ALBERT

Description: Climate change is one of the most pressing political issues of our time. Science is uncovering the unprecedented nature and scale of its impacts on people, economies and ecosystems worldwide. One critical dimension of these impacts is their effect on international peace and security.This report summarises the state of knowledge regarding security risks related to climate change. To this end, it synthesises and contextualises the existing scientific evidence. It does not reflect all aspects of the debate that have emerged across social science but focuses on those that are particularly relevant at the political level.Climate change itself is rarely a direct cause of conflict. Yet, there is ample evidence that its effects exacerbate important drivers and contextual factors of conflict and fragility, thereby challenging the stability of states and societies.

Description: The authors of the 10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science (2022, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6257527, 10MustKnows) have developed their scientific findings further into 10 Must Dos from Biodiversity Science (10MustDos). The 10MustDos correspond with ten concrete recommendations for political actions that can be implemented in the short term. They are intended to serve as a guide for negotiations at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15, 7-19 December 2022 in Montréal). In addition, they also aim at supporting practical policy-making in Germany, Europe and worldwide through well-founded scientific knowledge with the overarching goal to protect global biodiversity and to stop the man-made extinction of species. The proposed solutions open up possibilities for action which are in alignment with the goals of the UN Decade for the Restoration of Ecosystems (2021-2030) and contribute to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are to be implemented by all states by 2030 in order to tackle the biodiversity, climate, and equity crisis collectively. 

Description: In the 10 Must Knows from Biodiversity Science 45 scientists present facts about biodiversity in a well-founded and generally intelligible way. They analyse the complex systems of the earth by highlighting ten key areas, each of which, in turn, is inextricably linked to all the others. And they show ways to stop the continued loss of species diversity and ecosystems, and to promote biodiversity. The underlying aim is to provide policy-makers and society with scientifically validated assessments of the latest knowledge to facilitate improved policy decisions and action at local, regional, national and global levels, in order to conserve the diversity of life – biodiversity. These are the 10MustKnows 2022: 1. Achieving climate and biodiversity protection together 2. Strengthening planetary health 3. Considering hidden biodiversity 4. Promoting biocultural habitats 5. Using forests sustainably 6. Transforming agriculture 7. Protecting land and resources 8. Expanding transnational infrastructure and education for sustainability 9. Ensuring access and open use of research data 10. Setting biodiversity-friendly incentives

Description: Geodynamic modelling provides a powerful tool to investigate processes in the Earth's crust, mantle, and core that are not directly observable. However, numerical models are inherently subject to the assumptions and simplifications on which they are based. In order to use and review numerical modelling studies appropriately, one needs to be aware of the limitations of geodynamic modelling as well as its advantages. Here, we present a comprehensive yet concise overview of the geodynamic modelling process applied to the solid Earth from the choice of governing equations to numerical methods, model setup, model interpretation, and the eventual communication of the model results. We highlight best practices and discuss their implementations including code verification, model validation, internal consistency checks, and software and data management. Thus, with this perspective, we encourage high-quality modelling studies, fair external interpretation, and sensible use of published work. We provide ample examples, from lithosphere and mantle dynamics specifically, and point out synergies with related fields such as seismology, tectonophysics, geology, mineral physics, planetary science, and geodesy. We clarify and consolidate terminology across geodynamics and numerical modelling to set a standard for clear communication of modelling studies. All in all, this paper presents the basics of geodynamic modelling for first-time and experienced modellers, collaborators, and reviewers from diverse backgrounds to (re)gain a solid understanding of geodynamic modelling as a whole.

Description: poster

Description: The analysis of the Coulomb stress changes has become an important tool for seismic hazard evaluation because such stress changes may trigger or delay next earthquakes. Processes that can cause significant Coulomb stress changes include coseismic slip, earthquake-induced poroelastic effects as well as transient postseismic processes such as viscoelastic relaxation. In this study, we investigate the spatial and temporal evolution of pore fluid pressure changes and fluid flow during the seismic cycle, their dependency on the permeability in the crust and the interaction with postseismic viscoelastic relaxation. To achieve this, we use 2D finite-element models for intra-continental normal and thrust faults, which include coseismic slip, poroelastic effects, postseismic viscoelastic relaxation and interseismic stress accumulation. In different experiments, we vary (1) the permeability of the upper and lower crust while keeping the viscosity structure constant and (2) the viscosity of the lower crust and lithospheric mantle, while we keep the permeabilities constant. (1) The modelling results show that the highest changes in pore fluid pressure during and after the earthquake occur within a distance of ~ 1 km around the lower fault tip at the transition between upper and lower crust. The evolution of pore pressure and fluid flow depends primarily on the permeability in the upper crust. With decreasing permeability, the possibility of the pore fluids to flow decreases and thus, in the postseismic phase, the duration of the poroelastic relaxation increases, from a few days to several years, until the pore pressure reaches the initial pressure of the preseismic phase. In contrast, the influence of variations of the permeability in the lower crust on the pore pressure changes is negligible. For high upper-crustal permeabilities, postseismic vertical velocities are high and decreases rapidly with time, from around 120 mm/a after the first year by two orders of magnitude after 10 years, whereas for low permeabilities they remain consistently low over the years after the earthquake. (2) Models with low viscosity of the lower crust show that the timescales of poroelastic effects and viscoelastic relaxation overlap and affect the postseismic velocity already in the early postseismic phase and that both processes decay within a few years after the earthquake. For higher viscosities, the velocity is initially dominated by pore pressure changes during the first few years, whereas viscoelastic relaxation lasts for decades. Both processes also show differences in their spatial scale. Poroelastic effects occur within a few kilometers around the fault, whereas viscoelastic relaxation acts on tens to hundreds of kilometers. As both processes can cause Coulomb stress changes on faults in the vicinity of the earthquake source fault, it is important to understand the spatial and temporal evolution, the effects on the individual faults and the interaction of both processes during the earthquake cycle. Future work will therefore include the calculation and examination of Coulomb stress changes on intra-continental normal and thrust faults using 3D models that include poroelastic effects and viscoelastic relaxation.

Description: The Songliao Block is located in the eastern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Its creation and evolution are believed to be related to the closure of the Paleo-Asian and Mongol-Okhotsk oceans, and to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean. The deep seismic reflection profiles showed that there are sloping mantle reflections below the Songliao Block, which are suspected to be the result of the convergence of three tectonic domains. However, it is still not clear the current structural form of the Songliao Block is caused by the direct action or not of the tectonic systems. This work used 138 broadband magnetotelluric stations to obtain a three-dimensional electrical structural model of the northern Songliao Block. The results showed there are orthogonal network fault systems, faulted basins, igneous rocks. And the Lindian fault depression is the center of the asthenospheric upwelling, the shallowest up to 45 km. Combined with evidence from seismic studies, we proposed that the superposition of tectonic systems may have produced weak tectonic zones. These zones provided channels for the later upward movement of fluids and melt, likely due to hydrous upwellings caused by the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific system.