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Drought and flood in the Anthropocene: feedback mechanisms in reservoir operation

There is still little understanding about the dynamics emerging from human–water interactions. As a result, policies and measures to reduce the impacts of floods and droughts often lead to unintended consequences. This paper proposes a research agenda to improve our understanding of human–water interactions, and presents an initial attempt to model the reciprocal effects between water management, droughts, and floods.

Towards improved and more routine Earth system model evaluation in CMIP

We argue that the CMIP community has reached a critical juncture at which many baseline aspects of model evaluation need to be performed much more efficiently to enable a systematic and rapid performance assessment of the large number of models participating in CMIP, and we announce our intention to implement such a system for CMIP6. At the same time, continuous scientific research is required to develop innovative metrics and diagnostics that help narrowing the spread in climate projections.

A geological model for the management of subsurface data in the urban environment of Barcelona and surrounding area

Solid Earth
DOI 10.5194/se-7-1317-2016
16 September 2016

This study shows the need for a symbiotic relationship between government and research groups for efficient management of geologic data in urban environments. Through its implementation, both the city administration and private companies benefit from the feedback of geologic knowledge acquired during this process, thereby substantially reducing the cost of construction projects and facilitating the development of aquifer management plans.

New data on geology of the Southern Urals: a concise summary of research after the period of EUROPROBE activity

Solid Earth
DOI 10.5194/se-7-1269-2016
31 August 2016

The period between 1991 and 2005 was a time when many western geologists came to the Urals to get a closer look at this famous and extraordinarily rich region. The main reason was an openness policy of the USSR government, when foreigners were admitted to this area that was formerly almost closed. The co-operation of the western geologists with local specialists was very fruitful. The author aimed to describe the most interesting findings in Uralian geology after the learned guests left.

Coherence among the Northern Hemisphere land, cryosphere, and ocean responses to natural variability and anthropogenic forcing during the satellite era

Using 3 decades of observational satellite and field data, we find that long-term changes in sea ice and sea level, plant phenology, and surface temperature are coherent with increases in atmospheric CO₂ concentration and other global greenhouse gases. During the same period, natural causes of climate change should only have a net cooling long-term effect, suggesting the observed coherent pattern of changes across Earth’s biological and physical systems could only be due to human activities.

Why CO2 cools the middle atmosphere – a consolidating model perspective

Carbon dioxide, while warming the Earth’s surface, cools the atmosphere beyond about 15 km (the middle atmosphere). This cooling is considered a fingerprint of anthropogenic global warming, yet the physical reason behind it remains prone to misconceptions. Here we use a simple radiation model to illustrate the physical essence of stratospheric cooling, and a complex climate model to quantify how strongly different mechanisms contribute.

Hemispherically asymmetric volcanic forcing of tropical hydroclimate during the last millennium

A band of intense rainfall exists near the equator known as the intertropical convergence zone, which can migrate in response to climate forcings. Here, we assess such migration in response to volcanic eruptions of varying spatial structure (Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, or an eruption fairly symmetric about the equator). We do this using model simulations of the last millennium and link results to energetic constraints and the imprint eruptions may leave behind in past records.

Spatial and temporal variations in plant water-use efficiency inferred from tree-ring, eddy covariance and atmospheric observations

Our analysis allows us to infer maps of changing plant water-use efficiency (WUE) for 1901–2010, using atmospheric observations of temperature, humidity and CO₂. Our estimated increase in global WUE is consistent with the tree-ring and eddy covariance data, but much larger than the historical WUE increases simulated by Earth System Models (ESMs). We therefore conclude that the effects of increasing CO₂ on plant WUE are significantly underestimated in the latest climate projections.

Alluvial plain dynamics in the southern Amazonian foreland basin

This paper analyses the behaviour of 12 tributaries of the Río Mamoré and their influence on alluvial plain dynamics. These rivers are extremely active: between 1984 and 2014, 7 of these 12 rivers underwent a total of 41 crevasses and 29 avulsions. Most of the sedimentary load of these rivers is deposited on the alluvial plains before they reach the Mamoré. Crevasses and avulsions are not controlled by ENSO cycles, but rather are the result of intrabasinal processes.

Revolutions in energy input and material cycling in Earth history and human history

We identify six past revolutions in energy input and material cycling in Earth and human history. We find that human energy use has now reached a magnitude comparable to the biosphere, and conclude that a prospective sustainability revolution will require scaling up new solar energy technologies and the development of much more efficient material recycling systems. Our work was inspired by recognising the connections between Earth system science and industrial ecology at the “LOOPS” workshop.

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