Impact of deoxygenation and warming on global marine species in the 21st century Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-20-2425-2023 14 July 2023 Ocean temperature and oxygen shape marine habitats together with species’ characteristics. We calculated the impacts of projected 21st-century warming and oxygen loss on the contemporary habitat volume of 47 marine species and described the drivers of these impacts. Most species lose less than 5 % of their habitat at 2 ◦C of global warming, but some species incur losses 2–3 times greater than that. We also calculate which species may be most vulnerable to climate change and why this is the case. Read more
Impact of a strong volcanic eruption on the summer middle atmosphere in UA-ICON simulations Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-23-7001-2023 12 July 2023 Strong volcanic eruptions are able to alter the temperature and the circulation of the middle atmosphere. This study simulates the atmospheric response to an idealized strong tropical eruption and focuses on the impact on the mesosphere. The simulations show a warming of the polar summer mesopause in the first November after the eruption. Our study indicates that this is mainly due to dynamical coupling in the summer hemisphere with a potential contribution from interhemispheric coupling. Read more
Quantifying land carbon cycle feedbacks under negative CO2 emissions Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-20-2283-2023 10 July 2023 We propose a new method to quantify carbon cycle feedbacks under negative CO2 emissions. Our method isolates the lagged carbon cycle response to preceding positive emissions from the response to negative emissions. Our findings suggest that feedback parameters calculated with the novel approach are larger than those calculated with the conventional approach whereby carbon cycle inertia is not corrected for, with implications for the effectiveness of carbon dioxide removal in reducing CO2 levels. Read more
Particle shapes and infrared extinction spectra of nitric acid dihydrate (NAD) crystals: optical constants of the β-NAD modification Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-23-6789-2023 7 July 2023 Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) play an important role in the depletion of stratospheric ozone. They can consist of different chemical species, including crystalline nitric acid hydrates. We found that mineral dust or meteoric ablation material can efficiently catalyse the formation of a specific phase of nitric acid dihydrate crystals. We determined predominant particle shapes and infrared optical properties of these crystals, which are important inputs for remote sensing detection of PSCs. Read more
Diurnal carbon monoxide observed from a geostationary infrared hyperspectral sounder: first result from GIIRS on board FengYun-4B Atmospheric Measurement Techniques DOI 10.5194/amt-16-3059-2023 5 July 2023 Observations from geostationary orbit provide contiguous coverage with a high temporal resolution, representing an important advancement over current low-Earth-orbit instruments. Using measurements from GIIRS on board China’s FengYun satellite, the world’s first geostationary hyperspectral infrared sounder, we showed the first results of diurnal CO in eastern Asia from a geostationary orbit, which will have great potential in improving local and global air quality and climate research. Read more
Opinion: How fear of nuclear winter has helped save the world, so far Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics DOI 10.5194/acp-23-6691-2023 3 July 2023 A nuclear war could produce a nuclear winter, with catastrophic consequences for global food supplies. Nuclear winter theory helped to end the nuclear arms race in the 1980s, but more than 10,000 nuclear weapons still exist. This means they can be used, by unstable leaders, accidentally from technical malfunctions or human error, or by terrorists. Therefore, it is urgent for scientists to study these issues, broadly communicate their results, and work for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Read more
Hyperspectral imaging sediment core scanning tracks high-resolution Holocene variations in (an)oxygenic phototrophic communities at Lake Cadagno, Swiss Alps Biogeosciences DOI 10.5194/bg-20-2221-2023 30 June 2023 This study shows, for the first time, that hyperspectral imaging can detect bacteriochlorophyll pigments produced by green sulfur bacteria in sediment cores. We tested our method on cores from Lake Cadagno, Switzerland, and were able to reconstruct high-resolution variations in the abundance of green and purple sulfur bacteria over the past 12 700 years. Climate conditions, flood events, and land use had major impacts on the lake’s biogeochemical conditions over short and long timescales. Read more
Rate-induced tipping in natural and human systems Earth System Dynamics DOI 10.5194/esd-14-669-2023 28 June 2023 Complex systems can undergo abrupt changes or tipping points when external forcing crosses a critical level and are of increasing concern because of their severe impacts. However, tipping points can also occur when the external forcing changes too quickly without crossing any critical levels, which is very relevant for Earth’s systems and contemporary climate. We give an intuitive explanation of such rate-induced tipping and provide illustrative examples from natural and human systems. Read more
Contribution of solitons to enhanced rogue wave occurrence in shallow depths: a case study in the southern North Sea Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences DOI 10.5194/nhess-23-2053-2023 26 June 2023 Rogue waves exceed twice the significant wave height. They occur more often than expected in the shallow waters off Norderney. When applying a nonlinear Fourier transform for the Korteweg–de Vries equation to wave data from Norderney, we found differences in the soliton spectra of time series with and without rogue waves. A strongly outstanding soliton in the spectrum indicated an enhanced probability for rogue waves. We could attribute spectral solitons to the measured rogue waves. Read more
Seasonal overturning variability in the eastern North Atlantic subpolar gyre: a Lagrangian perspective Ocean Science DOI 10.5194/os-19-769-2023 23 June 2023 This study uses the trajectories of water parcels traced within an ocean model simulation to identify the pathways responsible for the seasonal cycle of dense water formation (overturning) in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic. We show that overturning seasonality is due to the fastest water parcels circulating within the eastern basins in less than 8.5 months. Slower pathways set the average strength of overturning in this region since water parcels cannot escape intense wintertime cooling. Read more
