Can corporate supply chain sustainability standards contribute to soil protection? SOIL DOI 10.5194/soil-10-505-2024 2 August 2024 We explore business efforts to ensure soil quality in their supply chains through the application of supplier sustainability standards. Through a content analysis of existing sustainability standards and companies’ sustainability reports, we found that soil sustainability is an important priority for food retailers. However, the standards currently applied tend to have a limited impact on soil protection due to a lack of specific criteria and thresholds. Read more
Hydro-pedotransfer functions: a roadmap for future development Hydrology and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/hess-28-3391-2024 29 July 2024 Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are used to predict parameters of models describing the hydraulic properties of soils. The appropriateness of these predictions critically relies on the nature of the datasets for training the PTFs and the physical comprehensiveness of the models. This roadmap paper is addressed to PTF developers and users and critically reflects the utility and future of PTFs. To this end, we present a manifesto aiming at a paradigm shift in PTF research. Read more
Linking geomorphological processes and wildlife microhabitat selection: nesting birds select refuges generated by permafrost degradation in the Arctic Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-21-3401-2024 26 July 2024 In the Arctic tundra, climate change is transforming the landscape, and this may impact wildlife. We focus on three nesting bird species and the islets they select as refuges from their main predator, the Arctic fox. A geomorphological process, ice-wedge polygon degradation, was found to play a key role in creating these refuges. This process is likely to affect predator–prey dynamics in the Arctic tundra, highlighting the connections between nature’s physical and ecological systems. Read more
Brief communication: Storm Daniel flood impact in Greece in 2023: mapping crop and livestock exposure from synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-24-2375-2024 22 July 2024 About 820 km2 of agricultural land was inundated in central Greece due to Storm Daniel. A detailed analysis revealed that the crop most affected by the flooding was cotton; the inundated area of more than 282 km2 comprised ~ 30 % of the total area planted with cotton in central Greece. In terms of livestock, we estimate that more than 14 000 ornithoids and 21 500 sheep and goats were affected. Consequences for agriculture and animal husbandry in Greece are expected to be severe. Read more
The risk of synoptic-scale Arctic cyclones to shipping Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-24-2115-2024 19 July 2024 The risk posed to ships by Arctic cyclones has seldom been quantified due to the lack of publicly available historical Arctic ship track data. This study investigates historical Arctic ship tracks, cyclone tracks, and shipping incident reports to determine the number of shipping incidents caused by the passage of Arctic cyclones. Results suggest that Arctic cyclones have not been hazardous to ships and that ships are resilient to the rough sea conditions caused by Arctic cyclones. Read more
Isotopomer labeling and oxygen dependence of hybrid nitrous oxide production Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-21-3215-2024 17 July 2024 Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, accumulates in regions of the ocean that are low in dissolved oxygen. We used a novel combination of chemical tracers to determine how nitrous oxide is produced in one of these regions, the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. Our experiments showed that the two most important sources of nitrous oxide under low-oxygen conditions are denitrification, an anaerobic process, and a novel “hybrid” process performed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea. Read more
Coupled ice–ocean interactions during future retreat of West Antarctic ice streams in the Amundsen Sea sector The Cryosphere DOI 10.5194/tc-18-2653-2024 15 July 2024 A new ice–ocean model simulates future ice sheet evolution in the Amundsen Sea sector of Antarctica. Substantial ice retreat is simulated in all scenarios, with some retreat still occurring even with no future ocean melting. The future of small “pinning points” (islands of ice that contact the seabed) is an important control on this retreat. Ocean melting is crucial in causing these features to go afloat, providing the link by which climate change may affect this sector’s sea level contribution. Read more
Quantum data assimilation: a new approach to solving data assimilation on quantum annealers Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics DOI 10.5194/npg-31-237-2024 12 July 2024 Data assimilation is a crucial component in the Earth science field, enabling the integration of observation data with numerical models. In the context of numerical weather prediction (NWP), data assimilation is particularly vital for improving initial conditions and subsequent predictions. However, the computational demands imposed by conventional approaches, which employ iterative processes to minimize cost functions, pose notable challenges in computational time. The emergence of quantum computing provides promising opportunities to address these computation challenges by harnessing the inherent parallelism and optimization capabilities of quantum annealing machines. Read more
Elevation-dependent warming: observations, models, and energetic mechanisms Weather and Climate Dynamics DOI 10.5194/wcd-5-763-2024 10 July 2024 Observational data and numerical models suggest that, under climate change, elevated land surfaces warm faster than non-elevated ones. Proposed drivers of this “elevation-dependent warming” (EDW) include surface albedo and water vapour feedbacks, the temperature dependence of longwave emission, and aerosols. Yet the relative importance of each proposed mechanism both regionally and at large scales is unclear, highlighting an incomplete physical understanding of EDW. Read more
A downward-counterfactual analysis of flash floods in Germany Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-24-2147-2024 8 July 2024 To identify flash flood potential in Germany, we shifted the most extreme rainfall events from the last 22 years systematically across Germany and simulated the consequent runoff reaction. Our results show that almost all areas in Germany have not seen the worst-case scenario of flood peaks within the last 22 years. With a slight spatial change of historical rainfall events, flood peaks of a factor of 2 or more would be achieved for most areas. The results can aid disaster risk management. Read more
