Phys.org: Earth science

Grasslands, covering 40% of Earth's vegetated surface, play a crucial role in the global carbon balance but are increasingly threatened by climate-driven water scarcity. A new study published in Science Advances finds, however, that a widespread wind speed decline—a phenomenon known as "terrestrial stilling"—is enhancing the ability of global grasslands to absorb more carbon while minimizing water loss. This shift offers a crucial buffer for these water-limited biomes under climate change.

Artificial intelligence is beginning to transform climate science, not just by improving forecasts, but by helping researchers understand the physical forces shaping the planet's future.

It all began with a perfectly ordinary chat over coffee between four researchers. How many films featuring geologists can we think of? Quite quickly, the colleagues were able to come up with about 10 films. But then the scientific mind of one of them sprang into action.

Atmospheric methane levels have surged to record highs in recent years and are projected to increase by as much as 13% by 2030, according to a report from the Climate & Clean Air Coalition. As scientists work to better understand what is driving this rise, a new collaborative study published in Nature Communications used methane isotopologues to trace where recent emissions originate and how they are changing around the world.

Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a new method which could help scientists perform large-scale climate simulations at a fraction of the cost and time needed compared to traditional climate models. The team, led by Dr. Charles Williams, Senior Lecturer in the School of Geographical Sciences, wanted to investigate factors influencing the way Earth's climate has repeatedly swung between cold glacial "ice ages" and warmer interglacial periods over the last 2.6 million years—known as the Quaternary period.

Every year in the West Pacific, as summer ends and September rolls around, typhoons are not far behind. Typhoons are the most impactful extreme weather events affecting Japan and East Asia, and due to climate change, extremely strong typhoons are becoming more frequent. In order to adapt critical infrastructure to these massive storms and protect coastal areas, accurate accounting for their future impact is essential.

In 2012, a wildfire ripped through 42 square kilometers of alpine moorland in Africa's Rwenzori Mountains, a range of glaciated peaks on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The blaze, which occurred at an elevation of over 13,000 feet, was shocking to those familiar with the mountains, as the climate had been assumed to be too cold and too wet for fire to spread.

A Dartmouth study shows that annual rainfall in much of the world has consolidated over the past four decades into heavier storms with longer dry periods in between.

The impacts were severe: Within a very short time, tropical storm Doksuri intensified into a super typhoon in July 2023. Exceptionally strong winds tore roofs from houses along the coasts of China and the Philippines, trees were uprooted, and torrential rain flooded streets and residential areas. In many places, everyday life came to a temporary halt.

Geological faults hold many secrets that may help us answer important questions about the nature of our planet and what really happens deep underground. One of the biggest mysteries lies within the Atotsugawa Fault System in Japan. What makes the area unusual is that, despite being in a tectonically active region where Earth's plates are constantly shifting, it does not produce as many large earthquakes as other major faults.

Tropical forests store more than 60% of the world's vegetation biomass and are among the most important ecosystems for regulating the global carbon cycle and climate. However, their regulatory role is greatly influenced by the forests' carbon residence time—how long carbon remains in the vegetation biomass pool before it is released again into the atmosphere. This figure is tied to the rate of biomass turnover—how quickly vegetation is replaced through growth and mortality.

It's autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, which means it's fog season in the Victorian Alps. NASA's Terra satellite captured this view of morning fog filling valleys in several national parks across the mountains of eastern Victoria in May.

The "Asian Water Towers" (AWTs), a high-altitude region with a mean elevation exceeding 4,000 meters, serve as the primary freshwater source for nearly 2 billion people. While the Indian summer monsoon is well known for shaping seasonal rainfall patterns that help feed the AWTs, the hydrological role of the mid-latitude westerlies—which dominate regional weather patterns for three-quarters of the year—has been unclear.

Isotope analysis of gas from geothermal springs in Zambia could show that a new continental rift is forming, scientists say. Unexpectedly high helium isotope ratios indicate that a weakness in Earth's crust has broken through to reach the mantle beneath. This rift could eventually become a new tectonic plate boundary. In the meantime, opportunities for geothermal energy could boost local economies.

Researchers have cautioned that well-intended suggested changes to carbon markets risk worsening climate impacts if core safeguards are weakened. Climate change, biodiversity loss and human rights are deeply interconnected challenges, often sharing solutions that can deliver shared benefits.

Even as temperatures rise on Earth's surface and in the lower atmosphere, the planet's upper atmosphere has cooled dramatically. This paradoxical pattern is a well-known sign of humanity's climate impacts—but until now, the underlying physics has remained a mystery.

Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), climate simulations were used to investigate how 19 inland seas, including the Baltic Sea, are responding to climate change. The researchers found that they have been warming faster than the global ocean since the 2000s. Projections show that marine heat waves will affect around 60% of these seas on an average annual basis as early as the middle of the 21st century. Without adherence to the Paris Agreement targets, up to 90% of these seas would be affected by heat waves. The study contributes to climate change management practices and was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

For decades, Antarctica seemed to defy global warming. Since satellites began monitoring the poles in the late 1970s, the seasonal growth and retreat of Antarctic sea ice—frozen seawater that expands around the continent each winter—appeared remarkably resilient. It was often described as the "heartbeat of the planet."

As seismic waves travel through Earth, they gradually lose energy, a process called attenuation. That energy loss doesn't happen uniformly—some features in the crust sap far more energy from seismic waves than others. Researchers can map underground features by watching where seismic waves lose more or less energy. The Southern Array for the Lithosphere and Uplift of Taiwan Experiment (SALUTE) is doing just that, providing information that could lead to improved seismic hazard planning in the country.

Accurate experiments on how ocean warming affects marine life are vital to ensure we can best prepare for the future, protect our food sources, and help safeguard ocean ecosystems. But some of these experiments may miss how species actually respond to rising temperatures. According to a meta-analysis published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the way these changes are studied may not match the reality of our warming seas.