ALBERT

Description: Anthropogenic climate change is likely to cause continuing global sea level rise, but some processes within the Earth system may mitigate the magnitude of the projected effect. Regional and global climate models simulate enhanced snowfall over Antarctica, which would provide a direct offset of the future contribution to global sea level rise from cryospheric mass loss and ocean expansion. Uncertainties exist in modelled snowfall, but even larger uncertainties exist in the potential changes of dynamic ice discharge from Antarctica and thus in the ultimate fate of the precipitation-deposited ice mass. Here we show that snowfall and discharge are not independent, but that future ice discharge will increase by up to three times as a result of additional snowfall under global warming. Our results, based on an ice-sheet model forced by climate simulations through to the end of 2500 (ref. 8), show that the enhanced discharge effect exceeds the effect of surface warming as well as that of basal ice-shelf melting, and is due to the difference in surface elevation change caused by snowfall on grounded versus floating ice. Although different underlying forcings drive ice loss from basal melting versus increased snowfall, similar ice dynamical processes are nonetheless at work in both; therefore results are relatively independent of the specific representation of the transition zone. In an ensemble of simulations designed to capture ice-physics uncertainty, the additional dynamic ice loss along the coastline compensates between 30 and 65 per cent of the ice gain due to enhanced snowfall over the entire continent. This results in a dynamic ice loss of up to 1.25 metres in the year 2500 for the strongest warming scenario. The reported effect thus strongly counters a potential negative contribution to global sea level by the Antarctic Ice Sheet.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Winkelmann, R -- Levermann, A -- Martin, M A -- Frieler, K -- England -- Nature. 2012 Dec 13;492(7428):239-42. doi: 10.1038/nature11616.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), 14473 Potsdam, Germany. ricarda.winkelmann@pik-potsdam.de〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23235878" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Anaemia is a chief determinant of global ill health, contributing to cognitive impairment, growth retardation and impaired physical capacity. To understand further the genetic factors influencing red blood cells, we carried out a genome-wide association study of haemoglobin concentration and related parameters in up to 135,367 individuals. Here we identify 75 independent genetic loci associated with one or more red blood cell phenotypes at P 〈 10(-8), which together explain 4-9% of the phenotypic variance per trait. Using expression quantitative trait loci and bioinformatic strategies, we identify 121 candidate genes enriched in functions relevant to red blood cell biology. The candidate genes are expressed preferentially in red blood cell precursors, and 43 have haematopoietic phenotypes in Mus musculus or Drosophila melanogaster. Through open-chromatin and coding-variant analyses we identify potential causal genetic variants at 41 loci. Our findings provide extensive new insights into genetic mechanisms and biological pathways controlling red blood cell formation and function.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3623669/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3623669/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉van der Harst, Pim -- Zhang, Weihua -- Mateo Leach, Irene -- Rendon, Augusto -- Verweij, Niek -- Sehmi, Joban -- Paul, Dirk S -- Elling, Ulrich -- Allayee, Hooman -- Li, Xinzhong -- Radhakrishnan, Aparna -- Tan, Sian-Tsung -- Voss, Katrin -- Weichenberger, Christian X -- Albers, Cornelis A -- Al-Hussani, Abtehale -- Asselbergs, Folkert W -- Ciullo, Marina -- Danjou, Fabrice -- Dina, Christian -- Esko, Tonu -- Evans, David M -- Franke, Lude -- Gogele, Martin -- Hartiala, Jaana -- Hersch, Micha -- Holm, Hilma -- Hottenga, Jouke-Jan -- Kanoni, Stavroula -- Kleber, Marcus E -- Lagou, Vasiliki -- Langenberg, Claudia -- Lopez, Lorna M -- Lyytikainen, Leo-Pekka -- Melander, Olle -- Murgia, Federico -- Nolte, Ilja M -- O'Reilly, Paul F -- Padmanabhan, Sandosh -- Parsa, Afshin -- Pirastu, Nicola -- Porcu, Eleonora -- Portas, Laura -- Prokopenko, Inga -- Ried, Janina S -- Shin, So-Youn -- Tang, Clara S -- Teumer, Alexander -- Traglia, Michela -- Ulivi, Sheila -- Westra, Harm-Jan -- Yang, Jian -- Zhao, Jing Hua -- Anni, Franco -- Abdellaoui, Abdel -- Attwood, Antony -- Balkau, Beverley -- Bandinelli, Stefania -- Bastardot, Francois -- Benyamin, Beben -- Boehm, Bernhard O -- Cookson, William O -- Das, Debashish -- de Bakker, Paul I W -- de Boer, Rudolf A -- de Geus, Eco J C -- de Moor, Marleen H -- Dimitriou, Maria -- Domingues, Francisco S -- Doring, Angela -- Engstrom, Gunnar -- Eyjolfsson, Gudmundur Ingi -- Ferrucci, Luigi -- Fischer, Krista -- Galanello, Renzo -- Garner, Stephen F -- Genser, Bernd -- Gibson, Quince D -- Girotto, Giorgia -- Gudbjartsson, Daniel Fannar -- Harris, Sarah E -- Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa -- Hastie, Claire E -- Hedblad, Bo -- Illig, Thomas -- Jolley, Jennifer -- Kahonen, Mika -- Kema, Ido P -- Kemp, John P -- Liang, Liming -- Lloyd-Jones, Heather -- Loos, Ruth J F -- Meacham, Stuart -- Medland, Sarah E -- Meisinger, Christa -- Memari, Yasin -- Mihailov, Evelin -- Miller, Kathy -- Moffatt, Miriam F -- Nauck, Matthias -- Novatchkova, Maria -- Nutile, Teresa -- Olafsson, Isleifur -- Onundarson, Pall T -- Parracciani, Debora -- Penninx, Brenda W -- Perseu, Lucia -- Piga, Antonio -- Pistis, Giorgio -- Pouta, Anneli -- Puc, Ursula -- Raitakari, Olli -- Ring, Susan M -- Robino, Antonietta -- Ruggiero, Daniela -- Ruokonen, Aimo -- Saint-Pierre, Aude -- Sala, Cinzia -- Salumets, Andres -- Sambrook, Jennifer -- Schepers, Hein -- Schmidt, Carsten Oliver -- Sillje, Herman H W -- Sladek, Rob -- Smit, Johannes H -- Starr, John M -- Stephens, Jonathan -- Sulem, Patrick -- Tanaka, Toshiko -- Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur -- Tragante, Vinicius -- van Gilst, Wiek H -- van Pelt, L Joost -- van Veldhuisen, Dirk J -- Volker, Uwe -- Whitfield, John B -- Willemsen, Gonneke -- Winkelmann, Bernhard R -- Wirnsberger, Gerald -- Algra, Ale -- Cucca, Francesco -- d'Adamo, Adamo Pio -- Danesh, John -- Deary, Ian J -- Dominiczak, Anna F -- Elliott, Paul -- Fortina, Paolo -- Froguel, Philippe -- Gasparini, Paolo -- Greinacher, Andreas -- Hazen, Stanley L -- Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta -- Khaw, Kay Tee -- Lehtimaki, Terho -- Maerz, Winfried -- Martin, Nicholas G -- Metspalu, Andres -- Mitchell, Braxton D -- Montgomery, Grant W -- Moore, Carmel -- Navis, Gerjan -- Pirastu, Mario -- Pramstaller, Peter P -- Ramirez-Solis, Ramiro -- Schadt, Eric -- Scott, James -- Shuldiner, Alan R -- Smith, George Davey -- Smith, J Gustav -- Snieder, Harold -- Sorice, Rossella -- Spector, Tim D -- Stefansson, Kari -- Stumvoll, Michael -- Tang, W H Wilson -- Toniolo, Daniela -- Tonjes, Anke -- Visscher, Peter M -- Vollenweider, Peter -- Wareham, Nicholas J -- Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R -- Boomsma, Dorret I -- Beckmann, Jacques S -- Dedoussis, George V -- Deloukas, Panos -- Ferreira, Manuel A -- Sanna, Serena -- Uda, Manuela -- Hicks, Andrew A -- Penninger, Josef Martin -- Gieger, Christian -- Kooner, Jaspal S -- Ouwehand, Willem H -- Soranzo, Nicole -- Chambers, John C -- 092731/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 097117/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 14136/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- CZB/4/505/Chief Scientist Office/United Kingdom -- ETM/55/Chief Scientist Office/United Kingdom -- G0600705/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0700704/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0801056/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G1000143/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G1002084/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G9815508/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- HHSN268201100005C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268201100006C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268201100007C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268201100008C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268201100009C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268201100010C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268201100011C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268201100012C/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN271201100005C/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/ -- K12 RR023250/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- MC_U106179471/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U106188470/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- N01AG12109/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- P01 HL076491/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- P01 HL098055/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- P20 HL113452/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- P30 DK072488/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01 AG018728/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA165001/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM053275/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 HD042157/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL059367/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL086694/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL087641/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL087679/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL088119/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL103866/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL103931/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 LM010098/LM/NLM NIH HHS/ -- R01 MH081802/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ -- RG/09/012/28096/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RL1 MH083268/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ -- U01 GM074518/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U01 HG004402/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL072515/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL084756/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U24 MH068457/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ -- U54 RR020278/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- UL1 RR025005/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- UL1 TR000439/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2012 Dec 20;492(7429):369-75. doi: 10.1038/nature11677. Epub 2012 Dec 5.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cardiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands. p.van.der.harst@umcg.nl〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23222517" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The past rapid growth of Northern Hemisphere continental ice sheets, which terminated warm and stable climate periods, is generally attributed to reduced summer insolation in boreal latitudes. Yet such summer insolation is near to its minimum at present, and there are no signs of a new ice age. This challenges our understanding of the mechanisms driving glacial cycles and our ability to predict the next glacial inception. Here we propose a critical functional relationship between boreal summer insolation and global carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, which explains the beginning of the past eight glacial cycles and might anticipate future periods of glacial inception. Using an ensemble of simulations generated by an Earth system model of intermediate complexity constrained by palaeoclimatic data, we suggest that glacial inception was narrowly missed before the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The missed inception can be accounted for by the combined effect of relatively high late-Holocene CO2 concentrations and the low orbital eccentricity of the Earth. Additionally, our analysis suggests that even in the absence of human perturbations no substantial build-up of ice sheets would occur within the next several thousand years and that the current interglacial would probably last for another 50,000 years. However, moderate anthropogenic cumulative CO2 emissions of 1,000 to 1,500 gigatonnes of carbon will postpone the next glacial inception by at least 100,000 years. Our simulations demonstrate that under natural conditions alone the Earth system would be expected to remain in the present delicately balanced interglacial climate state, steering clear of both large-scale glaciation of the Northern Hemisphere and its complete deglaciation, for an unusually long time.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ganopolski, A -- Winkelmann, R -- Schellnhuber, H J -- England -- Nature. 2016 Jan 14;529(7585):200-3. doi: 10.1038/nature16494.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 14412 Potsdam, Germany. ; Physics Institute, Potsdam University, 14476 Potsdam, Germany. ; Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26762457" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Tides play an important role in ice sheet dynamics by modulating ice stream velocity, fracturing and moving ice shelves and mixing water beneath them. Any changes in ice shelf extent or thickness will alter the tidal dynamics through modification of water column thickness and coastal topography but these will in turn feed back onto the overall ice shelf stability. Here, we show that removal or reduction in extent and/or thickness of the Ross and Ronne-Filchner ice shelves would have a significant impact on the tides around Antarctica. The Ronne-Filchner appears particularly vulnerable, with an increase in M 2 amplitude of over 0.5m beneath much of the ice shelf potentially leading to tidally induced feedbacks on ice shelf/sheet dynamics. These results highlight the importance of understanding tidal feedbacks on ice shelves/streams due to their influence on ice sheet dynamics.

Description: The far reach of ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica The far reach of ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica, Published online: 11 December 2017; doi:10.1038/s41558-017-0020-x Ice loss from Antarctica is sensitive to changes in ice shelves. Finite-element modelling reveals that localized ice-shelf thinning, particularly in locations vulnerable to warm water intrusion, can have far-reaching impacts via tele-buttressing.