Phys.org: Earth science

The timing of emissions reductions, even more so than the rate of reduction, will be key to avoiding catastrophic thresholds for ice-melt and sea-level rise, according to a new Cornell University study.

Glaciers are fighting back against climate change by cooling the air that touches their surfaces. But for how long? The Pellicciotti group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has compiled and re-analyzed an unprecedented dataset of on-glacier observations worldwide. Their findings, published today in Nature Climate Change, demonstrate that glaciers will likely reach the peak of their self-cooling power by the next decade before their near-surface temperatures spike up and melting accelerates.

Guided by the rhythms of the sea and the promise of discovery, Teledyne Marine and Rutgers University will set Redwing, an autonomous underwater vehicle, on its journey on Friday, Oct. 10, leading to its launch into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

New research from the University of St Andrews has shed light on a crucial mechanism of lowering atmospheric CO2 during Earth's past ice ages.

Dry soils in northern Mexico may trigger episodes of simultaneous drought and heat wave hundreds of miles away in the southwestern United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, according to a new study. These "hot droughts" in the region increasingly persist through consecutive days and nights rather than easing up after sundown, the research also found, leaving no window for afflicted areas to recover.

An EPFL engineer has illustrated some of the complex ways in which climate change will affect hydropower facilities, taking the Gries dam in Valais Canton as a case study.

As climate change continues to reshape the intensity and behavior of hurricanes, meteorologists and researchers are examining whether the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a decades-old classification system, still adequately communicates the full scope of hurricane hazards. While the scale remains a widely recognized tool, experts like Zachary Handlos, director of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Georgia Tech, suggest that a complementary system could enhance public understanding of the broader risks hurricanes pose.

Since the 1980s, scientists have known fine roots (< 2 mm) are critical to ecosystem carbon cycling, with research long suggesting their contribution to soil carbon accrual may exceed that of aboveground plant parts like leaves. Yet more than 40 years later, a key knowledge gap remains: the role of multi-decadal root iterative dynamics (growth, turnover, decomposition) in soil carbon accumulation—especially for "absorptive roots," the finest, most metabolically active roots (typically the distal 2–3 root orders or < 0.5 mm in diameter).

Modelers have demonstrated that artificial intelligence (AI) models can produce climate simulations with more efficiency than physics-based models. However, many AI models are trained on past climate data, making it difficult for them to predict how climate might respond to future changes, such as further increases in the concentration of greenhouse gases.

Predicting tropical cyclones (TCs) accurately is crucial for disaster mitigation and public safety. Although the forecasting accuracy of TC tracks has improved substantially in recent decades, progress in the forecasting of TC intensity remains limited. In recent years, deep learning methods have shown great potential in TC intensity prediction; however, they still face challenges, including limited interpretability, cumbersome feature engineering, and unreliable real-time operational forecasts.

An advanced filtration system inspired by nature that can recover untapped critical resources such as copper and lithium from mining waste is being developed by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) in collaboration with Rio Tinto.

Melting ice sheets in North America played a far greater role in driving global sea-level rise at the end of the last ice age than scientists had thought, according to a Tulane University-led study published in Nature Geoscience.

Off the coast of Antarctica, the sea ice retreated toward the southernmost continent and, like a bottle cap taken off a soda bottle, that reduced pressure slowed down a process of critical carbon dioxide capture, dramatically accelerating the warming of the planet.

Scientists can now receive near-real-time alerts about the world's lands as their surfaces change, thanks to a new satellite-based monitoring system described today in Nature Communications.

The Gulf of Mexico, a regional ocean, is hugged by the southeastern United States and a large stretch of the Mexican coast, making it very important for both countries. The area helps bring goods to local and global markets, produces power for the country with off-shore oil rigs, and hosts a myriad of vacation-worthy beaches—so modeling and predicting its dynamics is a critical task.

During recent storms, satellites recorded ocean waves averaging nearly 20 meters high—as tall as the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and the largest ever measured from space. Moreover, satellite data now reveal that ocean swells act as storm "messengers": even though a storm may never make landfall, its swell can travel vast distances and bring destructive energy to distant coastlines.

New research, based on forest fires in Australia, proves there is a significantly higher risk of large-scale flooding when major deforestation has occurred in catchment areas. The chance of large-scale flooding in a specific catchment area can increase by as much as 700% if widespread deforestation has occurred.

A new study by researchers at the European Commission's Joint Research Center reveals that the Amazon rainforest has just undergone its most devastating forest fire season in over two decades, which triggered record-breaking carbon emissions and exposed the region's growing ecological fragility despite a slowing trend in deforestation.

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is Earth's largest oceanic current, circling around Antarctica from west to east in alignment with Earth's rotation. This cold ocean current is driven primarily by the westerly wind drift. Connecting the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the ACC is critical for global heat transport, the carbon cycle and the interoceanic exchanging of nutrients. The ACC thus influences the regional and the global climate, and impacts biodiversity.

On a scorching Texas afternoon, some Houston neighborhoods heat up far faster than others. New research from Texas A&M University shows vacant and abandoned land is a big reason why.