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A 305-year continuous monthly rainfall series for the island of Ireland (1711–2016)

This work reconstructs a continuous 305-year rainfall record for Ireland. The series reveals remarkable variability in decadal rainfall – far in excess of the typical period of digitised data. Notably, the series sheds light on exceptionally wet winters in the 1730s and wet summers in the 1750s. The derived record, one of the longest continuous series in Europe, offers a firm basis for benchmarking other long-term records and reconstructions of past climate both locally and across Europe.

On the retrieval of sea ice thickness and snow depth using concurrent laser altimetry and L-band remote sensing data

This work proposes a new data synergy method for the retrieval of sea ice thickness and snow depth by using colocating L-band passive remote sensing and active laser altimetry. Physical models are adopted for the retrieval, including L-band radiation model and buoyancy relationship. Covariability of snow depth and total freeboard is further utilized to mitigate resolution differences and improve retrievability. The method can be applied to future campaigns including ICESat-2 and WCOM.

Colluvial deposits as a possible weathering reservoir in uplifting mountains

The role of mountain uplift and associated silicate weathering in the global climate over geological times is controversial. Previous soil column models suggest that weathering falls at a high denudation rate. We present the results of a 3-D model that couples erosion and weathering, a CO₂consumer during mountain uplift. Our model suggests that the weathering of temporarily stocked colluvium may contribute significantly to the mountain weathering outflux at high denudation rates.

Active heat pulse sensing of 3-D-flow fields in streambeds

This study used a portable 56-sensor, 3-D temperature array with three heat pulse sources to measure the flow direction and magnitude below the water–sediment interface. Breakthrough curves from each of the sensors were analyzed using a heat transport equation. The use of short-duration heat pulses provided a rapid, accurate assessment technique for determining dynamic and multi-directional flow patterns in the hyporheic zone and is a basis for improved understanding of biogeochemical processes.

Decoupling of dissolved organic matter patterns between stream and riparian groundwater in a headwater forested catchment

Streams are important sources of carbon to the atmosphere, though knowing whether they merely outgas terrestrially derived carbon dioxide or mineralize terrestrial inputs of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is still a big challenge in ecology. Our study highlights that stream DOM is not merely a reflection of riparian groundwater entering the stream and that headwater streams have the capacity to internally produce, transform, and consume DOM.

Ideas and perspectives: hydrothermally driven redistribution and sequestration of early Archaean biomass – the “hydrothermal pump hypothesis”

The origin of organic matter in the oldest rocks on Earth is commonly ambiguous (biotic vs. abiotic). This problem culminates in the case of hydrothermal chert veins that contain abundant organic matter. Here we demonstrate a microbial origin of kerogen embedded in a 3.5 Gyr old hydrothermal chert vein. We explain this finding with the large-scale redistribution of biomass by hydrothermal fluids, emphasizing the interplay between biological and abiological processes on the early Earth.

A systemic approach for modeling soil functions

SOIL
DOI 10.5194/soil-4-83-2018
15 March 2018

This paper deals with the importance of soil for our terrestrial environment and the need to predict the impact of soil management on the multitude of functions that soil provides. We suggest to consider soil as a self-organized complex system and provide a concept of how this could be achieved. This includes how soil research, currently fragmented into a number of more or less disjunct disciplines, may be integrated to substantially contribute to a science-based evaluation of soil functions.

Thermodynamics of saline and fresh water mixing in estuaries

This paper presents a new equation for the dispersion of salinity in alluvial estuaries based on the maximum power concept. The new equation is physically based and replaces previous empirical equations. It is very useful for application in practice because in contrast to previous methods it no longer requires a calibration parameter, turning the method into a predictive method. The paper presents successful applications in more than 23 estuaries in different parts of the world.

Evaluation of stratospheric age of air from CF₄, C₂F₆, C₃F₈, CHF₃, HFC-125, HFC-227ea and SF₆; implications for the calculations of halocarbon lifetimes, fractional release factors and ozone depletion potentials

Chemical species measured in stratospheric air can be used as proxies for stratospheric circulation changes which cannot be measured directly. A range of tracers is important to understand changing stratospheric dynamics. We demonstrate the suitability of PFCs and HFCs as tracers and support recent work that reduces the current stratospheric lifetime of SF₆. Updates to policy-relevant parameters (e.g. stratospheric lifetime) linked to this change are provided for O₃-depleting substances.

From engineering hydrology to Earth system science: milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science

The paper presents major milestones in the transformation of hydrologic science over the last 50 years from engineering hydrology to Earth system science. This transformation has involved a transition from a focus on time (empirical) to space (Newtonian mechanics), and to time (Darwinian co-evolution). Hydrology is now well positioned to again return to a focus on space or space–time and a move towards regional process hydrology.

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