Always on my mind: indications of post-traumatic stress disorder among those affected by the 2021 flood event in the Ahr valley, Germany Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-24-2837-2024 23 August 2024 Despite the visible flood damage, mental health is a growing concern. Yet, there is limited data in Germany on mental health impacts after floods. A survey in a heavily affected region revealed that 28 % of respondents showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder 1 year later. Risk factors include gender, serious injury or illness due to flooding, and feeling left alone to cope with impacts. The study highlights the need for tailored mental health support for flood-affected populations. Read more
Atmospheric H2 observations from the NOAA Cooperative Global Air Sampling Network Atmospheric Measurement Techniques DOI 10.5194/amt-17-4803-2024 23 August 2024 Hydrogen (H2) is a gas in trace amounts in the Earth’s atmosphere with indirect impacts on climate and air quality. Renewed interest in H2 as a low- or zero-carbon source of energy may lead to increased production, uses, and supply chain emissions. NOAA measurements of weekly air samples collected between 2009 and 2021 at over 50 sites in mostly remote locations are now available, and they complement other datasets to study the H2 global budget. NOAA Cooperative Global Air Sampling Network">Read more
Absence of causality between seismic activity and global warming Earth System Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esd-15-1015-2024 19 August 2024 It was recently suggested that global warming can be explained by the non-anthropogenic factor of seismic activity. If that is the case, it would have profound implications. We have assessed the validity of the claim by using a statistical technique that evaluates the existence of causal connections between variables, finding no evidence for any causal relationship between seismic activity and global warming. Read more
Tipping point detection and early warnings in climate, ecological, and human systems Earth System Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esd-15-1117-2024 19 August 2024 Tipping points are abrupt, rapid, and sometimes irreversible changes, and numerous approaches have been proposed to detect them in advance. Such approaches have been termed early warning signals and represent a set of methods for identifying changes in the underlying behaviour of a system across time or space that might indicate an approaching tipping point. Here, we review the literature to explore where, how, and which early warnings have been used in real-world case studies so far. Read more
Sourcing and long-range transport of particulate organic matter in river bedload: Río Bermejo, Argentina Earth Surface Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esurf-12-907-2024 19 August 2024 The transport of plant debris in rivers is an important part of the global carbon cycle and influences atmospheric carbon levels through time. We sampled plant debris at the bed of a lowland river and determined the sources as it is transported hundreds of kilometers. Plant debris can persist at the riverbed, but mechanical breakdown reduces its amount, and it is only a small fraction compared to the suspended load. This plant debris and transport patterns need further investigation globally. Read more
ESD Ideas: Exoplanet, origins of life and biosphere researchers offer a perspective fundamental to ensuring humanity’s future Earth System Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esd-15-929-2024 16 August 2024 Scientists exploring the histories of planets and life are uniquely positioned to communicate a perspective that is fundamental to our survival: humanity is wholly embedded in Earth and its biosphere. There is no escaping our planet and its history. Only policies that build on this perspective will contribute to a flourishing future for humanity. We offer a few brief glimpses of this cosmic perspective and call on our colleagues to acknowledge the powerful stories emanating from their work. ESD Ideas: Exoplanet, origins of life and biosphere researchers offer a perspective fundamental to ensuring humanity’s future">Read more
Using historical temperature to constrain the climate sensitivity, the transient climate response, and aerosol-induced cooling Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-24-8105-2024 12 August 2024 Using errors in climate model simulations this paper derives correction factors for the impacts of greenhouse gases and particles that bring these simulated temperature fields into agreement with an observational reconstruction of the Earth’s temperature. On average across eight models, a reduction by about one-half of the particle-induced cooling would be required, causing only 0.24 K of cooling since 1850–1899. The greenhouse gas warming simulated by several highly sensitive models would also reduce. Read more
Continuous synchronization of the Greenland ice-core and U–Th timescales using probabilistic inversion Climate of the Past DOI 10.5194/cp-20-1415-2024 9 August 2024 The first continuously measured transfer functions that quantify the age difference between the Greenland ice-core chronology 2005 (GICC05) and the U–Th timescale are presented. The transfer functions were generated using a novel probabilistic algorithm for the synchronization of proxy signals. The results greatly improve the accuracy and precision of previous synchronization estimates and reveal that the annual-layer counting error of GICC05 is less systematic than previously assumed. Read more
Observation-inferred resilience loss of the Amazon rainforest possibly due to internal climate variability Earth System Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esd-15-913-2024 5 August 2024 We investigate whether the Amazon rainforest has lost substantial resilience since 1990. This assertion is based on trends in the observational record of vegetation density. We calculate the same metrics in a large number of climate model simulations and find that several models behave indistinguishably from the observations, suggesting that the observed trend could be caused by internal variability and that the cause of the ongoing rapid loss of Amazon rainforest is not mainly global warming. Read more
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
