ALBERT

Description: Social-ecological transformation has become an important concept in the face of profound planetary crises (loss of biodiversity, climate crisis). Recently, the needs for social scientific transformation research have become more clearly defined. We reflect on the role of the social sciences and the humanities in democratically shaping social transformation in interaction with other sectors of society. Finally, we sketch three examples that illustrate the kind of new methodological and institutional approaches to be pursued.

Description: Some forty years ago, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) created an unusual regime for states to collectively manage common natural resources on the international seabed beyond national jurisdiction (known as the Area) through the International Seabed Authority (ISA). In the intervening years, scientists have increasingly been warning about the serious environmental risks of mining seabed minerals. At this pivotal point in time, when states are negotiating whether or not to allow seabed mining, this essay explores the risk of undermining by mining, that is, contravening international marine environmental law and the obligations and responsibilities of states thereunder by allowing commercial mining activities to commence. We argue that allowing seabed mining in the Area at this juncture, when so much about the deep ocean remains unknown, would risk frustrating a host of measures, achievements, and progress to enhance marine environmental protection, particularly in areas beyond national jurisdiction. We begin with an overview of the ISA and its work to date, before discussing potential interactions between seabed mining and marine environmental law and policies, with a particular focus on the new ocean biodiversity agreement. We conclude by urging states to take cognizance of their overarching duty to protect and preserve the marine environment and ensure that all decisions taken with respect to seabed mining are consistent with their obligations and responsibilities under international law.

Description: Real-world laboratories have become a recognised research format for addressing sustainability challenges. In these transdisciplinary settings, actors from civil society, local government, and academia work together using a transdisciplinary research approach to jointly experiment and learn about sustainability transformations. While these labs are considered to have potential, their impact has not yet been fully measured. Therefore, in our paper we explore the case of the Zukunftsstadt Lüneburg 2030+ process to uncover the impacts that this long-term effort has generated over the past eight years. By examining the process and its design features from three analytical perspectives, we identify emergent impacts in three dimensions: education, governance, and the lab as an actor for sustainability. Based on our case study, we suggest that real-world labs contribute to sustainability on a local level, beyond the intentional experiments, through impacts that emerge over the course of the joint operation of the lab.

Description: Numerous scientific reports have evidenced the transformation of the earth system due to human activities. These changes – captured under the term ‘Anthropocene’ – require a new perspective on global law and policy. The concept of ‘earth system law’ situates law in an earth system context and offers a new perspective to interrogate the role of law in governing planetary challenges such as climate change. The discourse on earth system law has not yet fully recognised courts as actors that could shape climate governance, while climate litigation discourse has insufficiently considered aspects of earth system law. We posit that courts play an increasingly influential climate governance role and that they need to be recognised as Anthropocene institutions within the earth system law paradigm. Drawing on a set of prominent climate cases, we discuss five inter-related domains that are relevant for earth system law and where the potential influence of courts can be discerned: establishing accountability, redefining power relations, remedying vulnerabilities and injustices, increasing the reach and impact of international climate law and applying climate science to adjudicate legal disputes. We suggest that their innovative work in these domains could provide a basis for positioning courts as planetary climate governance actors.

Description: Germany, the European Union member state with the largest fiscal space and its leading manufacturer of industrial goods, is pursuing an ambitious hydrogen strategy aiming at establishing itself as a major technology provider and importer of green hydrogen. The success of its hydrogen strategy represents not only a key element in realizing the European vision of climate neutrality but also a central driver of an emerging global hydrogen economy. This article provides a detailed review of German policy, highlighting its prominent international dimension and its implications for the development of a global renewable hydrogen economy. It provides an overview of the strategy's central goals and how these have evolved since the launch of the strategy in 2020. Next, it moves on to provide an overview of the strategy's main areas of intervention and highlights corresponding policy instruments. For this, we draw on a comprehensive assessment of hydrogen policy instruments, which have been systematically analyzed and coded. This was complemented by a detailed analysis of policy documents and information gathered in six interviews with government officials and staff of key implementing agencies. The article places particular emphasis on the strategy's international dimension. While less significant in financial terms than domestic hydrogen-related spending, it represents a defining feature of the German hydrogen strategy, setting it apart from strategies in other major economies. The article closes with a reflection on the key features of the strategy compared to other important countries, identifies gaps of the strategy and discusses important avenues for future research.

Description: Increasing interconnectedness, along with the effects of climate change and other global risk drivers, has led to mounting systemic risks in the complex systems that characterize our world. Systemic risks, with their cascading impacts and long-term sustainability concerns, necessitate transformative approaches to manage their effects across system scales and dimensions. To date, however, an “operationalization gap” impedes translating between propositions for transformative change and policy options for addressing systemic risk. Here, we propose combining systemic risk analyses with local approaches, prominently including knowledge co-production, to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of complex systems. This combined approach can support stakeholders in designing transformative risk management and adaptation interventions that balance individual and higher-order interactions, incorporate diverse viewpoints, and thus manage systemic risks and leverage transformation potential more effectively. Furthermore, we suggest that a risk-layering approach can help differentiate, prioritize, and orchestrate these options for incremental and transformative changes.

Description: In two recent South African cases, Indigenous communities successfully challenged proposed fossil fuel exploration activities by the Shell petroleum company off South Africa's pristine West Coast. In contrast to earlier climate litigation cases in South Africa, the litigants relied specifically on their Indigenous rights and knowledge. In this case note, we highlight the ways in which the two courts engaged with the communities' cultural beliefs and practices as well as their knowledge related to sustainability and how this relates to protecting their livelihoods, cultural practices and identities that are threatened by the proposed activities. We highlight the important role played by Indigenous communities in the climate movement and argue that, in the future, Indigenous and related considerations could provide a strong basis for climate litigation in South Africa and potentially contribute to efforts to protect Indigenous communities against the activities of carbon majors.

Description: This article presents an enhanced emission module for the PALM model system, which collects discrete emission sources from different emission sectors and assigns them dynamically to the prognostic equations for specific pollutant species as volumetric source terms. Bidirectional lookup between each source location and cell index are maintained through using a hash key approach, while allowing all emission source modules to be conceived, developed and operated in a homogeneous and mutually independent manner. An additional generic emission mode has also been implemented to allow the use of external emission data in simulation runs. Results from benchmark runs indicate a high level of performance and scalability. Subsequently, a module for modelling parametrized emissions from domestic heating is implemented under this framework, using the approach of building energy usage and temperature deficit as a generalized form of heating degree days. An model run has been executed under idealized conditions by considering solely dispersion of PM10 from domestic heating sources. The results demonstrate a strong overall dependence on the strength and clustering of individual sources, diurnal variation in domestic heat usage, as well as the temperature deficit between the ambient and the user-defined target temperature. Vertical transport contributes additionally to a rapid attenuation of daytime PM10. Although urban topology plays a minor role on the pollutant concentrations at ground level, it has a relevant contribution to the vertical pollutant distribution.

Description: Key message: A decolonial approach is needed to fulfil IASC’s commitment to recognizing that Traditional Knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge and academic scientific knowledge are co-equal and complementary knowledge systems that all can and should inform its work (website ICARP IV, retrieved October 2023). This document summarizes key recommendations for actions regarding five themes: 1. Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination as a prerequisite for high-quality Arctic research 2. Ethics, methods and methodology as key for decolonial research 3. Indigenous-led research in design and practice 4. Indigenous Peoples’ co-equal participation in Arctic research funding structures and decision-making for securing decolonial Arctic research in practice 5. Funding for Co-Creative and Indigenous-Led Arctic Research

Description: This julia package implements various tools for working with simple, non-marked, one dimensional point processes. In special it implements a bootstrap-based goodness-of-fit test for parametric models.

Description: Europe’s recent summer droughts have had devastating ecological and economic consequences, but the severity and cause of these extremes remain unclear. Here we present 27,080 annually resolved and absolutely dated measurements of tree-ring stable carbon and oxygen (δ13C and δ18O) isotopes from 21 living and 126 relict oaks (Quercus spp.) used to reconstruct central European summer hydroclimate from 75 BCE to 2018 CE. We find that the combined inverse δ13C and δ18O values correlate with the June–August Palmer Drought Severity Index from 1901–2018 at 0.73 (P 〈 0.001). Pluvials around 200, 720 and 1100 CE, and droughts around 40, 590, 950 and 1510 CE and in the twenty-first century, are superimposed on a multi-millennial drying trend. Our reconstruction demonstrates that the sequence of recent European summer droughts since 2015 CE is unprecedented in the past 2,110 years. This hydroclimatic anomaly is probably caused by anthropogenic warming and associated changes in the position of the summer jet stream.

Description: Observations of spatio-temporal variability of the deep ocean are rare and little is known about occurrence of deep ocean mesoscale dynamics. Here, we make use of 2.5 years of time series data from three distributed sensor arrays, which acquired high-resolution temperature, pressure and sound speed data of the bottom layer offshore northern Chile. Estimating salinity and density from the direct observations enable access to the full spectrum of hydrographic variability from a multi-hourly to annual time scale and with average inter-station distances of less than 1 km. Analyses revealed interannual warming over the continental slope of 0.002 °C yr−1–0.003 °C yr−1, and could trace periodic hydrographic anomalies, likely related to coastal-trapped waves, as far as to the lower continental slope. A concurrent change in the shape of the warm anomalies and the rate of deep-sea warming that occurs with the crossing of the deep-sea trench suggests that the abyssal part of the eastern boundary current system off Chile does not extend past the deep sea trench. Furthermore, the comparison of anomaly timing and shape in between stations implies southwards flow over the mid to lower continental slope, centred closer to the trench.

Description: Phytoplankton forms the base of the marine food web by transforming CO2 into organic carbon via photosynthesis. Some of the organic carbon is then transferred through the food web and exported into the deep ocean, a process known as the biological carbon pump. Despite the importance of phytoplankton for marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle, projections of phytoplankton biomass in response to climate change differ strongly across Earth system models, illustrating uncertainty in our understanding of the underlying processes. Differences are especially large in the Southern Ocean, a region that is notoriously difficult to represent in models. Here, we argue that water column-integrated phytoplankton biomass in the Southern Ocean is projected to largely remain unchanged under climate change by the CMIP6 multi-model ensemble because of a shifting balance of bottom-up and top-down processes driven by a shoaling mixed layer depth. A shallower mixed layer is projected to improve growth conditions and consequently weaken bottom-up control. In addition to enhanced phytoplankton growth, the shoaling of the mixed layer also compresses phytoplankton closer to the surface and promotes zooplankton grazing efficiency, thus intensifying top-down control. Overall, our results suggest that while changes in bottom-up conditions stimulate enhanced growth, intensified top-down control opposes an increase in phytoplankton and becomes increasingly important for phytoplankton response under climate change in the Southern Ocean.

Description: We evaluated how ranges of four endemic and non-endemic aquatic ostracode species changed in response to long-term (glacial–interglacial cycles) and abrupt climate fluctuations during the last 155 kyr in the northern Neotropical region. We employed two complementary approaches, fossil records and species distribution models (SDMs). Fossil assemblages were obtained from sediment cores PI-1, PI-2, PI-6 and Petén-Itzá 22-VIII-99 from the Petén Itzá Scientific Drilling Project, Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala. To obtain a spatially resolved pattern of (past) species distribution, a downscaling cascade is employed. SDMs were reconstructed for the last interglacial (∼120 ka), the last glacial maximum (∼22 ka) and the middle Holocene (∼6 ka). During glacial and interglacial cycles and marine isotope stages (MISs), modelled paleo-distributions and paleo-records show the nearly continuous presence of endemic and non-endemic species in the region, suggesting negligible effects of long-term climate variations on aquatic niche stability. During periods of abrupt ecological disruption such as Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), endemic species were resilient, remaining within their current areas of distribution. Non-endemic species, however, proved to be more sensitive. Modelled paleo-distributions suggest that the geographic range of non-endemic species changed, moving southward into Central America. Due to the uncertainties involved in the downscaling from the global numerical to the highly resolved regional geospatial statistical modelling, results can be seen as a benchmark for future studies using similar approaches. Given relatively moderate temperature decreases in Lake Petén Itzá waters (∼5 ∘C) and the persistence of some aquatic ecosystems even during periods of severe drying in HS1, our data suggest (1) the existence of micro-refugia and/or (2) continuous interaction between central metapopulations and surrounding populations, enabling aquatic taxa to survive climate fluctuations in the northern Neotropical region.

Description: Highlights • Investigation into the potential of Porites microatolls for SST reconstruction. • Comparison between recent and more conventional coral paleoclimatology methods. • Application of Srsingle bondU and Li/Mg paleothermometer. • Accuracy and reproducibility of Sr/Ca proved to be the most suitable proxy for SST reconstruction. Abstract Massive dome-shaped coral Porites are the predominant choice for paleoclimate studies due to their consistent and reliable growth. When growing close to sea level, they become limited in their vertical growth and form so-called ‘microatolls’. Microatolls have not yet been extensively explored for paleoclimate reconstruction. Here, we investigate how reliable modern Porites microatolls are against empirical sea-surface temperature using Sr/Ca, δ18O, Li/Mg and Srsingle bondU paleothermometry methods on samples from the Society Islands, French Polynesia. Our results show Sr/Ca ratios have the lowest Standard Error of the Inverse Prediction (SEIP) at 0.415 °C (N = 41) with a calibration of Sr/Ca (mmol mol−1) = −0.082 ± 0.006 SST (°C) + 11.256 ± 0.170 and with high reproducibility across multiple corals. The reproducibility of δ18O was less good, with SEIP increasing to 0.829 °C (N = 41). Considering methods directly from the literature, Li/Mg ratio empirically corrected for Sr/Ca had the best balance between bias and precision where no local calibration could be available. This study independently evaluates and confirms the suitability of Porites microatolls from well-flushed environments for paleoclimate studies. Fossil dome-shaped Porites grow anywhere between near-surface and roughly 20 m depths which inherently incorporates uncertainty into any sea surface temperature reconstruction. This uncertainty is significantly reduced for microatolls due to their well-constrained bathymetry. The study represents a fundamental step in paleoclimate research targeting consistently near the water-air interface bringing reliability and, especially when combined with their ability to reconstruct past sea-level changes, microatolls have the potential to be central for future paleoenvironmental studies.

Description: After a successful conquest of large parts of Syria in 1258 and 1259 CE, the Mongol army lost the battle of 'Ayn Jālūt against Mamluks on September 3, 1260 CE. Recognized as a turning point in world history, their sudden defeat triggered the reconfiguration of strategic alliances and geopolitical power not only in the Middle East, but also across much of Eurasia. Despite decades of research, scholars have not yet reached consensus over the causes of the Mongol reverse. Here, we revisit previous arguments in light of climate and environmental changes in the aftermath of one the largest volcanic forcings in the past 2500 years, the Samalas eruption ~1257 CE. Regional tree ring-based climate reconstructions and state-of-the-art Earth System Model simulations reveal cooler and wetter conditions from spring 1258 to autumn 1259 CE for the eastern Mediterranean/Arabian region. We therefore hypothesize that the post-Samalas climate anomaly and associated environmental variability affected an estimated 120,000 Mongol soldiers and up to half a million of their horses during the conquest. More specifically, we argue that colder and wetter climates in 1258 and 1259 CE, while complicating and slowing the campaign in certain areas, such as the mountainous regions in the Caucasus and Anatolia, also facilitated the assault on Syria between January and March 1260. A return to warmer and dryer conditions in the summer of 1260 CE, however, likely reduced the regional carrying capacity and may therefore have forced a mass withdrawal of the Mongols from the region that contributed to the Mamluks’ victory. In pointing to a distinct environmental dependency of the Mongols, we offer a new explanation of their defeat at 'Ayn Jālūt, which effectively halted the further expansion of the largest ever land-based empire.

Description: Global projections of macroeconomic climate-change damages typically consider impacts from average annual and national temperatures over long time horizons. Here we use recent empirical findings from more than 1,600 regions worldwide over the past 40 years to project sub-national damages from temperature and precipitation, including daily variability and extremes. Using an empirical approach that provides a robust lower bound on the persistence of impacts on economic growth, we find that the world economy is committed to an income reduction of 19% within the next 26 years independent of future emission choices (relative to a baseline without climate impacts, likely range of 11–29% accounting for physical climate and empirical uncertainty). These damages already outweigh the mitigation costs required to limit global warming to 2 °C by sixfold over this near-term time frame and thereafter diverge strongly dependent on emission choices. Committed damages arise predominantly through changes in average temperature, but accounting for further climatic components raises estimates by approximately 50% and leads to stronger regional heterogeneity. Committed losses are projected for all regions except those at very high latitudes, at which reductions in temperature variability bring benefits. The largest losses are committed at lower latitudes in regions with lower cumulative historical emissions and lower present-day income.

Description: Are there group decision methods which (i) give everyone, including minorities, an equal share of effective decision power even when voters act strategically, (ii) promote consensus and equality, rather than polarization and inequality, and (iii) do not favour the status quo or rely too much on chance? We describe two non-deterministic group decision methods that meet these criteria, one based on automatic bargaining over lotteries, the other on conditional commitments to approve compromise options. Using theoretical analysis, agent-based simulations and a behavioral experiment, we show that these methods prevent majorities from consistently suppressing minorities, which can happen in deterministic methods, and keeps proponents of the status quo from blocking decisions, as in other consensus-based approaches. Our simulations show that these methods achieve aggregate welfare comparable to common voting methods, while employing chance judiciously, and that the welfare costs of fairness and consensus are small compared to the inequality costs of majoritarianism. In an incentivized experiment with naive participants, we find that a sizable fraction of participants prefers to use a non-deterministic voting method over Plurality Voting to allocate monetary resources. However, this depends critically on their position within the group. Those in the majority show a strong preference for majoritarian voting methods.

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉NASA's Juno mission delivered gravity data of exceptional quality. They indicate that the zonal winds, which rule the dynamics of Jupiter's cloud deck, must slow down significantly beyond a depth of about 3,000 km. Since the underlying inversion is highly non‐unique additional constraints on the flow properties at depth are required. These could potentially be provided by the magnetic field and its Secular Variation (SV) over time. However, the role of these zonal winds in Jupiter's magnetic field dynamics is little understood. Here we use numerical simulations to explore the impact of the zonal winds on the dynamo field produced at depth. We find that the main effect is an attenuation of the non‐axisymmetric field, which can be quantified by a modified magnetic Reynolds number Rm that combines flow amplitude and electrical conductivity profile. Values below Rm = 3 are required to retain a pronounced non‐axisymmetric feature like the Great Blue Spot (GBS), which seems characteristic for Jupiter's magnetic field. This allows for winds reaching as deep as 3,400 km. A SV pattern similar to the observation can only be found in some of our models. Its amplitude reflects the degree of cancellation between advection and diffusion rather than the zonal wind velocity at any depth. It is therefore not straightforward to make inferences on the deep structure of cloud‐level winds based on Jupiter's SV.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: The dynamics in Jupiter's cloud layer is dominated by eastward and westward directed wind jets that circumvent the planet and reach velocities of up to 150 m per second. For the first time, NASA's Juno mission could measure the tiny gravity changes caused by these winds. The data show that the winds reach down to a depth of about 3,000 km, roughly 4% of Jupiter's radius. However, the interpretation is difficult and several alternative wind profiles have been suggested. In this paper we use numerical simulations to explore how these winds would affect Jupiter's magnetic field, which has also been measured with high precision by Juno. The field shows a strong inward‐directed local patch just south of the equator, called the GBS. The impact of the winds on the magnetic field rapidly increases with depth because of the increase in the electrical conductivity. Our simulations show that winds reaching deeper than about 3,400 km would practically wipe out the GBS. This confirms that they have to remain shallower. Juno also observed an east‐ward drift of the GBS. While some of our simulations also show an east‐ward drift it is typically much too slow.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We study the magnetic field variations caused by Jupiter's deep‐reaching surface winds for various flow and electrical conductivity models〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Zonal winds reaching deeper than 3,400 km would yield a very axisymmetric surface field and are thus unrealistic〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉It seems questionable that Jupiter's secular variation carries any useful information on the zonal winds〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000266

Description: https://doi.org/10.17617/3.CNVRWD

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The microphysical structure of the lunar regolith provides information on the geologic history of the Moon. We used remote sensing measurements of thermal emission and a thermophysical model to determine the microphysical properties of the lunar regolith. We expand upon previous investigations by developing a microphysical thermal model, which more directly simulates regolith properties, such as grain size and volume filling factor. The modeled temperatures are matched with surface temperatures measured by the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The maria and highlands are investigated separately and characterized in the model by a difference in albedo and grain density. We find similar regolith temperatures for both terrains, which can be well described by similar volume filling factor profiles and mean grain sizes obtained from returned Apollo samples. We also investigate a significantly lower thermal conductivity for highlands, which formally also gives a very good solution, but in a parameter range that is well outside the Apollo data. We then study the latitudinal dependence of regolith properties up to ±80° latitude. When assuming constant regolith properties, we find that a variation of the solar incidence‐dependent albedo can reduce the initially observed latitudinal gradient between model and Diviner measurements significantly. A better match between measurements and model can be achieved by a variation in intrinsic regolith properties with a decrease in bulk density with increasing latitude. We find that a variation in grain size alone cannot explain the Diviner measurements at higher latitudes.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: The Moon is covered by a layer of fine grained material called regolith. To extract information about the regolith, such as grain size or stratification, we used data from the Diviner instrument on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Diviner measures the surface temperature of the regolith for each location on the Moon and all times during day and night. To derive regolith properties, we developed a model and varied its model parameters until the simulated surface temperatures matched the measured ones. We applied the model up to a latitude of 80° and find as the best solution a decrease in regolith packing density with increasing latitude. We also find that a variation of regolith grain size alone cannot explain the measurements. These predictions are valuable for planning future missions targeting higher latitudes and can be compared with future in situ measurements and returned samples. However, the fraction of sunlight that actually heats the regolith is quite unknown, especially at high latitudes. A variation of this fraction can explain the measured surface temperatures reasonably well even without a variation of the regolith properties with latitude.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We developed a microphysical thermal model accounting for regolith grain size and volume filling factor〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The best match between model and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Diviner data was achieved with a decrease in bulk density between 30° and 80° latitude〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We also found a reasonable agreement between observed and modeled surface temperatures when varying the solar incidence dependent albedo〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: LRO project

Description: https://doi.org/10.17189/WJ0S-W188

Description: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8433837

Description: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10781188

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The Ries impact structure (Germany) contains well‐preserved ejecta deposits consisting of melt‐free lithic breccia (Bunte Breccia) overlain by suevite. To test their emplacement conditions, we investigated the magnetic properties and microstructures of 26 polymict breccia clasts and a stratigraphic profile from the clasts into the suevite at the Aumühle quarry. Remanent magnetization directions of the Bunte Breccia clasts fall into two groups: those whose directions mostly lie parallel to the reversed field during impact carried mostly by magnetite, and those whose directions vary widely among each clast carried by titanohematite. Basement clasts containing titanohematite acquired a chemical remanent magnetization (CRM) during the ejection process and then rotated during turbulent deposition. Clasts of sedimentary rocks grew magnetite after turbulent deposition, with CRM directions lying parallel to the paleofield. Suevite holds a thermal remanent magnetization carried by magnetite, except for ∼12 cm from the contact with the Bunte Breccia, where hematite concentrations increase due to hydrothermal alteration. These observations lead us to propose a three‐stage model of (a) turbulent deposition of the melt‐free breccia with clast rotation 〈580°C, (b) deposition of the overlying suevite, which acted as a semi‐permeable barrier that confined hot (〈300°C) oxidizing fluids to the permeable breccia zone, and (c) prolonged hydrothermal activity producing further alteration which ended before the next geomagnetic reversal. Basement outcrops have significantly different magnetic properties than the Bunte Breccia basement clasts with similar lithology. Two basement blocks situated near the inner ring may have been thermally overprinted up to 550°C.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: The 26‐km‐diameter, ∼15‐million‐year‐old Ries meteorite impact structure in southern Germany is characterized by well‐preserved ejecta deposits expelled from the crater within seconds after the impact. These deposits consist of two main layers: melt‐free, lithic breccia (Bunte Breccia), overlain by melt‐bearing breccia (suevite). To understand the formation conditions of the ejecta deposits, we performed paleomagnetic and rock magnetic measurements and microstructural experiments on clasts within Bunte Breccia and on the overlying suevite at the Aumühle quarry. We found that clasts derived from crystalline basement materials experienced high pressures during the impact. These clasts had randomly oriented magnetization directions carried by titanohematite. In contrast, clasts derived from sedimentary rocks experienced only low pressures and had coherent magnetization directions oriented parallel to the reversed field during the impact that are carried by magnetite. Our findings can be interpreted by a three‐stage model that explains the thermal and structural formation of impact ejecta at the Ries impact structure.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Randomly oriented paleomagnetic directions in basement clasts in ejecta deposits suggest turbulent emplacement〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Bunte Breccia was chemically altered and locally heated by the overlying suevite, resulting in hydrothermal activity up to 300°C〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Basement rocks near the inner ring may have experienced temperatures up to 550°C from cratering〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: https://earthref.org/MagIC/19984

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Hydrochemical data of karst springs provide valuable insights into the internal hydrodynamical functioning of karst systems and support model structure identification. However, the collection of high‐frequency time series of major solute species is limited by analysis costs. In this study, we develop a method to retrieve the individual solute concentration time series and their uncertainty at high temporal resolution for karst springs by using continuous observations of electrical conductivity (EC) and low‐frequency ionic measurements. Due to the large ion content and non‐negligible concentrations of aqueous complexes in karst systems, the concentration of each solute species occurring as free ion and as part of aqueous complexes are computed separately. The concentration of species occurring as free ions are computed considering their contributions to the total EC, whereas the concentration of the species as part of complexes are obtained from speciation calculations. The pivotal role of the complexation processes for the reconstruction of solute concentration time series starting from the EC signal is investigated in two karstic catchments with different geologies and temporal resolution of the available hydrochemical datasets, that is the Kerschbaum dolostone system in Austria and the Baget limestone system in France. The results show that complexation processes are significant and should be considered for the estimation of the total solute concentration in case of SO〈sub〉4〈/sub〉, Ca, Mg and HCO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉. The EC signal of a karst spring can be used to interpolate and quantify the dynamics of those solutes characterized by large contribution (approximately >6%) to the total EC and low relative variability, that is HCO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, Ca and Mg. Moreover, the presented method can be used to estimate concentrations of solutes when applied to karst systems with stationary and hydrogeochemical homogeneous contributing area. On the contrary, the method is affected by large uncertainty in case of dynamic systems characterized by varying contributions of water from different geological areas. This study aims to contribute to the problem of hydrogeochemical data availability and to support future works on karst systems conceptualization.〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001703

Description: European Regional Development Fund http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100008530

Description: http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/fb92daaffced415fb7a991747e73adfa

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The Bakreswar geothermal province represents a medium enthalpy geothermal system with its Bakreswar and Tantloie hot springs. It lies within the Chotanagpur Granite Gneissic Complex in the eastern part of the Indian Peninsula. The province has a high heat flow and a high geothermal gradient of 90°C/km. Magnetotelluric data from 95 sites in a frequency range of 10 kHz–10 Hz were acquired over the Bakreswar geothermal province to obtain an electrical conductivity model and map the geothermal reservoir with its fluid pathways and related geological structures. Subsurface conductivity models obtained from three‐dimensional inversions of the Magnetotelluric data exhibit several prominent anomalies, which are supplemented by gravity results. The conductivity model maps three features which act as a conduit (a) a northwest–southeast trending feature, (b) an east–west trending feature to the south of the northwest–southeast trending feature (which lies 1 km north of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation fault marked by previous studies) and (c) shallow conducting features close to Bakreswar hot spring. The northwest–southeast trending feature coincides with the boundary of the high‐density intrusive block. This northwest–southeast trending feature provides the pathway for the meteoric water to reach a maximum depth of 2.7 km, where it gets heated by interacting with deep‐seated structures and then it rises towards the surface. The radiogenic process occurring within the granites of Chotanagpur Granite Gneissic Complex provides the heat responsible for heating the meteoric water. The northwest–southeast and east–west trending features are responsible for the transport of meteoric water to deeper depths and then towards the shallow regions of the Earth. The near surface features close to the Bakreswar hot spring are responsible for carrying the water further towards the hot spring. The resistivity of these structures plotted as a function of salinity and temperatures for saline crustal fluids suggests the involvement of meteoric water. Further, applying Archie's law to this resistivity suggests that the conduit path has a porosity greater than 10%. This study successfully maps the anomalous structures which might foster the migration of geothermal fluid in Bakreswar geothermal province.〈/p〉

Description: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Despite extensive investigation, the tectono‐thermal evolution of the Archean crust in the Lewisian Gneiss Complex in NW Scotland (LGC) is debated. Most U–Pb zircon geochronological and metamorphic studies have focused on rocks from the central region of the mainland LGC, where granulite facies assemblages associated with the oldest (Badcallian) tectono‐metamorphic event at c. 2.75 Ga are overprinted by younger amphibolite facies assemblages related to the Inverian (c. 2.5 Ga) and subsequent Laxfordian (c. 1.9–1.65 Ga) tectono‐thermal events. In the southern and northern regions of the mainland LGC, deformation and metamorphism associated with the Laxfordian event are pervasive, although the timing and conditions are poorly constrained. Here, we present new field, petrographic and structural data, U–Pb zircon and titanite geochronology and phase equilibrium modelling of amphibolite samples from the northern and southern regions. Our field observations show that in both regions, pre‐Laxfordian structures are significantly reworked by steep NW‐striking fabrics that are themselves pervasively overprinted by co‐axial deformation and amphibolite facies metamorphism related to the Laxfordian event. In situ U–Pb titanite geochronology yields Laxfordian ages of 1853 ± 20 Ma in the southern region (P = 6–8 kbar and T = 640–690°C) and 1750 ± 20 Ma and 1776 ± 10 Ma in the northern region (P = 6–7.5 kbar and T = 740–760°C). While U–Pb dating of zircon rims from felsic gneisses in the central region shows a dominant Inverian metamorphic overprint at c. 2500 Ma, zircon rims in felsic gneisses from the northern and southern regions commonly yield Laxfordian dates as young as c. 1800 Ma. Combined, the results support the idea that, during the Palaeoproterozoic, the central region of the LGC acted as low‐strain domain, in which intense deformation and metamorphism were restricted to crustal‐scale shear zones. By contrast, in the southern and northern regions, early (c. 1.85 Ga) and late (c. 1.75 Ga) Laxfordian deformation and fluid‐mediated metamorphism were much more pervasive and at higher P–T conditions than previously proposed. The diachronous Laxfordian evolution of the southern and northern regions indicate that they reflect early and late snapshots of collisional to transpressional tectonics in the mainland LGC. The long‐lasting Laxfordian evolution documents the collision of the Rae and North Atlantic cratons during the Palaeoproterozoic amalgamation of the supercontinent Nuna, with implications for the palaeogeographic configuration of NW Scotland during Palaeoproterozoic Nuna.〈/p〉

Description: Australian Research Council http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000923

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The 6 February 2023, 〈italic〉M〈/italic〉〈sub〉〈italic〉w〈/italic〉〈/sub〉 7.8 Pazarcık earthquake in the Turkey‐Syria border region raises the question of whether such a large earthquake could have been foreseen, as well as what is the maximum possible magnitude (〈italic〉M〈/italic〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉) of earthquakes on the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) system and on continental transform faults in general. To answer such questions, knowledge of past earthquakes and of their causative faults is necessary. Here, we integrate data from historical seismology, paleoseismology, archeoseismology, and remote sensing to identify the likely source faults of fourteen 〈italic〉M〈/italic〉〈sub〉〈italic〉w〈/italic〉〈/sub〉 ≥ 7 earthquakes between 1000 CE and the present in the region. We find that the 2023 Pazarcık earthquake could have been foreseen in terms of location (the EAF) and timing (an earthquake along this fault was if anything overdue), but not magnitude. We hypothesize that the maximum earthquake magnitude for the EAF is in fact 8.2, that is, a single end‐to‐end rupture of the entire fault, and that the 2023 Pazarcık earthquake did not reach 〈italic〉M〈/italic〉〈sub〉max〈/sub〉 by a fortuitous combination of circumstances. We conclude that such unusually large events are hard to model in terms of recurrence intervals, and that seismic hazard assessment along continental transforms cannot be done on individual fault systems but must include neighboring systems as well, because they are not kinematically independent at any time scale.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: On 6 February 2023, there was a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Turkey‐Syria border region. It surprised many people, including many Earth scientists, because of where it happened (on the East Anatolian fault [EAF]) and because of how large it was. People wondered whether it could have been foreseen, and how large an earthquake on this fault can really be. To figure this out, we looked at the history of earthquakes in the region in the last 1,000 years. We used information from historical seismology, paleoseismology, archeoseismology, and remote sensing to identify the faults that caused 14 earthquakes with magnitude 7 or greater in this region. We found that the location (EAF) and timing (it was due any time) of the 2023 earthquake were foreseeable, but not the magnitude. In fact, we believe that the maximum magnitude for the EAF is 8.2, and that the 2023 earthquake was below this maximum just by accident. It is hard to say how often such large events can happen, because many different things need to align. We also believe that it is necessary to look at neighboring fault systems when estimating seismic hazards, because they interact.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We identified the source faults of 14 large earthquakes along the East Anatolian and northern Dead Sea fault systems〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Maximum magnitude for the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) zone is approximately 8.2〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Continental transforms may be described as having a collective memory〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: https://doi.org/10.5270/ESA-c5d3d65

Description: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EA000658

Description: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4489-2022

Description: https://doi.org/10.25577/EWT8-KY06

Description: https://dx.doi.org/10.5285/df93e92a3adc46b9a5c4bd3a547cd242

Description: https://doi.org/10.5066/P985I7U2

Description: https://app.box.com/v/textureshading

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Teleseismic back‐projection imaging has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding the rupture propagation of large earthquakes. However, its application often suffers from artifacts related to the receiver array geometry. We developed a teleseismic back‐projection technique that can accommodate data from multiple arrays. Combined processing of P and pP waveforms may further improve the resolution. The method is suitable for defining arrays ad‐hoc to achieve a good azimuthal distribution for most earthquakes. We present a catalog of short‐period rupture histories (0.5–2.0 Hz) for all earthquakes from 2010 to 2022 with 〈italic〉M〈/italic〉〈sub〉〈italic〉W〈/italic〉〈/sub〉 ≥ 7.5 and depth less than 200 km (56 events). The method provides automatic estimates of rupture length, directivity, speed, and aspect ratio, a proxy for rupture complexity. We obtained short‐period rupture length scaling relations that are in good agreement with previously published relations based on estimates of total slip. Rupture speeds were consistently in the sub‐Rayleigh regime for thrust and normal earthquakes, whereas a tenth of strike‐slip events propagated at supershear speeds. Many rupture histories exhibited complex behaviors, for example, rupture on conjugate faults, bilateral propagation, and dynamic triggering by a P wave. For megathrust earthquakes, ruptures encircling asperities were frequently observed, with downdip, updip, and balanced patterns. Although there is a preference for short‐period emissions to emanate from central and downdip parts of the megathrust, emissions updip of the main asperity are more frequent than suggested by earlier results.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: Back‐projection is an earthquake imaging method based on seismic waveforms recorded remotely at a group of seismometers (seismic array). Here, we develop a new approach to combine backprojections from multiple arrays and seismic waveforms and use it to derive a catalog of large earthquake rupture histories from 2010 to 2022, providing a map view of the high‐frequency radiation emitted along the fault. The method automatically estimates the earthquake rupture length, speed, directivity, and aspect ratio. Based on these estimates, we obtained scaling relations between the earthquake magnitude and rupture length that agree with classical relationships. We identified strike‐slip earthquakes propagating at supershear, that is, faster than the shear wave speed, the usual limit for self‐sustaining rupture propagation. We observed complex rupture behaviors, for example, multiple faults activated, bilateral ruptures, and triggering of the main phase of a rupture by a primary (P) wave from the earliest part of the rupture. For subduction earthquakes, high‐frequency emissions were often observed, forming a ring around the fault interface patches (asperities) where the main slip occurs. There was a preference for high‐frequency radiation to emanate from central and deeper parts of the subducting plate interface, but shallower emissions were more frequent than expected from previous literature.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We provide a complete catalog of high‐frequency rupture histories for 〈italic〉M〈/italic〉 ≥ 7.5 events 2010–2022〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We develop a semi‐automatic method for estimating rupture length, speed, directivity, and aspect ratio〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Both encircling ruptures and emissions updip of slip asperities common in megathrust earthquakes〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: National Agency for Research and Development (ANID)

Description: https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.2.4.2024.001

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Craters on the lunar surface can provide valuable information about the timing and sequence of surface‐forming processes on the Moon. A commonly used method for age determination is the analysis of the crater size‐frequency distribution (CSFD) to which a production function (PF) is fitted that represents the size‐frequency distribution of the impactors. However, the commonly used PF of Neukum (1983) is valid for crater diameters between 10 m and 300 km. Neukum et al. (2001, 〈ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1035-0_3"〉https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1035-0_3〈/ext-link〉) revised the PF for crater diameters of 100 m–200 km. However, it is suggested to also be valid for the diameter range of 10 m–300 km as well. To assess whether we can extend a PF to craters ≤10 m in diameter, we investigated the slopes of the CSFDs of small craters formed on ejecta of young Copernican‐aged craters Giordano Bruno, Moore F, North Ray, and South Ray. A PF for smaller diameters would allow dating of young geological units, which are typically small, and would reduce the statistical error in age determinations, since smaller craters are more abundant. However, small craters are strongly influenced by geological factors, such as target properties, crater degradation, and secondary craters. For craters between 10 and 20 m we obtain a steeper CSFD slope than Neukum's proposed −3 slope (cumulative), whereas for craters ≤10 m the slope is about −3. We conclude that the PF of Neukum (1983) provides a reasonable CSFD slope for smaller craters, although it was not developed for this crater diameter range.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: Since the formation of the Moon, impactors have randomly hit the lunar surface. Older areas have larger and more abundant craters compared to younger areas. This relationship allows the determination of relative ages for different surfaces. A mathematical function can be fitted to the number and size of craters. This function has a specific shape and can be used to date a surface. Frequently used functions are valid between crater diameters of 10 m and 300 km. Dating young geological units is only possible if the observed craters are 〈bold〉≥〈/bold〉10 m in diameter. Therefore, an extension of these functions to crater diameters ≤10 m would be beneficial. However, small craters are strongly influenced by geological factors, such as target properties, crater degradation, and secondary craters. We consider these influences in our investigation. To compare our results with previous findings, we look more closely at the slope of the function that results from the number and size of the craters. Generally, we find that one function fits well for craters ≤10 m, even though it was not designed for this diameter range. This allows a more robust age determination because small craters are more abundant, reducing the statistical error.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We studied small craters on young ejecta blankets to evaluate if the lunar production function (PF) is viable for craters ≤10 m〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The crater size‐frequency distributions (CSFDs) indicate that the PF can indeed be extended to crater diameters ≤10 m〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Our observed slopes of CSFDs at the studied Copernican‐aged craters are consistent with previous findings〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft‐ und Raumfahrt http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002946

Description: https://doi.org/10.35003/V9AFAZ

Description: https://doi.org/10.17189/1520341

Description: https://ode.rsl.wustl.edu/moon/

Description: https://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc/rdr_product_select

Description: https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/search/map/Moon/Clementine/UVVIS/Lunar_Clementine_UVVIS_Warp_ClrRatio_Global_200m

Description: https://aaronclauset.github.io/powerlaws/

Description: Geologische Karte 1: 25 000 mit Erläuterungen. Digitalisat des FID GEO (Fachinformationsdienst Geowissenschaften), erstellt durch das GDZ (Göttinger Digitalisierungszentrum), Karte aus dem Bestand der SUB Göttingen. Koordinaten Vorlage: Nullmeridian Ferro E 038 10 – 038 20 / N 054 42 - 054 48.

Description: map

Description: DFG, SUB Göttingen

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉To understand the global response of thermospheric‐ionospheric (TI) parameters to variations in solar irradiance measurements from the Global‐Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) ultraviolet imaging spectrograph, solar radio flux F10.7, predictions from the Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere Plasmasphere electrodynamics (CTIPe) model, and International Global Navigation Satellite System Service total electron content maps (TEC) have been used. Various parameters such as GOLD 〈italic〉O〈/italic〉/〈italic〉N〈/italic〉〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, 〈italic〉O〈/italic〉〈sub〉2〈/sub〉, and the nighttime peak electron density (Nmax) have been compared with the CTIPe model simulations. The GOLD observed Nmax shows a number of significant features including a winter anomaly and an equatorial ionization anomaly. The comparison with solar proxies showed that the GOLD 〈italic〉Q〈/italic〉〈sub〉〈italic〉EUV〈/italic〉〈/sub〉 correlates very well with the EUV observations compared to the F10.7 index. The study also examined the relationship between the solar proxies and Nmax on different time scales and found that Nmax responded significantly to 〈italic〉Q〈/italic〉〈sub〉〈italic〉EUV〈/italic〉〈/sub〉 at both medium‐ and long‐term timescales. Furthermore, a low correlation between Nmax in the equatorial region and solar proxies was found. A delayed ionospheric TEC response against solar flux variations within the 27‐day solar rotation was investigated. This ionospheric delay of TEC with respect to solar flux was observed to be less than 1 day, which was reproduced in model simulations. The current study has shown that the GOLD observations can be used to investigate the delayed ionospheric response and to gain a better understanding of the influence of solar activity on the TI system.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Ionospheric‐thermospheric parameters observed by Global‐Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) ultraviolet imaging spectrograph are compared with Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere Plasmasphere electrodynamics model simulations〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The delayed ionospheric response against the solar flux is less than 1 day at the time scale of the 27 days solar rotation period〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The integrated 1–45 nm solar energy flux values observed by GOLD correlate well with the F10.7 and EUV〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: http://cddis.nasa.gov/Data_and_Derived_Products/GNSS/atmospheric_products.html

Description: http://gold.cs.ucf.edu/search/

Description: https://omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/form/dx1.html

Description: https://lasp.colorado.edu/lisird/

Description: http://guvitimed.jhuapl.edu/data/products

Description: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8145356

Description: Eine erste taxonomische Übersicht der bisher unbeschriebenen Taphoflora aus dem Unterrotliegend (Oberkarbon – Unterperm) von Niedermoschel bei Alsenz (Saar-Becken-Becken, SW-Deutschland) wird vorgestellt. Die Flora umfasst nach aktuellem Kenntnisstand folgende Taxa: Lepidostrobophyllum sp., Sphenophyllum thoniiMAHR, Sphenophyllum cf. oblongifolium (GERMAR & KAULFUSS) UNGER, Sphenophyllum spp. (unbest. Achsen), Annularia spinulosa STERNBERG, Annularia spicata (GUTBIER) SCHIMPER, Asterophyllites equisetiformis (SCHLOTHEIM ex STERNBERG) BRONGNIART, Asterophyllites longifolius (STERNBERG) BRONGNIART, cf. Palaeostachya sp., Calamites spp., Scolecopteris cf. arborescens (SCHLOTHEIM ex BRONGNIART) STUR, Pecopteris (Scolecopteris) cf. oreopteridia (SCHLOTHEIM) BRONGNIART, Pecopteris (Scolecopteris) candolleana BRONGNIART, Pecopteris (Scolecopteris) cf. densifolia GÖPPERT, Pecopteris monyi ZEILLER, Pecopteris spp. indet, Remia pinnatifida (GUTBIER) KNIGHT, Asterotheca sternbergii (GÖPPERT) STUR, Crossotheca sp., Autunia conferta (STERNBERG) KERP, Rhachiphyllum schenkii (HEYER) KERP, Dicksonites pluckenetii (SCHLOTHEIM ex STERNBERG) STERZEL, cf. Neurodontopteris auriculata (BRONGNIART) POTONIÉ, Cordaites sp., Coniferae indet., Gomphostrobus bifidus (GEINITZ) POTONIÉ, cf. Dicranophyllum gallicum GRAND´EURY sowie verschiedene, nicht näher bestimmbare karpologische Reste, Wurzeln und Problematika. Die Flora repräsentiert damit eine der diversesten, bisher bekannt gewordenen Floren aus dem Unteren Rotliegend des Saar-Nahe-Beckens. Basierend auf der taxonomischen Zusammensetzung und der autökologischen Interpretation der nachgewiesenen Taxa wird die Taphoflora als eine allochthone Vermischung mindestens zweier Vegetationseinheiten gedeutet: der ufernahen, feuchtigkeitsliebenden Vegetation (deren Reste die Taphoflora dominieren) und der Vegetation des eher trockeneren Hinterlandes.

Description: Abstract: A first taxonomic survey of the so far undescribed taphoflora from the Lower Rotliegend (Upper Carboniferous – Lower Permian) of Niedermoschel near Alsenz (Saar-Nahe basin, Southwest Germany) is presented. The following taxa have been identified so far: Lepidostrobophyllum sp., Sphenophyllum thoniiMAHR, Sphenophyllum cf. oblongifolium (GERMAR & KAULFUSS) UNGER, Sphenophyllum spp., Annularia spinulosa STERNBERG, Annularia spicata (GUTBIER) SCHIMPER, Asterophyllites equisetiformis (SCHLOTHEIM ex STERNBERG) BRONGNIART, Asterophyllites longifolius (STERNBERG) BRONGNIART , cf. Palaeostachya sp., Calamites spp., Scolecopteris cf. arborescens (SCHLOTHEIM ex BRONGNIART) STUR, Pecopteris (Scolecopteris) cf. oreopteridia (SCHLOTHEIM) BRONGNIART, Pecopteris (Scolecopteris) candolleana BRONGNIART, Pecopteris (Scolecopteris) cf. densifolia GÖPPERT, Pecopteris monyi ZEILLER, Pecopteris spp. indet, Remia pinnatifida (GUTBIER) KNIGHT, Asterotheca sternbergii (GÖPPERT) STUR, Crossotheca sp., Autunia conferta (STERNBERG) KERP, Rhachiphyllum schenkii (HEYER) KERP, Dicksonites pluckenetii (SCHLOTHEIM ex STERNBERG) STERZEL, cf. Neurodontopteris auriculata (BRONGNIART) POTONIÉ, Cordaites sp., Coniferae indet., Gomphostrobus bifidus (GEINITZ) POTONIÉ, cf. Dicranophyllum gallicum GRAND´EURY, as well as several unidentified carpological remains, roots and problematics. Thus this flora represents one of the most diverse (in terms of species richness) floras from the Lower Rotliegend of the Saar-Nahe basin. Based on the taxonomic composition and autecological interpretations of the taxa this flora is interpretated to represent an allochthonous mix of at least two different source vegetation types: i.e. from the vegetation of wet environments (dominating the assemblage) and the vegetation of the more dry Hinterland.

Description: 1. Einleitung 2. Geologie und Material 3. Die Flora 3.1. Lycopsiden 3.2. Sphenopsiden 3.2.1. Calamiten 3.2.2. Sphenophyllen 3.3. Farne 3.4. Pteridospermen 3.4.1. Peltaspermaceen 3.4.2. Callistophytaceen 3.4.3. Medullosaceen 3.5. Cordaiten 3.6. Koniferen 3.7. „Koniferophyten“ 3.8. Incertae sedis und Problematika 4. Taphonomie und Ökologie Schriften

Description: research

Description: The extent of our duties to mitigate climate change is commonly conceptualized in terms of temperature goals like the 1.5°C and the 2°C target and corresponding emissions budgets. While I do acknowledge the political advantages of any framework that is relatively easy to understand, I argue that this particular framework does not capture the true extent of our mitigation duties. Instead I argue for a more differentiated approach that is based on the well-known distinction between subsistence and luxury emissions. At the heart of this approach lies the argument that we have no budget of substantial, net-positive luxury emissions left. In a world in which dangerous climate change has begun, we must expect all further substantial, net-positive luxury emissions to cause harm. Since they lack the kind of justification needed for them to be nevertheless permissible, I conclude that we must stop emitting them with immediate effect. I also briefly discuss the difficult case of subsistence emissions and offer some first thoughts on the morality of a third category of emissions, what I call ‘transition emissions’.

Description: Die Vereinten Nationen haben einen Vertrag zum Schutz der Hohen See verabschiedet. Um sein Potenzial für die globale Meerespolitik zu nutzen, sollten die EU und Deutschland ihr strategisches Engagement in diesem Forum jetzt planen, meinen Miranda Böttcher und Gerrit Hansen.

Description: Since net zero targets have become a keystone of climate policy, more thought is being given to actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while continuing to drastically reduce emissions. The ocean plays a major role in regulating the global climate by absorbing a large proportion of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. As the challenges of land-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches are increasingly recognised, the ocean may become the new “blue” frontier for carbon removal and storage strategies in the EU and beyond. However, the ocean is not an “open frontier”; rather, it is a domain of overlapping and sometimes conflicting rights and obligations. There is a tension between the sovereign right of states to use ocean resources within their exclusive economic zones and the international obligation to protect the ocean as a global commons. The EU and its Member States need to clarify the balance between the protection and use paradigms in ocean governance when considering treating the ocean as an enhanced carbon sink or storage site. Facilitating linkages between the ongoing review of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the establishment of the Carbon Removal Certification Framework could help pave the way for debate about trade-offs and synergies in marine ecosystem protection and use.

Description: Climate policy in the European Union (EU) and Germany changed significantly with the adoption of net-zero emissions targets. A key new development is the growing importance of carbon management. The umbrella term includes not only the capture and storage of CO2 (carbon capture and storage, CCS), but also CO2 capture and utilisation (carbon capture and utilisation, CCU) as well as the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere (carbon dioxide removal, CDR). It is important to provide clarity when differentiating between these approaches and identifying their relation to so- called residual emissions and hard-to-abate emissions. This is particularly important because it will determine the overall ambition of climate policy as well as shape future policy designs and their distributional impacts. Current policy and legislative processes should ensure that carbon management does not delay the phase-out of fossil fuels. New policy initiatives present an opportunity to actively shape the interface between ambitious climate and industrial policy.

Description: The implementation of the new net emission targets for 2030 and 2050 as part of the European Green Deal is moving the deliberate removal of CO 2 from the atmosphere up the agendas of political decision-makers. In its latest report, the Intergovernmen- tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also recently reiterated that net-zero targets can- not be achieved without the deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods. The political debate in the European Union (EU) about CDR has changed rapidly in recent years, with almost all political actors now calling for a new regulatory frame- work for CDR to become an integral building block of EU climate policy. However, fundamental conflicts are brewing over the question as to which removal methods and policy instruments should be implemented and which priorities should be set. There are signs of emerging political alliances on the EU level that will shape the Fit- for-55 legislation in the short term and pre-structure the debate on the design of climate policy between 2030 and 2040.

Description: Sollen wir Climate Engineering (CE) betreiben? Was spricht dafür und was dagegen? Antworten auf diese Fragen müssen empirisch informiert sein. Um mehr zu tun als das Machbare zu benennen, müssen sie sich aber auch mit Fragen der Moral auseinandersetzen, solchen nach Pflichten, Normen und Werten. In diesem Beitrag stellen wir 9 Thesen zur Ethik von CE auf. Wir diskutieren, welche ethischen Aspekte besonders wichtig, welche Chancen und Risiken von CE moralisch besonders bedeutsam sind, und was die Debatte um CE über uns aussagt. Summary Nine theses on the morality of climate engineering: Should we engineer the climate? What speaks in favour of doing it and what against? Answers to these questions must be based in empirical science. But they must also engage with moral questions – those about duties, norms and values – if they want to do more than simply name what is feasible. In this contribution we defend 9 theses on the ethics of climate engineering (CE). We discuss which ethical aspects are of particular importance, what opportunities and risk matter most from a moral point of view, and how the debate on CE reflects upon us. Resumen Nueve tesis sobre la moralidad de la ingeniería climática: ¿Deberíamos aplicar la ingeniería climática (EC)? ¿Qué está a favor y qué en contra? Las respuestas a estas preguntas deben basarse en datos empíricos. Pero para hacer algo más que afirmar lo que es factible, también deben abordar cuestiones de moralidad, de obligaciones, normas y valores. En este documento presentamos 9 tesis sobre la ética de la EC. Debatimos qué aspectos éticos son especialmente importantes, qué oportunidades y riesgos de la EC son moralmente significativos y qué dice de nosotros el debate sobre la EC.

Description: Es werden mögliche Beiträge geologischer und mariner Kohlenstoffspeicher für die Vermeidung von CO2-Emissionen in die Atmosphäre oder für die Entnahme von bereits emittiertem CO2 aus der Atmosphäre vorgestellt. Neben der Einlagerung von CO2 in geologischen Speichern unter Land und unter dem Meeresboden werden eine forcierte CO2-Entnahme aus der Atmosphäre und Abgabe in den Ozean durch Erhöhung der Alkalinität, durch Ozeandüngung und durch das Management vegetationsreicher Küstenökosysteme untersucht. Alle Optionen können sowohl global als auch aus deutscher Perspektive eine Rolle für das Erreichen der Klimaziele spielen. Umweltverträglichkeit, Permanenz der Speicherung sowie infrastrukturelle und rechtliche Voraussetzungen, gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz und wirtschaftliche Realisierbarkeit bedürfen für alle Ansätze weiterer Klärung, bevor hieraus realisierbare Optionen werden können.

Description: To limit global warming to 1.5°C, vast amounts of CO2 will have to be removed from the atmos‐ phere via Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Enhancing the CO2 sequestration of ecosystems will require not just one approach but a portfolio of CDR options, including so‐called nature‐based approaches alongside CDR options that are perceived as more technical. Creating a CDR “supply curve” would however imply that all carbon removals are considered to be perfect substitutes. The various co‐benefits of nature‐based CDR approaches militate against this. We discuss this aspect of nature‐based solutions in connection with the enhancement of blue carbon ecosys‐ tems (BCE) such as mangrove or seagrass habitats. Enhancing BCEs can indeed contribute to CO 2 sequestration, but the value of their carbon storage is low compared to the overall contri‐ bution of their ecosystem services to wealth. Furthermore, their property rights are often un‐ clear, i.e. not comprehensively defined or not enforced. Hence, payment schemes that only compensate BCE carbon sequestration could create tradeoffs at the expense of other im‐ portant, often local, ecosystem services and might not result in socially optimal outcomes. Ac‐ cordingly, one chance for preserving and restoring BCEs lies in the consideration of all services in potential compensation schemes for local communities. Also, local contexts, management structures, and benefit‐sharing rules are crucial factors to be considered when setting up inter‐ national payment schemes to support the use of BCEs and other nature‐ or ecosystem‐based CDR. However, regarding these options as the only hope of achieving more CDR will very prob‐ ably not bring about the desired outcome, either for climate mitigation or for ecosystem preser‐ vation. Unhalted degradation, in turn, will make matters worse due to the large amounts of stored carbon that would be released. Hence, countries committed to climate mitigation in line with the Paris targets should not hide behind vague pledges to enhance natural sinks for re‐ moving atmospheric CO2 but commit to scaling up engineered CDR.

Description: Since net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets have become a keystone of European and German climate policy, a debate about the need to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in addition to drastically reducing emissions has emerged. Although still relatively scarce, empirical studies on the emergence of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on the political agenda have shown that variations in the constellations and positions of policy-relevant actors play a key role in shaping patterns of CDR policymaking. The German and wider European Union (EU) CDR policy space is emergent, and political actors are just beginning to position themselves. Building on our previous work which established a typology of CDR policy integration patterns and developed a discourse analytical framework for mapping CDR-policy-relevant speaker positions, we present the first fine-grained empirical reconstruction of CDR-policy-relevant actors and their positions in the German context. Our analytical approach aims to improve understanding of patterns in CDR policymaking by showing that on the EU, national, and subnational levels, a multitude of institutional actors may adopt differing positions as the CDR policy space evolves. In addition to identifying fine-grained ‘ideal types’ of positions that policy actors may adopt in the formative phase of German CDR policy, our analysis provides an empirical ‘map’ of CDR policy-relevant actors and explores hypotheses about emerging discourse coalitions and potential conflict cleavages.

Description: Highlights • Climate engineering presents a novel challenge for global environmental governance • Institutional and discursive structures co-shape global environmental governance • A lack of joint analyses of both structures impedes understanding of governance emergence • A joint neo-institutionalist and post-structuralist analysis addresses this gap • Varying structures shape differing climate engineering governance decisions in several forums Abstract The Anthropocene is giving rise to novel challenges for global environmental governance. The barriers and opportunities shaping the ways in which some of these complex environmental challenges become governable on the global level are of increasing academic and practical relevance. In this article, we bring neo-institutionalist and post-structuralist perspectives together in an innovative framework to analyse how both institutional and discursive structures together bound and shape the global governance opportunities which become thinkable and practicable in the face of new global environmental challenges. We apply this framework to explore how governance of climate engineering – large scale, deliberate invention into the global climate system – is being shaped by discursive and institutional structures in three international forums: The London Convention and its Protocol, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Environment Assembly. We illustrate that the ‘degree of fit’ between discursive and institutional structures made climate engineering (un)governable in each of these forums. Furthermore, we find that the ‘type of fit’ set the discursive and institutional conditions of possibility for what type of governance emerged in each of these cases. Based on our findings, we critically discuss the implications for the future governance of climate engineering at the global level.

Description: Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) seeks to increase the alkalinity of seawater for carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Following numerous propositions to trial, test, or upscale OAE for CDR, multiple social considerations have begun to be identified. To ensure that OAE research is responsible (is attentive to societal priorities) and successful (does not prematurely engender widespread social rejection), it will be critical to understand how OAE might be perceived as risky or controversial and under what conditions it might be regarded by relevant social groups as most worthy of exploration. To facilitate the answering of these questions, this chapter does the following: (1) characterizes what is known to date about public perceptions of OAE, (2) provides methodological suggestions on how to conduct social science research and public engagement to accompany OAE field research, and (3) addresses how knowledge gained from social research and public engagement on OAE can be integrated into ongoing scientific, siting, and communications work.

Description: Given the clear need to inform societal decision-making on the role marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) can play in solving the climate crisis, it is imperative that researchers begin to answer questions about its effectiveness and impacts. Yet overly hasty deployment of new ocean-based climate interventions risks harm to communities and ecosystems and could jeopardize public perception of the field as a whole. In addition, the harms, risks and benefits of mCDR efforts are unlikely to be evenly distributed. Unabated, climate change could have a devastating impact on global ecosystems and human populations, and the impacts of mCDR should be contemplated in this context. This Code of Conduct exclusively applies to mCDR research and does not attempt to put any affiliated risk in the context of the risk of delaying climate action. Its purpose is to ensure that the impacts of mCDR research activities themselves are adequately understood and accounted for as they progress. It provides a roadmap of processes, procedures, and activities that project leads should follow to ensure that decisions regarding whether, when, where, and how to conduct mCDR research are informed by relevant ethical, scientific, economic, environmental, and regulatory considerations.

Description: A global, independent scientific assessment of Carbon Dioxide Removal

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Mineral dust is one of the most abundant atmospheric aerosol species and has various far‐reaching effects on the climate system and adverse impacts on air quality. Satellite observations can provide spatio‐temporal information on dust emission and transport pathways. However, satellite observations of dust plumes are frequently obscured by clouds. We use a method based on established, machine‐learning‐based image in‐painting techniques to restore the spatial extent of dust plumes for the first time. We train an artificial neural net (ANN) on modern reanalysis data paired with satellite‐derived cloud masks. The trained ANN is applied to cloud‐masked, gray‐scaled images, which were derived from false color images indicating elevated dust plumes in bright magenta. The images were obtained from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager instrument onboard the Meteosat Second Generation satellite. We find up to 15% of summertime observations in West Africa and 10% of summertime observations in Nubia by satellite images miss dust plumes due to cloud cover. We use the new dust‐plume data to demonstrate a novel approach for validating spatial patterns of the operational forecasts provided by the World Meteorological Organization Dust Regional Center in Barcelona. The comparison elucidates often similar dust plume patterns in the forecasts and the satellite‐based reconstruction, but once trained, the reconstruction is computationally inexpensive. Our proposed reconstruction provides a new opportunity for validating dust aerosol transport in numerical weather models and Earth system models. It can be adapted to other aerosol species and trace gases.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: Most dust and sand particles in the atmosphere originate from North Africa. Since ground‐based observations of dust plumes in North Africa are sparse, investigations often rely on satellite observations. Dust plumes are frequently obscured by clouds, making it difficult to study the full extent. We use machine‐learning methods to restore information about the extent of dust plumes beneath clouds in 2021 and 2022 at 9, 12, and 15 UTC. We use the reconstructed dust patterns to demonstrate a new way to validate the dust forecast ensemble provided by the World Meteorological Organization Dust Regional Center in Barcelona, Spain. Our proposed method is computationally inexpensive and provides new opportunities for assessing the quality of dust transport simulations. The method can be transferred to reconstruct other aerosol and trace gas plumes.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉We present the first fast reconstruction of cloud‐obscured Saharan dust plumes through novel machine learning applied to satellite images〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The reconstruction algorithm utilizes partial convolutions to restore cloud‐induced gaps in gray‐scaled Meteosat Second Generation‐Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager Dust RGB images〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉World Meteorological Organization dust forecasts for North Africa mostly agree with the satellite‐based reconstruction of the dust plume extent〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Description: University of Cologne

Description: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6475858

Description: https://github.com/tobihose/Masterarbeit

Description: https://dust.aemet.es/

Description: https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/dataset/cams-global-reanalysis-eac4?tab=overview

Description: https://navigator.eumetsat.int/product/EO:EUM:DAT:MSG:DUST

Description: https://navigator.eumetsat.int/product/EO:EUM:DAT:MSG:CLM

Description: https://doi.org/10.5067/KLICLTZ8EM9D

Description: https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets?project=MERRA-2

Description: https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD08_D3.061

Description: https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MYD08_D3.061

Description: https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.8278518

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉ABSTRACT〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉During the Middle Devonian, reef growth reached an acme, and corals and stromatoporoids colonized depositional niches commonly considered unfavourable for reefal organisms. This paper documents the detailed facies architecture and palaeoecology of a stratigraphically thin (〈italic toggle="no"〉ca〈/italic〉 12 m, ‘carpet reef’), lower Givetian reefal body exposed along the walls and ceilings of the labyrinthine passages in the Klutert Cave in western Germany. The cave exposures (〈italic toggle="no"〉ca〈/italic〉 26 000 m〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 of rock surface) and data from short cores, neighbouring caves and outcrops document the growth and demise of an autoparabiostrome. The reef forms part of a parasequence with a lower carbonate and an upper clastic unit, bounded by flooding surfaces. Despite the comparatively small study area (〈italic toggle="no"〉ca〈/italic〉 1 km〈sup〉2〈/sup〉), the exceptional exposure quality reveals facies changes over relatively short distances both vertical and lateral. The sedimentary matrix of the reefal build‐up contains between 20 to 95 wt.‐% of clay and quartz of silt to sand fraction. Based on this observation, the corals and stromatoporoids thrived in murky waters and under sediment‐stressed conditions. Stromatoporoids, for example, display irregular ragged flanks, a feature that is in agreement with a sediment‐stressed environment. No evidence of reduced growth rates, decreased calcification rates, or lower numbers of species is found. In fact, coral diversity and density are highest within one of the two biostromal units that show peak clastic matrix values, indicating a remarkable adaptation of reef builders to sediment‐stressed conditions. The initial settlement of rugose phaceloid corals took place on a mixed clastic–carbonate substrate (the basal flooding surface). Up‐section, a succession of coral–stromatoporoids is present that is here described in great detail. Reef collapse occurred when much of the accommodation space was filled, and argillaceous sediments suffocated stromatoporoids and corals in a protected, low‐energy environment.〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉The movement of active dunes is tightly linked to climatic conditions (e.g., wind regime, temperature and precipitation) as well as human influence (e.g., grazing, dune fixation and greening). Dune migration rates can be studied to draw conclusions of changing wind conditions over time. The Gonghe Basin (GB), located on the north‐eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP), offers a good testing ground for these assumptions. The intramontane basin is highly influenced by two major wind regimes: the mid‐latitude Westerlies and the East Asian summer monsoon. To investigate environmental changes, this study combines optical remote sensing techniques with climatic datasets. High‐resolution satellite images of the last five decades, such as CORONA KH‐4B, are used to map dunes and calculate their respective migration rates. Further, height information was extracted as well. Climatic changes from the ERA‐5 reanalysis dataset and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values were processed alongside. Relating the dunes' surface processes to climate model data shows an accordance between slowing migration, expanding vegetation and a decrease in sand drift potential. From 1968 to present time, an average dune migration rate of 7.3 m a〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉 was extracted from the satellite images, with an overall reduction of −1.81 m a〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The resultant drift potential (RDP) values for the GB are calculated to be below 10 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 s〈sup〉−3〈/sup〉 with a spatial decrease, following a direction from the NW to the SE, fitting well with a corresponding decrease in the migration rates. Our results indicate a good agreement between the development of aeolian landforms and the ERA‐5 climate reanalysis model data, even in a high‐altitude setting with complex topography, which is known to influence such datasets.〈/p〉

Description: 〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉We investigate climatic changes of the past 5 decades in the Gonghe Basin by using a wide range of remote sensing data. Era‐5 data is compared with dune migration rates. The dunes' behaviour is very well represented within the ERA‐5 data and shows a slowing migration over the past five decades. This fits well to climatic developments, like increasing precipitation and temperature. Sand drift potential was calculated and interpolated to pinpoint resultant drift potential (RDP) values to individual barchans. 〈boxed-text position="anchor" content-type="graphic" id="esp5651-blkfxd-0001" xml:lang="en"〉 〈graphic position="anchor" id="jats-graphic-1" xlink:href="urn:x-wiley:01979337:media:esp5651:esp5651-toc-0001"〉 〈/graphic〉 〈/boxed-text〉〈/p〉

Description: Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF)

Description: National Key Research and Development Program of China http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100012166

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Erzgebirge ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) garnet peridotite includes scarce layers of garnet pyroxenite, nodules of garnetite and, very rarely, of eclogite. Peridotite‐hosted eclogite shows the same subalkali‐basaltic bulk rock composition, mineral assemblage and peak conditions as gneiss‐hosted eclogite present in the same UHP unit. Garnetite has considerably more Mg, moderately enhanced Ca and Fe and significantly lower contents of Na, Ti, P, K and Si than eclogite, whereas Al is very similar. In addition, the compatible trace elements (Ni, Co, Cr, V) are elevated and most incompatible elements (Zr, Hf, Y, Sr, Rb and rare Earth elements [REE]) are depleted in garnetite relative to eclogite. In contrast to other large ion lithophile elements (LILEs), Pb (+121%) and Ba (+83%) are strongly enriched. The REE patterns of garnetite are characterized by depletion of light and heavy REE and a medium REE hump indicative of metasomatism, features being absent in eclogite. An exceptional garnetite sample shows an REE distribution similar to that of eclogite. Garnetite is interpreted to have formed from the same, but metasomatically altered, igneous protolith as eclogite. Except for Ba and Pb, the chemical signature of garnetite is explained best by metasomatic changes of its basaltic protolith caused by serpentinization of the host peridotite. Garnetite is chemically similar to basaltic rodingite/metarodingite. Although rodingite is commonly more enriched in Ca, there are also examples with moderately enhanced Ca matching the composition of Erzgebirge garnetite. Limited Ca metasomatism is attributed to the preservation of Ca in peridotite during hydrous alteration. This can be explained by incomplete serpentinization favouring metastable survival of the original clinopyroxene. In this case, most Ca is retained in peridotite and not available for infiltration and metasomatism of the garnetite protolith. This inescapable consequence is supported by the fact that clinopyroxene is part of the garnet peridotite UHP assemblage, which would not be the case if Ca had been removed from the protolith prior to high‐pressure metamorphism. The enrichment of compatible elements in garnetite is attributed to decomposition of peridotitic olivine (Ni, Co) and spinel (Cr, V) during serpentinization. Enrichment of Ba and Pb contrasts the behaviour of other LILEs and is ascribed to dehydration of the serpentinized peridotite (deserpentinization). This requires two separate stages of metasomatism: (1) intense chemical alteration of the basaltic garnetite precursor, together with serpentinization of peridotite at the ocean floor or during incipient subduction; and (2) prograde metamorphism and dehydration of serpentinite during continued subduction, thereby releasing Pb–Ba‐rich fluids that reacted with associated metabasalt. Finally, subduction to >100 km and UHP metamorphism of all lithologies led to formation of garnetite, eclogite and garnet pyroxenite hosted by co‐facial garnet peridotite as observed in the Erzgebirge.〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Due to the inherently fluid‐mobile nature of W, the 〈sup〉182〈/sup〉W record of the early Earth may have been obscured by fluid‐induced mobilization of W. To investigate W mobilization in Archean greenstone sequences, we analyzed 〈sup〉182〈/sup〉W isotope systematics and major and trace element concentrations in samples from the 3.53 Ga old Onverwacht Group of the Kaapvaal Craton (South Africa) and the >3.51 Ga old Badampahar Group of the Singhbhum Craton (India). Our results for mafic and ultramafic metavolcanic rocks show W/Th ratios significantly higher than primary magmatic values, which suggests fluid‐induced W enrichment. Samples least affected by secondary W enrichment (W/Th 〈 0.26) show no resolvable W isotope anomalies from modern mantle values in both cratons. Samples from the Kaapvaal Craton with elevated W/Th exhibit deficits in 〈sup〉182〈/sup〉W as low as −8.1 ± 4.3 ppm compared to the modern mantle. Covariations of μ〈sup〉182〈/sup〉W with W/Th, and Ce/Pb suggest that negative isotope signatures were introduced during secondary fluid‐mediated processes. The enrichment of W is most evident in altered ultramafic rocks comprising serpentine, resulting in additional covariations between MgO, LOI, and W/Th. The W isotope composition of serpentinized komatiites reflects the composition of younger intruding granitoids. We therefore infer the latter as a possible source of W‐rich fluids. The Badampahar Group samples exhibit little W isotope variability. A well‐resolved 〈sup〉182〈/sup〉W deficit of −6.2 ± 2.9 ppm was determined in a single komatiite sample, which indicates an unknown fluid source, currently not represented in any other unit of the Singhbhum Craton.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: The tungsten (W) isotope composition of ancient rocks can be used to trace processes that occurred during Earth's early evolution. However, interactions between rocks and fluids may alter the W concentration and therefore influence the interpretation of W isotope data. To identify the source of such fluids and the processes by which they affect the W isotope composition of rocks, we analyzed ancient rock samples from South Africa and India. The isotope composition of rocks with a low W concentration reflects that of the modern Earth. Therefore, they do not trace the processes that occurred during Earth's early evolution. Samples from South Africa with untypically high W concentrations show a different isotopic composition. The variation in the W isotope signature correlates with other chemical indices that are susceptible to modification by fluid‐related processes. This shows that the W within the rocks is derived from an external fluid source and not from their original magmatic source. Samples with the highest W enrichment have a similar isotope composition as spatially associated intrusive rocks. By inference, the latter likely represent the source of W‐rich fluids. The samples from India show similar enrichment in W, indicating similar fluid‐related processes and W sources at both localities.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The magmatic sources of metavolcanic rocks from the Onverwacht Group and the Badampahar Group do not exhibit W isotope anomalies〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Negative W isotope signatures in the Onverwacht Group are likely derived from fluids sourced from younger intrusive granitoids〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Felsic intrusive rocks are a major source of W‐rich fluids in Paleoarchean greenstone units〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: https://doi.org/10.5880/digis.2023.005

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Coastal protection in the form of dike constructions has a long history at the German North Frisian coast dating back to the High Middle Ages. As the vast majority of the dikes built prior to the devastating storm surges of the Middle Ages have been irretrievably destroyed, mostly sparse remains and only a few well preserved of these medieval dikes are found along the German North Frisian coast and within the Wadden Sea. Not all details of their construction and dimensions are yet understood. In the present case study, we investigate the historical Schardeich on the island of Pellworm in the German North Sea in a noninvasive way using shear waves (SH‐waves). For the data interpretation, we applied a combination of seismic full waveform inversion and classical seismic reflection imaging to determine the interior structure of the dike and its underlying layers at the highest possible resolution. The results obtained on land are compared with dike remains found in the tidal flats. These remains show up in marine seismic sections as characteristic reflections, which probably represent a compaction layer caused by the load of the former dike. For ground truthing, we compare the seismic results with internal dike structures found in nearby excavations. The comparison highlights that FWI is a reliable tool for near‐surface archaeological prospecting. We find that SH‐wave FWI provides decimetre‐scale velocity and density models that allow, together with the seismic reflection section, to determine distinct construction phases of the dike. The investigated dike further shows a depression at base level of about 0.75 m, which is of the same order as observed for the dike base reflections in the tidal flats. Transferring these findings to the dike remains mapped in the tidal flats, we derive a height of the former dike from 2.2 to 4.4 m.〈/p〉

Description: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉Regardless of the steady increase of computing power during the last decades, numerical models in a 3D spherical shell are only used in specific setups to investigate the thermochemical convection in planetary interiors, while 2D geometries are typically favored in most exploratory studies involving a broad range of parameters. The 2D cylindrical and the more recent 2D spherical annulus geometries are predominantly used in this context, but the extent to how well they reproduce the 3D spherical shell results in comparison to each other and in which setup has not yet been extensively investigated. Here we performed a thorough and systematic study in order to assess which 2D geometry reproduces best the 3D spherical shell. In a first set of models, we investigated the effects of the geometry on thermal convection in steady‐state setups while varying a broad range of parameters. Additional thermal evolution models of three terrestrial bodies, namely Mercury, the Moon, and Mars, which have different interior structures, were used to compare the 2D and 3D geometries. Our investigations show that the 2D spherical annulus geometry provides results closer to models in a 3D spherical shell compared to the 2D cylindrical geometry. Our study indicates where acceptable differences can be expected when using a 2D instead of a 3D geometry and where to be cautious when interpreting the results.〈/p〉

Description: Plain Language Summary: In geodynamic modeling, numerical models are used in order to investigate how the interior of a terrestrial planet evolves from the earliest stage, after the planetary formation, up to present day. Often, the mathematical equations that are used to model the physical processes in the interior of rocky planets are discretized and solved using geometric meshes. The most commonly applied geometries are the 3D spherical shell, the 2D cylinder, and the 2D spherical annulus. While being the most accurate and realistic, the 3D geometry is expensive in terms of computing power and time of execution. On the other hand, 2D geometries provide a reduced accuracy but are computationally faster. Here we perform an extensive comparison between 2D and 3D geometries in scenarios of increasing complexity. The 2D spherical annulus geometry shows much closer results to the 3D spherical shell when compared to the 2D cylinder and should be given preference in 2D modeling studies.〈/p〉

Description: Key Points: 〈list list-type="bullet"〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉Interior dynamics models using the 2D spherical annulus geometry match the results of a 3D spherical shell better than the 2D cylinder〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The difference between 2D and 3D geometries decreases when models are heated from below by the core and from within by radioactive elements〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈list-item〉 〈p xml:lang="en"〉The 2D spherical annulus shows negligible differences to 3D for the thermal evolution of Mercury and the Moon, and acceptable values for Mars〈/p〉〈/list-item〉 〈/list〉 〈/p〉

Description: Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden‐Württemberg

Description: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Description: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8047757

Description: 〈title xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"〉Abstract〈/title〉〈p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xml:lang="en"〉As projected by multiple climate models, short‐duration heavy precipitation events (SDHPEs) are expected to intensify particularly quickly under the changing climate posing substantial risk to natural and human systems. Yet over the years, SDHPEs have received less scientific attention than long‐duration heavy precipitation events (LDHPEs), mainly due to the limitations of measurement systems. Our aim is to provide insight into spatial and temporal variability of SDHPEs detected by the radar network of the 〈italic toggle="no"〉Deutscher Wetterdienst〈/italic〉 (DWD) in Germany from 2001 to 2020 as well as to explore their links to circulation patterns (CPs). The study is based on the Catalogue of Radar‐based heavy Rainfall Events (CatRaRE) generated using reprocessed gauge‐adjusted data of the DWD radar network as well as a new numerical method for classifying CPs over Central Europe called “〈italic toggle="no"〉Großwetterlagen〈/italic〉 for Reanalyses” (GWL‐REA). The results have demonstrated that SDHPEs, which are defined based on either locally valid precipitation values with a return period of 5 years (CatRaRE T5) or absolute precipitation values equal to DWD Warning Level 3 (CatRaRE W3), are common phenomena occurring most frequently in the afternoon hours of the summer season. They constitute up to 90% of all heavy precipitation events included in the catalogues covering relatively small areas—the median area of SDHPEs ranges from 22 km〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 (CatRaRE T5) to 24 km〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 (CatRaRE W3), while the median area of LDHPEs ranges from 175 km〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 (CatRaRE W3) to 184 km〈sup〉2〈/sup〉 (CatRaRE T5). As compared to LDHPEs, SDHPEs are generated by a wider spectrum of circulation conditions, including not only cyclonic but also anticyclonic CPs. In the warm season, the anticyclonic CPs, often accompanied by air mass advection from the south, can induce high thermal instability leading to the development of relatively small, isolated convective cells, which often cannot be captured by rain gauge stations.〈/p〉

Description: Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV)

Description: https://www.dwd.de/DE/leistungen/catrare/catrare.html

Description: Most seals (pinnipeds) disperse from centralised terrestrial haul out sites to forage at sea which results in great intraspecific competition for prey. This competition may be reduced by gender-specific differences in depth use, something which should be enhanced by sexual dimorphism because diving ability is a function of body size. This thesis discusses the sex-specific behaviour of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the North Sea. The aim was to determine the extent to which this species might have gender-dependent foraging strategies and, where apparent, to identify possible causes. The diving behaviour of six males and six females was analysed using animal-attatched data loggers (dead reckoners). With a weight of 73 kg (SD = 10) the equipped males were approx. 30 % heavier than females at 55 kg (SD = 8). All seals spent most of their time at sea (males 75.8 %, females 88.1 %) and perfmmed mainly U-shaped dives (ea. 80 %). The maximum recorded dive depth was 43 m for the males and 28 m for the females. Maximum dive duration lasted to 10 minuntes for females and 16 minutes for males. Mean trip duration was 44.1 h (SD = 65.5) for males and 46.8 h for females (SD = 35). Both genders showed significant correlations between dive duration and dive depth, as well as the durations of the descent, bottom and ascent phase and dive depth. However, there were no significant differences either in diving capabilities or in the foraging efficiency of the two sexes. An effect of body size on the diving capabilities of the seals could not been demonstrated. This indicates that the seals' diving capabilities in the North Sea are mainly determined by the bathymetry. Possible sex-specific differences might not be revealed because the seals do not reach their physiological limits in the shallow North Sea. Also, the large variance in the data as well as the small sample size mad it difficult to identify gender-specific differences. Tests of statistical power reveal that data from a total of 262 seals would be needed as an adequate sample size to determine with any certainty whether inter-sex differences occur.

Description: Orbital cyclicity is a fundamental pacemaker of Earth’s climate system. The Newark–Hartford Basin (NHB) lake sediment record of eastern North America contains compelling geologic expressions of this cyclicity, reflecting variations of climatic conditions in tropical Pangea during the Late Triassic and earliest Jurassic (~233 to 199 Ma). Climate modeling enables a deeper mechanistic understanding of Earth system modulation during this unique greenhouse and supercontinent period. We link major features of the NHB record to the combined climatic effects of orbital forcing, paleogeographic changes, and atmospheric p CO 2 variations. An ensemble of transient, orbitally driven climate simulations is assessed for nine time slices, three atmospheric p CO 2 values, and two paleogeographic reconstructions. Climatic transitions from tropical humid to more seasonal and ultimately semiarid are associated with tectonic drift of the NHB from ~ 5 ° N to 20 ° N . The modeled orbital modulation of the precipitation–evaporation balance is most pronounced during the 220 to 200 Ma interval, whereas it is limited by weak seasonality and increasing aridity before and after this interval. Lower p CO 2 at around 205 Ma contributes to drier climates and could have led to the observed damping of sediment cyclicity. Eccentricity-modulated precession dominates the orbitally driven climate response in the NHB region. High obliquity further amplifies summer precipitation through the seasonal shifts in the tropical rainfall belt. Regions with other proxy records are also assessed, providing guidance toward an integrated picture of global astronomical climate forcing in the Late Triassic and ultimately of other periods in Earth history.

Description: Data is an important foundation of scientific progress. It allows us to contrast hypotheses with observational evidence. Sharing and providing data openly have a long tradition in paleoenvironmental research, supported by repositories such as WDS-Paleo, PANGAEA,and Neotoma.

Description: Observation‐based quantification of ocean carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) uptake relies on synthesis data sets such as the Surface Ocean CO 2 ATlas (SOCAT). However, the data collection effort has dramatically declined and the number of annual data sets in SOCATv2023 decreased by ∼35% from 2017 to 2021. This decline has led to a 65% increase (from 0.15 to 0.25 Pg C yr −1 ) in the standard deviation of seven SOCAT‐based air‐sea CO 2 flux estimates. Reducing the availability of the annual data to that in the year 2000 creates substantial bias (50%) in the long‐term flux trend. The annual mean CO 2 flux is insensitive to the seasonal skew of the SOCAT data and to the addition of the lower accuracy data set available in SOCAT. Our study highlights the need for sustained data collection and synthesis, to inform the Global Carbon Budget assessment, the UN‐led climate negotiations, and measurement, reporting, and verification of ocean‐based CO 2 removal projects. Plain Language Summary The Surface Ocean CO 2 ATlas (SOCAT) data set plays a crucial role in estimating the ocean carbon sink component of the Global Carbon Budget. However, the number of data sets available in SOCAT each year has drastically decreased since 2017. This study shows that the uncertainty in the data‐based ocean CO 2 flux estimate has increased by 65% due to this decline in data availability. The estimated fluxes, especially the long‐term flux trend, are remarkably affected by the data availability in SOCAT, reducing the reliability of ocean CO 2 uptake estimates in years and regions with sparse observations. Key Points Lower surface ocean f CO 2 data availability leads to higher uncertainty in data‐based estimates of ocean CO 2 uptake The long‐term trend in the ocean CO 2 flux increases by 1.5 times for subsequent years if the data availability is reduced to that in 2000 The annual mean CO 2 flux is not sensitive to the seasonal skew in the data and to the addition of low accuracy data

Description: Several large-scale cryosphere elements such as the Arctic summer sea ice, the mountain glaciers, the Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheet have changed substantially during the last century due to anthropogenic global warming. However, the impacts of their possible future disintegration on global mean temperature (GMT) and climate feedbacks have not yet been comprehensively evaluated. Here, we quantify this response using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity. Overall, we find a median additional global warming of 0.43 °C (interquartile range: 0.39−0.46 °C) at a CO 2 concentration of 400 ppm. Most of this response (55%) is caused by albedo changes, but lapse rate together with water vapour (30%) and cloud feedbacks (15%) also contribute significantly. While a decay of the ice sheets would occur on centennial to millennial time scales, the Arctic might become ice-free during summer within the 21st century. Our findings imply an additional increase of the GMT on intermediate to long time scales.

Description: Ocean warming and species exploitation have already caused large‐scale reorganization of biological communities across the world. Accurate projections of future biodiversity change require a comprehensive understanding of how entire communities respond to global change. We combined a time‐dynamic integrated food web modeling approach (Ecosim) with previous data from community‐level mesocosm experiments to determine the independent and combined effects of ocean warming, ocean acidification and fisheries exploitation on a well‐managed temperate coastal ecosystem. The mesocosm parameters enabled important physiological and behavioral responses to climate stressors to be projected for trophic levels ranging from primary producers to top predators, including sharks. Through model simulations, we show that under sustainable rates of fisheries exploitation, near‐future warming or ocean acidification in isolation could benefit species biomass at higher trophic levels (e.g., mammals, birds, and demersal finfish) in their current climate ranges, with the exception of small pelagic fishes. However, under warming and acidification combined, biomass increases at higher trophic levels will be lower or absent, while in the longer term reduced productivity of prey species is unlikely to support the increased biomass at the top of the food web. We also show that increases in exploitation will suppress any positive effects of human‐driven climate change, causing individual species biomass to decrease at higher trophic levels. Nevertheless, total future potential biomass of some fisheries species in temperate areas might remain high, particularly under acidification, because unharvested opportunistic species will likely benefit from decreased competition and show an increase in biomass. Ecological indicators of species composition such as the Shannon diversity index decline under all climate change scenarios, suggesting a trade‐off between biomass gain and functional diversity. By coupling parameters from multilevel mesocosm food web experiments with dynamic food web models, we were able to simulate the generative mechanisms that drive complex responses of temperate marine ecosystems to global change. This approach, which blends theory with experimental data, provides new prospects for forecasting climate‐driven biodiversity change and its effects on ecosystem processes.

Description: Oceanic intraplate volcanoes sometimes experience late-stage eruptive activity known as rejuvenated volcanism, and contrasting interpretations for its petrogenesis depend on the compositional characteristics. In the Juan Fernández Ridge (JFR), a volcanic chain approximately 800 km in length emplaced on the Nazca Plate, some subaerial occurrences of rejuvenated volcanism have been recognized on the Robinson Crusoe and Santa Clara Islands, both part of the same deeply eroded shield volcano complex. This study aims to understand the origin and magmatic evolution of rejuvenated volcanism on Santa Clara Island, emplaced after ~2.15 Ma of quiescence above the shield sequence, mainly via the analysis of unpublished geochemical and isotopic data. Field reconnaissance identified two nearly coeval rejuvenated sequences on Santa Clara Island: Bahía W (BW) and Morro Spartan (MS), both formed by basanitic and picro-basaltic lava flows with brecciated levels and local intercalations of sedimentary and pyroclastic deposits. In comparison to the chemical signature of the preceding shield-building stage (comprised mainly of basalts and picrites), the two rejuvenated sequences exhibit a notable enrichment in incompatible elements, but the Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopes are very similar to the FOZO mantle endmember, with an apparent additional contribution of HIMU and EM1 components. The geochemistry of lavas revealed the involvement of various processes, including contamination by ultramafic xenoliths, high-pressure fractional crystallization of olivine and clinopyroxene, and potential partial assimilation of oceanic lithospheric components. While the oceanic lithosphere has been considered as a potential source, the isotopic data from Santa Clara lies outside of the mixing curve between depleted mantle (DM, here represented by the North Chile Rise and the East Pacific Rise) and the previous shield stage, suggesting that a lithospheric mantle is not the primary source for the rejuvenated stage volcanism. Therefore, we favor an origin of the rejuvenated volcanism from the mantle plume forming the JFR, supported by similarities in isotopic signatures with the shield stage and high values of 208Pb/204Pb (only comparable to San Félix—San Ambrosio in the vicinity of JFR), implying the presence of a regional source with radiogenic 208Pb/204Pb isotope ratios. In addition, isotopic variations are subparallel to the mixing line between HIMU and EM1 components, whose participation in different proportions might explain the observed trends. In conclusion, we propose that the source of the rejuvenated volcanism on Santa Clara Island is a heterogeneous mantle plume, the same one that fed the shield stage. The rejuvenated volcanism is derived from a secondary melting zone away from the main axis of the plume.

Description: The glacial–interglacial cycles of the Quaternary exhibit 41 kyr periodicity before the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) around 1.2–0.8 Myr ago and ∼ 100 kyr periodicity after that. From the viewpoint of dynamical systems, proposed mechanisms generating these periodicities are broadly divided into two types: (i) nonlinear forced responses of a mono- or multi-stable climate system to the astronomical forcing or (ii) synchronization of internal self-sustained oscillations to the astronomical forcing. In this study, we investigate the dynamics of glacial cycles simulated by the Earth system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER-2 with a fully interactive carbon cycle, which reproduces the MPT under gradual changes in volcanic-CO2 degassing and regolith cover. We report that, in this model, the dominant frequency of glacial cycles is set in line with the principle of synchronization. It is found that the model exhibits self-sustained oscillations in the absence of astronomical forcing. Before the MPT, glacial cycles synchronize to the 41 kyr obliquity cycles because the self-sustained oscillations have periodicity relatively close to 41 kyr. After the MPT the timescale of internal oscillations becomes too long to follow every 41 kyr obliquity cycle, and the oscillations synchronize to the 100 kyr eccentricity cycles that modulate the amplitude of climatic precession. The latter synchronization occurs with the help of the 41 kyr obliquity forcing, which enables some terminations and glaciations to occur robustly at their right timing. We term this phenomenon vibration-enhanced synchronization because of its similarity to the noise-enhanced synchronization known in nonlinear science. While we interpret the dominant periodicities of glacial cycles as the result of synchronization of internal self-sustained oscillations to the astronomical forcing, the Quaternary glacial cycles show facets of both synchronization and forced response.

Description: It has long been believed that climate shifts during the last 2 million years had a pivotal role in the evolution of our genus Homo 1–3 . However, given the limited number of representative palaeo-climate datasets from regions of anthropological interest, it has remained challenging to quantify this linkage. Here, we use an unprecedented transient Pleistocene coupled general circulation model simulation in combination with an extensive compilation of fossil and archaeological records to study the spatiotemporal habitat suitability for five hominin species over the past 2 million years. We show that astronomically forced changes in temperature, rainfall and terrestrial net primary production had a major impact on the observed distributions of these species. During the Early Pleistocene, hominins settled primarily in environments with weak orbital-scale climate variability. This behaviour changed substantially after the mid-Pleistocene transition, when archaic humans became global wanderers who adapted to a wide range of spatial climatic gradients. Analysis of the simulated hominin habitat overlap from approximately 300–400 thousand years ago further suggests that antiphased climate disruptions in southern Africa and Eurasia contributed to the evolutionary transformation of Homo heidelbergensis populations into Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, respectively. Our robust numerical simulations of climate-induced habitat changes provide a framework to test hypotheses on our human origin.

Description: Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is discussed for offsetting residual greenhouse gas emissions or even reversing climate change. All emissions scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that meet the ‘well below 2 °C’ warming target of the Paris Agreement include CDR. Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) may be one possible CDR where the carbon uptake of the ocean is increased by artificial alkalinity addition. Here, we investigate the effect of OAE on modelled carbon reservoirs and fluxes in two observationally-constrained large perturbed parameter ensembles. OAE is assumed to be technically successful and deployed as an additional CDR in the SSP5-3.4 temperature overshoot scenario. Tradeoffs involving feedbacks with atmospheric CO 2 result in a low efficiency of an alkalinity-driven atmospheric CO 2 reduction of −0.35 [−0.37 to −0.33] mol C per mol alkalinity addition (skill-weighted mean and 68% c.i.). The realized atmospheric CO 2 reduction, and correspondingly the efficiency, is more than two times smaller than the direct alkalinity-driven enhancement of ocean uptake. The alkalinity-driven ocean carbon uptake is partly offset by the release of carbon from the land biosphere and a reduced ocean carbon sink in response to lowered atmospheric CO 2 under OAE. In a second step we use the Bern3D-LPX model in CO 2 peak-decline simulations to address hysteresis and temporal lags of surface air temperature change (ΔSAT) in an idealized scenario where ΔSAT increases to ~2 °C and then declines to ~1.5 °C as result of CDR. ΔSAT lags the decline in CO 2 -forcing by 18 [14–22] years, depending close to linearly on the equilibrium climate sensitivity of the respective ensemble member. These tradeoffs and lags are an inherent feature of the Earth system response to changes in atmospheric CO 2 and will therefore be equally important for other CDR methods.

Description: Black shale sediments from the Barremian to Aptian South Atlantic document intense and widespread burial of marine organic carbon during the initial stages of seafloor spreading between Africa and South America. The enhanced sequestration of atmospheric CO2 makes these young ocean basins potential drivers of the Early Cretaceous carbon cycle and climate perturbations. The opening of marine gateways between initially restricted basins and related circulation and ventilation changes are a commonly invoked explanation for the transient formation and disappearance of these regional carbon sinks. However, large uncertainties in paleogeographic reconstructions limit the interpretation of available paleoceanographic data and prevent any robust model-based quantifications of the proposed circulation and carbon burial changes. Here, we present a new approach to assess the principal controls on the Early Cretaceous South Atlantic and Southern Ocean circulation changes under full consideration of the uncertainties in available boundary conditions. Specifically, we use a large ensemble of 36 climate model experiments to simulate the Barremian to Albian progressive opening of the Falkland Plateau and Georgia Basin gateways with different configurations of the proto-Drake Passage, the Walvis Ridge, and atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The experiments are designed to complement available geochemical data across the regions and to test circulation scenarios derived from them. All simulations show increased evaporation and intermediate water formation at subtropical latitudes that drive a meridional overturning circulation whose vertical extent is determined by the sill depth of the Falkland Plateau. Densest water masses formed in the southern Angola Basin and potentially reached the deep Cape Basin as Walvis Ridge Overflow Water. Paleogeographic uncertainties are as important as the lack of precise knowledge of atmospheric CO2 levels for the simulated temperature and salinity spread in large parts of the South Atlantic. Overall temperature uncertainties are up to 15 °C and increase significantly with water depth. The ensemble approach reveals temporal changes in the relative importance of geographic and radiative forcings for the simulated oceanographic conditions and, importantly, nonlinear interactions between them. Progressive northward opening of the highly restricted Angola Basin increased the sensitivity of local overturning and upper ocean stratification to atmospheric CO2 concentrations due to large-scale changes in the hydrological cycle, while the chosen proto-Drake Passage depth is critical for the ocean dynamics and CO2 response in the southern South Atlantic. Finally, the simulated processes are integrated into a recent carbon burial framework to document the principal control of the regional gateway evolution on the progressive shift from the prevailing saline and oxygen-depleted subtropical water masses to the dominance of ventilated high-latitude deep waters.

Description: Thriving in both epipelagic and mesopelagic layers, Rhizaria are biomineralizing protists, mixotrophs or flux-feeders, often reaching gigantic sizes. In situ imaging showed their contribution to oceanic carbon stock, but left their contribution to element cycling unquantified. Here, we compile a global dataset of 167,551 Underwater Vision Profiler 5 Rhizaria images, and apply machine learning models to predict their organic carbon and biogenic silica biomasses in the uppermost 1000 m. We estimate that Rhizaria represent up to 1.7% of mesozooplankton carbon biomass in the top 500 m. Rhizaria biomass, dominated by Phaeodaria, is more than twice as high in the mesopelagic than in the epipelagic layer. Globally, the carbon demand of mesopelagic, flux-feeding Phaeodaria reaches 0.46 Pg C y −1 , representing 3.8 to 9.2% of gravitational carbon export. Furthermore, we show that Rhizaria are a unique source of biogenic silica production in the mesopelagic layer, where no other silicifiers are present. Our global census further highlights the importance of Rhizaria for ocean biogeochemistry.

Description: Das Deutsche Iglauer Bergrecht liegt in drei Varianten vor, die von Adolf Zycha entsprechend mit I, II und III bezeichnet wurden. Es entstand im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert. Die Abschriften Adolf Zychas beruhen auf Originalakten aus dem Ratsarchiv Freiberg und dem Stadtarchiv Iglau. In ihm wurden analog zu den Iglauer Bergrechten A und B die rechtlichen Regelungen für den Bergbau im Königreich Böhmen und der Markgrafschaft Mähren niedergeschriebenen. In der Variante II wurden zwei Paragrafen hinzugefügt und in der Variante III vierzehn Paragrafen. Elf Paragrafen der Variante III beinhalten Stadtrecht.

Description: source

Description: Vertical phytoplankton distribution, temperol fluctuations and sedimentation rates were studied in the central Baltic Sea during the "Baltic Sea Patchiness Experiment 1986" (PEX'86). Vertical particle flux was measured with free sediment traps deployed at 30 and 60m depth for ten April/May 1986 within the PEX grid (20 x 40 nautical drifting days in miles). In the vicinity of one drifting trap water samples were collected in 10-12 depths down to 70m and vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, beam attenuation and light intensity were measured at three hour intervals. Water samples were analyzed for Chl.a, POC and PON content, dry weight and nutrients. Particulate parameters including the activity of 137 Cs were measured in trap samples. Suspended and sedimented particulates were counted under an inverted microscope. Precision and accuracy of the microscopical counts are discussed and confidence limits are calculated for different spec1es and applied counting schemes. Errors in all cases were smaller than the observed in situ variability. A general description of spring blooms in the central Baltic is given and the particular situation of spring 1986 is summarized. Within the station grid of PEX'86 an anticyclonic eddy was observed in which this study was conducted. Here the phytoplankton had reached peak concentrations and mass sedimentation of diatoms was about to start. The bloom was dominated by Thalassiosira levanderi and Chaetoceros spp. (lOµm size). Achnantes taeniata, Mesodinium rubrum, Gonyaulax catenata and an autotrophic Gymnodinium species (26-30µm) were also abundant. Horizontal patchiness and advection caused greater variability in the distribution of phytoplankton biomass blooms as well as temperature and attenuation during the first days than during the latter half of the investigation period. In four different areas within the PEX grid different developed independently. On still smaller time and space scales, the phytoplankton species composition also changed. The degree of patchiness was different for different species. General concepts explaining vertical distribution patterns of phytoplankton by physical and biological mechanisms are discussed. The species-specific distribution of selected diatoms, dinoflagellates and of the funktionally autotrophic ciliate M.rubrum are described. None of the species were homogeneously distributed although no vertical density stratification was observed. Whereas the diatoms and M.rubrum were present within the whole trophogenic layer, the dinoflagellates were only found in the upper 30m. The vertical distribution was different for concentrations were encountered each at species and different maximum depths respectively. Mechanisms affecting species-specific distribution of mobile and non-mobile phytoplankters in isopycnal layers are discussed in light of the particular situation of this study. Diurnal vertical migration is shown for two dinoflagellates and the phytociliate and triggering factors are discussed. All three species migrated upwards during the day and downwards at night. In its detail, however, the migratory behaviour differed between species and also within single populations. Different strategies of adaptation of phytoplankton to changing environmental conditions are suggested: Wheras diatoms adapt to fluctuations of the light climate by physiological adaptations, mobile organisms have the possibility to stay in an isolume layer. The significance of turbulence, of chainformation and of resting stages in the life cycles of phytoplankton is also evaluated. Trap deployments reveiled that only T.levanderi and Chaetoceros spp. sedimented. Their daily relative sedimentation rates (losses as % of standing stocks) increased over time and were species-specific (for T.levanderi max. 50%). Since part of the T.levanderi population was actively dividing (20% of the standing stock was found as paired cells) their suspended concentration decreased slower than that of Chaetoceros spp., although the daily sedimentation of the latter species was only about 30% of the standing stock. T.levanderi occured in chains in the water column but only single cells were found in sedimented material and paired cells were never found in the trap samples. Chaetoceros spores were rare in the water column and only sporadically collected by the sediment traps. The relative sedimentation rate of all other species was less than 5% per day. The settling velocity of the cells was estimated in different independent ways to be about 40-60m/d. This high sinking speed was attributed to aggregate formation. The results indicate that aggregate formation is not only species-specific but also differs between life-stages within one species. Variability of sedimentation rates on a timescale of hours was high, suggesting a diurnal pattern. Sedimentation did not change the vertical distribution patterns, indicating that cells were sinking with similar rates from all depths. The advantages of a Lagrangian sampling strategy (time series measurements 1n the vicinity of a free drifting buoy) for investigating phytoplankton development in time are evaluated and compared to a sampling at a moored station (Eulerian approach). In an environment that exhibits an intense patchiness even at spatial scales of lOOm, as encountered in this study, the influence of advection and patchiness on a time-series with a resolution of hours to days can not be neglected even if the Lagrangian approach is followed. Furthermore, in this study the variability of var1ous parameters measured in an Eulerian mode was not generally higher than that following the Lagrangian one, as one would have expected.

Description: Highlights • δ13C and δ18O profiles increase from exterior to interior until reaching a plateau. • Primary Layer δ13C reflects the δ13C of the Dissolved Inorganic Carbon. • In high pCO2 experiments, δ13C and δ18O closer to equilibrium fields. • Brachiopods grow according to an incremental growth model. Abstract Brachiopod shells are ubiquitous since the Early Cambrian up to now. As they secrete a shell made of low-magnesium calcite, more resistant to diagenesis than biocarbonates richer in Mg, their geochemical signatures are generally considered a powerful tool for paleo-environmental and paleo-climatic reconstructions. However, gaps in knowledge still remain on the underlying controls of the shell chemistry, in particular at a high spatial resolution. In this study, in situ oxygen and carbon isotope measurements by SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) were performed in brachiopod shells of the cold-temperate water species Magellania venosa, constituted of a primary and a secondary layer. The individual specimens studied here grew under controlled conditions mimicking the natural environment and in experiments under low-pH (high pCO2) and high-temperature conditions. Transversal carbon and oxygen profiles showed a “brachiopod pattern” typical of extant two-layered brachiopods, with the primary layer depleted in 18O and 13C relative to equilibrium and the secondary layer showing a gradual increasing trend until reaching a near-equilibrium plateau. Overall, shells cultured at low pH were found to have δ18O and δ13C values closer to equilibrium when compared to shells from the control experiment. These near-equilibrium values may reflect a decrease in shell precipitation rate, leading to less kinetic effects, and/or a more rapid kinetics for the equilibration between DIC species and water. By close pairing of seawater δ18O and δ13C to that of shell microstructure, our study enables us to derive layer-specific C and O enrichment factors, which show the extent of pH and temperature effects superimposed on the seawater δ18O and DIC δ13C signal inherited. Finally, we show that during brachiopod shell growth, newly precipitated calcite is added to the calcite already existing, thus empirically validating the conceptual accretionary growth model proposed by Ackerly (1989).

Description: Highlights: • Huidobria chilensis is an endemic shrub distributed in the south of the Atacama Desert with a disjunct population at the northern coast. • Population and genetic structure correlate with geographic distance and geological factors. • Rain fall and fog, as well as ground water, must be regarded as important factors for populations at the coast and the Andean valleys, respectively. • A combination of different software tool to analyze GBS data allowed a good understanding of the population structure and genetic diversity. Abstract: Survival in hyperarid deserts is a major challenge for life in general and for plants in particular. The Atacama Desert presents harsh conditions such as limited rainfall, crusted soils, high soil salinity, high altitude, and intense solar radiation. These conditions, together with paleoclimatic variations over the last 10 million years, have influenced the genetic structure and connectivity of plant populations, resulting in a diverse flora with high endemism. However, the diversification of most lineages appears to be relatively recent, in contrast to the reported age of the Atacama Desert and the onset and expansion of hyperarid conditions since the late Oligocene and early Miocene. A prominent exception is Huidobria chilensis (Loasaceae), which is thought to be endemic to the Atacama since the Eocene. However, it is still not understood why this plant has been successful in adapting to the harshening environmental conditions. To investigate its genetic structure in relation to the history of the Atacama Desert, we studied 186 individuals from 11 populations using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). A total of nearly 56 k genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed for population structure and genetic diversity. We identified four genetic clusters corresponding to geographic regions: the coastal region south of Tocopilla, the Cordillera de la Costa around Chañaral, and the Copiapó catchment 1 and 2. Genetic diversity within and between these clusters was analyzed along with rainfall, altitude, and landscape data. Although the genetic data support `isolation by distance’ as a major factor for genetic divergence between populations, the study also reveals the influence of topography on the distribution of H. chilensis and highlights the role of hydrologically connected watersheds and rivers in plant migration and colonization. This shapes the species' evolutionary trajectory and genetic diversity. Understanding these patterns in H chilensis lets one draw general conclusions about adaptation and survival strategies of plants in extreme desert environments such as the Atacama.

Description: Freshwater input from Greenland ice sheet melt has been increasing in the past decades from warming temperatures. To identify the impacts from enhanced meltwater input into the subpolar North Atlantic from 1997 to 2021, we use output from two nearly identical simulations in the eddy-rich model VIKING20X (1/20°) only differing in the freshwater input from Greenland: one with realistic interannually varying runoff increasing in the early 2000s and the other with climatologically (1961–2000) continued runoff. The majority of the additional freshwater remains within the boundary current enhancing the density gradient toward the warm and salty interior waters yielding increased current velocities. The accelerated boundary current shows a tendency to enhanced, upstream shifted eddy shedding into the Labrador Sea interior. Further, the experiments allow to attribute higher stratification and shallower mixed layers southwest of Greenland and deeper mixed layers in the Irminger Sea, particularly in 2015–2018, to the runoff increase in the early 2000s. Key Points The West Greenland Current (WGC) freshens and cools with the observed recent increase in meltwater runoff from Greenland The density gradient across the boundary current intensifies, strengthening the WGC and increasing local eddy formation Enhanced meltwater runoff contributed to an eastward shift in deep convection towards the Irminger Sea (2015–2018) Plain Language Summary Global warming has accelerated the melting of the Greenland ice sheet over the past few decades resulting in enhanced freshwater input into the North Atlantic. The additional freshwater can potentially inhibit deep water formation and have future implications on ocean circulation. To determine the influence from Greenland melt, we compare two high-resolution model experiments all with the same forcing but differing input of Greenland freshwater fluxes from 1997 to 2021. We find that in the experiment with realistically increasing Greenland meltwater, the water becomes fresher and cooler along the continental shelf and boundary of the subpolar gyre. The density difference between the shelf and interior increases with more freshwater, resulting in faster West Greenland Current speeds and enhanced eddy formation. Deeper mixed layers are found in the eastern Irminger Sea, particularly in 2015–2018. From 2009 to 2013, there were shallower mixed layers in the Labrador Sea where less Greenland meltwater was mixed downwards and spread eastward, causing mixed layers to deepen in the Irminger Sea.

Description: We report the first catalog of low‐frequency earthquakes in the Hikurangi subduction zone, located beneath the Kaimanawa Range of the North Island at 50 km depth, downdip of regularly recurring (every 4–5 years) deep M7 slow slip events. To systematically detect low‐frequency earthquakes within the regional continuous seismic data, we utilized a matched‐filter approach with template waveforms derived from previous observations of tectonic tremor. We built our catalog of 36 low‐frequency earthquake sources, that produced almost 21,000 events over more than a decade, with two matched‐filter search iterations. In each iteration, the detections were gathered into families and their coherent waveforms processed and stacked to extract high‐quality waveforms, allowing us to pick seismic phase arrivals to locate the low‐frequency earthquakes. We highlight three characteristic features to validate that our detected events are indeed low‐frequency earthquakes: the eponymous deficit of high frequencies in their seismic waveforms, the episodic swarms of activity that define their activity through time, and their location at the plate boundary with a double‐couple source mechanism and geometry consistent with the subduction interface. Considering the observed low‐frequency earthquakes' relationship to neighboring slow slip, we observe the event swarms to occur much more frequently than the M7 slow slip events located just updip. Similar to other deep low‐frequency earthquakes in other subduction zones, we suggest that this characteristic clustering in time is driven by more frequent, smaller slow slip events that are not clearly observable at the surface. Plain Language Summary Slow slip is episodic fault slip that lasts days, weeks or months, rather than the rapid ruptures of regular earthquakes. Geodetic observations of the surface displacement produced by slow slip suggest that their timing and location influence the seismic cycle of nearby faults and may even trigger large earthquakes. Although slow slip does not produce seismic radiation itself, slow slip is often accompanied by tiny repetitive seismic signals. These tiny seismic events, called low‐frequency earthquakes, can act as a powerful indicator of when and where slow slip is happening. In this study, we develop a new approach to detect low‐frequency earthquakes within continuous seismic waveforms, revealing the first observations of low‐frequency earthquakes in the Hikurangi subduction zone beneath the North Island of New Zealand. Our catalog of low‐frequency earthquakes suggests a complex pattern of slow fault slip at depth, with more frequent activity than geodetic data alone would suggest. The observed low‐frequency earthquake activity in the Hikurangi subduction zone thus represents a unique opportunity to study the slip history at depth beneath the North Island of New Zealand. Key Points 36 low‐frequency earthquake sources are extracted from continuous waveforms through template matching, deblurring, and unsupervised learning Low‐frequency earthquake sources locate close to the plate boundary with source mechanisms consistent with the subduction interface Detected low‐frequency earthquakes are likely triggered by small, frequent, and deep slow slip not geodetically observable at the surface

Description: This paper applies a mental model approach to study the role of tenure security in farmers’ decisionmaking on agricultural investment in Uganda. We investigate the role that both perceived tenure security and formal land rights, measured by the possession of land certificates, play. Our focus is on investment in improved seeds, a widely applied strategy in agricultural development and climate change adaptation. The study design leverages the roll-out of a large land demarcation and registration project, which creates exogenous variation in farmers’ tenure security. Results show that, in contrast to expectations derived from economic theory, tenure security plays only a minor role in farmers’ decision-making process to invest in improved seeds. Out of 15 potential factors determining a farmer’s investment decision, both perceived tenure security and possession of a land certificate are among the least chosen factors, regardless of whether or not households participated in the land registration project. A heterogeneity analysis reveals that female-headed households value formalized land rights more than male-headed households.

Description: In this paper we ask: why do people in rural agrarian communities facing increasing migration pressures from changing climatic conditions, stay? We aim to understand why people stay, who stays, what are the impacts of migration on those who stay, and what are their needs for adaptation? We study a population of people who do not migrate from Himalayan communities of Uttarakhand, India, despite their livelihoods being already severely disrupted by climate change climate change and high outmigration has led to abandoned so-called ‘ghost villages’. Semi-structured interviews (n = 72) were held with affected communities, experts, and policymakers. Results show that motivations for immobility are shaped by place attachment; place-based resource advantages; social milieu; dependence on subsistence agriculture and gender roles. We find that immobility experiences are differentiated by gender, age and in situ resources. Those who stay are negatively impacted by migration via loss of labour in agriculture, changes in population size and composition, loss of community, in addition to the negative impacts of climate change. Our results are likely relevant on a global scale, to other subsistence smallholder communities who stay despite increasing climate risks. These populations will need gender-sensitive support to adapt in place.

Description: The benefits of gardening for mental and physical health are well known. Gardening is also recognized as a local-level or grassroots response to the negative effects of climate change and global warming. In urban areas, dense neighborhoods, limited green spaces, contaminated brownfield sites, and, at times, restrictive council regulations on the public use of parks and verges can act as barriers to gardening. In the 1970s, guerrilla gardening emerged as a clandestine, environmentally conscious, grassroots activity to reclaim and transform neglected or derelict urban spaces into healthy green spaces. Although not as subversive since its inception, guerrilla gardening in cities is as much a recreational activity as it is an ecological statement of urban activism, which effectively provides urban dwellers an entry point to engage with the outdoors for the planting of edible and nonedible plants in artificial places and spaces where natural life struggles to exist. Guerilla gardening has been impactful to city life through its contributions and controversies in improving urban ecosystems, educating neighbors on nutrition and food production where gardens crop up, and broadly to the health of humans (and other creatures) who live there.

Description: To address climatic risks to human security, various climate security risk assessment (CSRA) tools have been developed. We have systematically reviewed 28 such tools against state-of-the-art research to (i) define best practices in CSRAs, (ii) identify related gaps in these tools and derive recommendations on how to address them, and (iii) outline a policy-relevant research agenda. We suggest the following measures to improve CSRA tools: Global South actors need to be more strongly involved in priority setting, conceptualization, risk analysis, and intervention design. CSRA tools should offer geographically disaggregated analyses, transparently explain choices regarding tools’ temporal and geographical foci, and assess their implications for the evidence. In this regard, any type of sampling bias should be avoided. Mixed methods can offer clear advantages to study the context-specific climate security dynamics across different time scales. The main gaps in the tools’ conceptualizations evolve around comprehensive consideration of risk determinants (climatic hazards, exposure, and vulnerability) and complex climate–security linkages, communication of uncertainty, and implementation of validation routines. These factors need to be better accounted for. To advance CSRAs, future research should, for example, develop methodologies to systematically integrate quantitative and qualitative approaches, improve the performance of risk predictions, and develop conflict projections.

Description: We analyze if exposure to weather risk affects the tenure security of smallholder farmers in rural Tanzania. Drawing on a household panel survey with three waves and high-resolution weather data, our identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in precipitation across time and space. Results from household fixed effects estimations show that exposure to weather risk significantly lowers farmers’ perceived tenure security, while it increases land conflicts. Moreover, weather risk influences the likelihood that farmers acquire land certificates. These findings suggest that both land formalization and land dispute resolution mechanisms are needed to cushion the impacts of weather risk.

Description: Forestation efforts are accelerating across the globe in the fight against global climate change, in order to restore biodiversity, and to improve local livelihoods. Yet, so far the non-local effects of forestation on rainfall have largely remained a blind spot. Here we build upon emerging work to propose that targeted rainfall enhancement may also be considered in the prioritization of forestation. We show that the tools to achieve this are rapidly becoming available, but we also identify drawbacks and discuss which further developments are still needed to realize robust assessments of the rainfall effects of forestation in the face of climate change. Forestation programs may then mitigate not only global climate change itself, but also its adverse effects in the form of drying.

Description: Extreme weather events are rising at a pace which exceeds expectations based on thermodynamic arguments only, changing the way we perceive our climate system and climate change issues. Every year, heatwaves, floods and wildfires, bring death and devastation worldwide, increasing the evidence about the role of anthropogenic climate change in the increase of extremes. In this viewpoint article, we summarize some of the most recent extremes and put them in the context of the most recent research on atmospheric and climate sciences, especially focusing on changes in thermodynamics and dynamics of the atmosphere. While some changes in extremes are to be expected and are clearly attributable to rising greenhouse gas emissions, other seem counterintuitive, highlighting the need for further research in the field. In this context, research on changes in atmospheric dynamics plays a crucial role in explaining some of these extremes and more needs to be done to improve our understanding of the physical mechanisms involved.

Description: The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity. To date, these boundaries have mostly been investigated separately, and it is unclear whether breaching one boundary can lead to the transgression of another. By employing a dynamic global vegetation model, we systematically simulate the strength and direction of the effects of different transgression levels of the climate change boundary (using climate output from ten phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project models for CO2 levels ranging from 350 ppm to 1000 ppm). We focus on climate change-induced shifts of Earth's major forest biomes, the control variable for the land-system change boundary, both by the end of this century and, to account for the long-term legacy effect, by the end of the millennium. Our simulations show that while staying within the 350 ppm climate change boundary co-stabilizes the land-system change boundary, breaching it (〉450 ppm) leads to critical transgression of the latter, with greater severity the higher the ppm level rises and the more time passes. Specifically, this involves a poleward treeline shift, boreal forest dieback (nearly completely within its current area under extreme climate scenarios), competitive expansion of temperate forest into today's boreal zone, and a slight tropical forest extension. These interacting changes also affect other planetary boundaries (freshwater change and biosphere integrity) and provide feedback to the climate change boundary itself. Our quantitative process-based study highlights the need for interactions to be studied for a systemic operationalization of the planetary boundaries framework.

Description: Today, more than 70 carbon pricing schemes have been implemented around the globe, but their contributions to emissions reductions remains a subject of heated debate in science and policy. Here we assess the effectiveness of carbon pricing in reducing emissions using a rigorous, machine-learning assisted systematic review and meta-analysis. Based on 483 effect sizes extracted from 80 causal ex-post evaluations across 21 carbon pricing schemes, we find that introducing a carbon price has yielded immediate and substantial emission reductions for at least 17 of these policies, despite the low level of prices in most instances. Statistically significant emissions reductions range between –5% to –21% across the schemes (–4% to –15% after correcting for publication bias). Our study highlights critical evidence gaps with regard to dozens of unevaluated carbon pricing schemes and the price elasticity of emissions reductions. More rigorous synthesis of carbon pricing and other climate policies is required across a range of outcomes to advance our understanding of “what works” and accelerate learning on climate solutions in science and policy.

Description: There has long been a debate about climate-damaging subsidies in the German transport sector, and the financial restrictions resulting from the Federal Constitutional Court’s budget judgement at the end of 2023 have intensified the debate. This dossier is the first to convert the level of subsidies in the transport sector into negative CO2 prices to present a scientific categorisation of their significance for climate policy. The concept of implicit negative CO2 prices shows the extent to which subsidies implicitly reward citizens for emitting a tonne of CO2, rather than paying for the emissions.

Description: Oil palm cultivation has become one of the world's most important drivers of land use change in the tropics causing biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions. The impact of climate change and rising carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere on oil palm productivity is not well understood. If environmental change leads to declining palm oil yields in existing cultivation areas, cultivation areas may expand or shift to other regions. Here we assess climate change impacts on palm oil production using an extended version of the dynamic global vegetation model with managed land, LPJmL4, and a range of climate scenarios from the inter-sectoral impact model intercomparison project. We find increasing average yields under all future climate scenarios. This contradicts earlier studies, which did not consider the potential positive effect of CO2 fertilization. If we do not account for CO2 fertilization, future yields also decrease in our simulations. Our results indicate the potentially large role of rising CO2 levels on oil palm cultivation. This highlights the importance of further applied plant science to better understand the impact of climate change and elevated CO2 levels on oil palm growth and productivity.

Description: Interest rates are central determinants of saving and investment decisions. Costly financial intermediation distorts these price signals by creating a spread between deposit and loan rates. This study investigates how bank spreads affect climate policy in its ambition to redirect capital. We identify various channels through which interest spreads affect carbon emissions in a dynamic general equilibrium model. Interest rate spreads increase abatement costs due to the higher relative price for capital-intensive carbon-free energy but they also tend to reduce emissions due to lower overall economic growth. For the global average interest rate spread of 5.1pp, global warming increases by 0.2°C compared to the frictionless economy. For a given temperature target to be achieved, interest rate spreads necessitate substantially higher carbon taxes. When spreads arise from imperfect competition in the intermediation sector, the associated welfare costs can be reduced by clean energy subsidies or even eliminated by economy-wide investment subsidies.

Description: Understanding the future fate of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) in the context of anthropogenic CO2 emissions is crucial to predict sea level rise. With the fully coupled Earth system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER-X, we study the stability of the GIS and its transient response to CO2 emissions over the next 10 kyr. Bifurcation points exist at global temperature anomalies of 0.6 and 1.6 K relative to pre-industrial. For system states in the vicinity of the equilibrium ice volumes corresponding to these temperature anomalies, mass loss rate and sensitivity of mass loss to cumulative CO2 emission peak. These critical ice volumes are crossed for cumulative emissions of 1000 and 2500 GtC, which would cause long-term sea level rise by 1.8 and 6.9 m respectively. In summary, we find tipping of the GIS within the range of the temperature limits of the Paris agreement.

Description: By presenting a range of outcomes which result from the impacts of a changing environment on human mobility patterns, the Foresight Report on Migration and Global Environmental Change emphasized that, whereas some people choose to stay in a specific location, others are simply unable to leave, leading to what the report termed “trapped populations”. Much understanding about both voluntary and involuntary immobility in the context of environmental or climatic change has been gained since. The IPCC's recent report on climate change impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation further underlined that, in the decades ahead, some people will be unable or unwilling to move away from locations in which they may nevertheless be vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. What has received less attention is how climate immobility ought to be governed and which norms should underpin its governance. In this paper, we rely on select existing law and policy instruments and frameworks from Latin American and the Pacific Islands regions to outline key considerations of a governance structure suitable for (in)voluntary immobility. This will inform individuals, communities, and policy makers who seek to navigate through complex reasons and decisions for “staying put” or “getting stuck” in the face of climatic change. The analysis builds upon a review of published literature and, especially, existing policy and legal frameworks at national and regional levels. We argue that a more widespread, timely and proactive approach to policy and governance is required in support of resilience in the context of climate immobility.

Description: Ice core records from Greenland provide evidence for multiple abrupt cold–warm–cold events recurring at millennial time scales during the last glacial interval. Although climate variations resembling Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO) oscillations have been identified in climate archives across the globe, our understanding of the climate and ecosystem impacts of the Greenland warming events in lower latitudes remains incomplete. Here, we investigate the influence of DO-cold-to-warm transitions on the global atmospheric circulation pattern. We comprehensively analyze δ18O changes during DO transitions in a globally distributed dataset of speleothems and set those in context with simulations of a comprehensive high-resolution climate model featuring internal millennial-scale variations of similar magnitude. Across the globe, speleothem δ18O signals and model results indicate consistent large-scale changes in precipitation amount, moisture source, or seasonality of precipitation associated with the DO transitions, in agreement with northward shifts of the Hadley circulation. Furthermore, we identify a decreasing trend in the amplitude of DO transitions with increasing distances from the North Atlantic region. This provides quantitative observational evidence for previous suggestions of the North Atlantic region being the focal point for these archetypes of past abrupt climate changes.

Description: Subventionen im Verkehr, wie das Diesel- oder Dienstwagenprivileg, bedeuten negative CO2-Preise in Höhe von minus 70 bis zu minus 690 Euro pro Tonne CO2 und schwächen die Wirkungsweise der CO2-Bepreisung als wichtiges Instrument der Klimapolitik. Das zeigen Forschende des vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) geförderten Kopernikus-Projekts Ariadne in einer neuen Studie. Die Ariadne-Berechnungen unterstreichen, dass Deutschlands derzeitiges Steuer- und Abgabesystem im Verkehrssektor noch stark auf die Nutzung fossiler Energieträger ausgerichtet ist und so die Erreichung der deutschen Klimaziele erschwert.

Description: The costs of climate change are often estimated in monetary terms, but this raises ethical issues. Here we express them in terms of numbers of people left outside the ‘human climate niche’—defined as the historically highly conserved distribution of relative human population density with respect to mean annual temperature. We show that climate change has already put ~9% of people (〉600 million) outside this niche. By end-of-century (2080–2100), current policies leading to around 2.7 °C global warming could leave one-third (22–39%) of people outside the niche. Reducing global warming from 2.7 to 1.5 °C results in a ~5-fold decrease in the population exposed to unprecedented heat (mean annual temperature ≥29 °C). The lifetime emissions of ~3.5 global average citizens today (or ~1.2 average US citizens) expose one future person to unprecedented heat by end-of-century. That person comes from a place where emissions today are around half of the global average. These results highlight the need for more decisive policy action to limit the human costs and inequities of climate change.

Description: The summer of 2018 was an extraordinary season in climatological terms for northern and central Europe, bringing simultaneous, widespread, and concurrent heat and drought extremes in large parts of the continent with extensive impacts on agriculture, forests, water supply, and socio-economic sector. Here, we present a comprehensive, multi-faceted analysis of the 2018 extreme summer in terms of heat and drought in central and northern Europe, with a particular focus on Germany. The heatwave first affected Scandinavia by mid-July, shifted towards central Europe in late July, while Iberia was primarily affected in early August. The atmospheric circulation was characterized by strongly positive blocking anomalies over Europe, in combination with a positive summer North Atlantic Oscillation and a double jet stream configuration before the initiation of the heatwave. In terms of possible precursors common to previous European heatwaves, the Eurasian double jet structure and a tripolar sea-surface temperature anomaly over the North Atlantic were identified already in spring. While in the early stages over Scandinavia the air masses at mid- and upper-levels were often of remote, maritime origin, at later stages over Iberia the air masses had primarily a local-to-regional origin. The drought affected Germany the most, starting with warmer than average conditions in spring, associated with enhanced latent heat release that initiated a severe depletion of soil moisture. During summer, a continued precipitation deficit exacerbated the problem, leading to hydrological and agricultural drought. A probabilistic attribution assessment of the heatwave in Germany showed that such events of prolonged heat have become more likely due to anthropogenic global warming. Regarding future projections, an extreme summer such as this of 2018 is expected to occur every two out of three years in Europe under a 1.5 °C warmer world and virtually every single year under 2 °C of global warming. With such large-scale and impactful extreme events becoming more frequent and intense under anthropogenic climate change, comprehensive and multi-faceted studies like the one presented here quantify the multitude of effects and provide valuable information as basis for adaptation and mitigation strategies.