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. 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
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
