of the “mathematical climate”. How his mathematical model allowed him to give the caloric summer and winter insolation a climatological meaning is illustrated. Read more
Rapid measurement of RH-dependent aerosol hygroscopic growth using a humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS) Atmospheric Measurement Techniques DOI 10.5194/amt-14-5625-2021 27 September 2021 In this study, we present a newly developed instrument, the humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS), for fast measurements of aerosol hygroscopic growth. The HFIMS can measure the distributions of particle hygroscopic growth factors at six diameters from 35 to 265 nm under five RH levels from 20 to 85 % within 25 min. The HFIMS significantly advances our capability of characterizing the hygroscopic growth of atmospheric aerosols over a wide range of relative humidities. HFIMS)">Read more
Dynamics of salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta: results of field observations and integrated coastal–inland modelling Earth Surface Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esurf-9-953-2021 24 September 2021 Increased salt intrusion jeopardizes freshwater supply to the Mekong Delta, and the current trends are often inaccurately associated with sea level rise. Using observations and models, we show that salinity is highly sensitive to ocean surge, tides, water demand, and upstream discharge. We show that anthropogenic riverbed incision has significantly amplified salt intrusion, exemplifying the importance of preserving sediment budget and riverbed levels to protect deltas against salt intrusion. Read more
The long-term transport and radiative impacts of the 2017 British Columbia pyrocumulonimbus smoke aerosols in the stratosphere Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-21-12069-2021 22 September 2021 Interactions of extreme fires with weather systems can produce towering smoke plumes that inject aerosols at very high altitudes (> 10 km). Three such major injections, largest at the time in terms of emitted aerosol mass, took place over British Columbia, Canada, in August 2017. We model the transport and impacts of injected aerosols on the radiation balance of the atmosphere. Our model results match the satellite-observed plume transport and residence time at these high altitudes very closely. Read more
The nano-scanning electrical mobility spectrometer (nSEMS) and its application to size distribution measurements of 1.5–25 nm particles Atmospheric Measurement Techniques DOI 10.5194/amt-14-5429-2021 20 September 2021 We present the design, modeling, and experimental characterization of the nano-scanning electrical mobility spectrometer (nSEMS), a recently developed instrument that probes particle physical properties in the 1.5–25 nm range. The nSEMS has proven to be extremely powerful in examining atmospheric nucleation and the subsequent growth of nanoparticles in the CERN CLOUD experiment, which provides a valuable asset to study atmospheric nanoparticles and to evaluate their impact on climate. Read more
Physical characteristics of frozen hydrometeors inferred with parameter estimation Atmospheric Measurement Techniques DOI 10.5194/amt-14-5369-2021 17 September 2021 Satellite observations sensitive to cloud and precipitation help improve the quality of weather forecasts. However, they are sensitive to things that models do not forecast, such as the shapes and sizes of snow and ice particles. These details can be estimated from the observations themselves and then incorporated in the satellite simulators used in weather forecasting. This approach, known as parameter estimation, will be increasingly useful to build models of poorly known physical processes. Read more
