EOS

Towering over Suzhou Creek in Shanghai’s Putuo District, hundreds of pedestals double as giant planters holding trees and shrubs that shoot up from artificial mountains. Visitors will soon be able to look up at this aerial forest, with trees embedded in the building’s supports, as they walk, shop, eat, and work below in the new development.

The 1000 Trees project from Heatherwick Studio combines greenery with integral pieces of the structure. Expanding natural spaces has become a priority in Shanghai, which ranks among the most densely populated cities in the world. This density has come at the cost of green space: In Shanghai’s city center, green spaces shrank from 30.9 square kilometers to just 2.6 between 1980 and 2005. Efforts have slowly reversed that trend, and greenery has increased downtown as part of a push to make Shanghai an “ecological city” replete with forests and greenways. This undertaking is due in part to the ecosystem services that urban forests, especially trees, provide.

This composite image of pixels captured by satellite between 2013 and 2017 shows the vast expanse of Shanghai at the expense of green space. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

“They produce a huge cover that can alter the environment in terms of temperatures, in terms of pollution, and in terms of water flows because they intercept water and evaporate water. They store carbon as they grow, which affects climate change,” said David Nowak, a senior scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Urban forests also provide habitats for wildlife and promote well-being, providing mental health benefits for city residents.

However, if not selected and planted carefully, trees planted in a city can have drawbacks, like adding more pollen or sometimes trapping air pollutants beneath their canopy rather than removing them. But, Nowak said, “generally the benefits outweigh the negatives.”

Designing for Nature

In 2012, Heatherwick Studio, headquartered in London, was invited to design a development between Shanghai’s M50 art district and a park bordering Suzhou Creek for Tian An China Investments Company Limited. Studio founder Thomas Heatherwick’s designs are famous for weaving trees and plants into structures—like bridges and buildings—that have historically replaced nature rather than integrated it.

Trying to incorporate the artistic flair of the M50 and the riverine environment, the Heatherwick team designed a massive commercial development covered in deciduous and evergreen trees. Some of the trees were grown in advance for the project in Chongming, a Shanghai island district in the Yangtze River.

Likened to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the large building looks like it was carved from two mountains, covered in an organized display of trees. At the site’s western end, phase 1 of the project, a 60-meter-tall mountain, houses a shopping mall and connects to phase 2, a separate mountain that will likely include office space and restaurants, among other amenities. Phase 1 will tentatively be ready for the public toward the beginning of 2022, but phase 2 is still under construction.

The 1000 Trees project shows that development doesn’t have to exist in place of nature. Usually, “when you put buildings everywhere, it’s either vegetation or buildings. They’re exclusive,” said Nowak. “In this case, they’re designing the vegetation space not as an afterthought; they put it right into the design.”

Seeing the Forest Through the Trees

Green buildings have value, but sustainable cities need more than environmentally conscious construction.Qicheng Zhong, a senior engineer at Shanghai Academy of Landscape Architecture Science and Planning, monitors ecosystem services provided by Shanghai’s green areas. From his perspective, green buildings are helpful to promote nature. But 1000 Trees provides limited benefits to the urban environment. “They’re just little trees and shrubs, single trees, not an ecosystem,” said Zhong.

Green buildings have value, but experts like Zhong argue that sustainable cities need more than environmentally conscious construction. “We have to build or conserve more green areas, but we have to do that with wisdom,” he said. Supporting interconnected park, forest, and wetland systems throughout the city, for example, could advance Shanghai toward becoming a more sustainable, resilient city in a cost-effective way. Unlike structures that are built over natural landscapes, a network of natural areas in the city can provide vital ecosystem services such as absorbing excess rainwater through soil and supplying migration corridors for wildlife.

As a development, 1000 Trees has a lot of impervious surfaces and won’t provide a flood buffer that wetlands or even parks could provide. But according to a Tian An representative who asked not to be identified, they’re conscious of these concerns, and their development preserves 90% of riverside trees and continuity with a greenway near Suzhou Creek.

“We created a new green area in that space. That area has more possibility to be a green community, a creative community.”The 1000 Trees development also introduces unique challenges to engineers and architects. For example, trees need to be securely anchored to planters dozens of meters above the ground. Those planters restrict tree roots, limiting their growth, though the Tian An representative specified that this limitation keeps the trees at a safe, manageable height. Urban forestry experts suggested that tree replacement could present problems, as securing new trees high above the ground could be costly. According to the representative from Tian An, however, the trees have been planted for 3 years with minimal maintenance required, and they don’t anticipate replacing any for at least 5 years.

But urban forestry encompasses more than the natural environment, and Zhong said that 1000 Trees could provide a convenient place for people to socialize in nature within city limits. The representative from Tian An said 1000 Trees could be a better alternative to a conventional development project. “We created a new green area in that space. That area has more possibility to be a green community, a creative community.”

—Jackie Rocheleau (@JackieRocheleau), Science Writer

This is an authorized translation of an Eos article. Esta es una traducción al español autorizada de un artículo de Eos.

(2017) Los científicos publicaron un nuevo informe que detalla cómo el cambio climático está afectando el tiempo atmosférico y el clima en los Estados Unidos y cómo los cambios climáticos futuros podrían ocurrir en todo el país.

El Informe Especial de Ciencia del Clima (CSSR por sus siglas en inglés), creado por una organización del gobierno de los EE. UU. que coordina e integra la investigación federal sobre los cambios en el medio ambiente global y sus implicaciones para la sociedad, también expone el estado actual de la ciencia relacionada con el cambio climático y sus efectos físicos.

“Es muy probable que la influencia humana haya sido la causa dominante del calentamiento observado desde mediados del siglo XX”.“Es muy probable que la influencia humana haya sido la causa dominante del calentamiento observado desde mediados del siglo XX”, concluye el informe. “Para el calentamiento durante el último siglo, no existe una explicación alternativa convincente respaldada por el alcance de la evidencia observacional”.

Y la evidencia observacional es múltiple. Miles de estudios descritos en el informe documentan el aumento de las temperaturas superficiales, atmosféricas y oceánicas; derretimiento de glaciares; disminución de la capa de nieve; encogimiento del hielo marino; aumento del nivel del mar; acidificación oceánica; y el aumento de la intensidad y frecuencia de las lluvias, huracanes, olas de calor, incendios forestales y sequías. El informe describe meticulosamente cómo estos efectos se pueden rastrear en gran medida hacia las actividades humanas y las emisiones asociadas de gases y partículas de importancia radiactiva.

La portada de un informe del gobierno de EE. UU. Recientemente publicado sobre ciencia climática. Crédito: Jesse Allen, Observatorio de la Tierra de la NASA / VIIRS / Suomi-NPP

Detrás del informe hay un amplio consenso científico: cuanto más lejos y más rápido se empuje al sistema terrestre hacia un mayor cambio, mayor es el riesgo de efectos imprevistos, algunos de los cuales son potencialmente grandes e irreversibles.

Por ejemplo, sin grandes reducciones en las emisiones, el aumento en la temperatura global promedio anual en relación con la época preindustrial podría llegar a 9°F (5°C) o más para fines de este siglo. Aunque las tasas de emisión se han desacelerado a medida que el crecimiento económico se está volviendo menos intensivo en carbono, esta tendencia de desaceleración aún no está a una tasa que limitaría el cambio de temperatura promedio global a 3.6°F (2°C) por encima de los niveles preindustriales para fines de siglo.

Y hay más. Es probable que el nivel del mar continúe aumentando, y es probable que muchos eventos climáticos severos se vuelvan más intensos. Prepárate para más récords de temperaturas altas, incluidas olas de calor de varios días y precipitaciones más severas cuando llueva o nieva. La sequía podría afectar al oeste de los Estados Unidos durante las próximas décadas. Se espera que los huracanes del Atlántico y el Pacífico se vuelvan aún más intensos.

En otras palabras, el informe muestra que nuestras trayectorias de emisiones actuales llevarán a nuestro planeta a un estado climático muy diferente al actual, con profundos efectos para Estados Unidos.

Una voz con autoridad sobre el futuro climático de los Estados Unidos

“El informe está diseñado para servir como base para los esfuerzos para evaluar los riesgos relacionados con el clima e informar la toma de decisiones sobre las respuestas.”El CSSR fue creado por el Programa de Investigación de Cambio Global de los EE. UU. (USGCRP por sus siglas en inglés) como el volumen 1 de la Cuarta Evaluación Nacional del Clima (NCA4) [Wuebbles et al., 2017]. USGCRP supervisó la producción de este informe independiente sobre el estado de la ciencia relacionada con el cambio climático y sus impactos físicos. El CSSR está diseñado para ser una evaluación autorizada de la ciencia del cambio climático, con un enfoque en los Estados Unidos, para servir como base para los esfuerzos para evaluar los riesgos relacionados con el clima e informar la toma de decisiones sobre las respuestas.

El CSSR tiene varios propósitos, incluido proporcionar (1) un análisis actualizado y detallado de los hallazgos de cómo el cambio climático está afectando el tiempo atmosférico y el clima en los Estados Unidos, (2) un resumen ejecutivo y 15 capítulos que proporcionan la base para la discusión de ciencia del clima, y (3) información y proyecciones fundamentales para el cambio climático, incluidos los extremos, para mejorar la coherencia “de un extremo a otro” en los análisis sectoriales, regionales y de resiliencia.

El CSSR integra y evalúa los hallazgos sobre la ciencia del clima y analiza las incertidumbres asociadas con estos hallazgos. Analiza las tendencias actuales en el cambio climático, tanto inducidas por el hombre como naturales, y proyecta las principales tendencias para finales de este siglo.

La Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica (NOAA, por sus siglas en inglés) es la agencia administrativa principal del informe actual. Otras agencias involucradas incluyen la NASA y el Departamento de Energía; representantes de laboratorios nacionales, universidades y el sector privado también ayudaron a redactar el informe.

El informe se sometió a varios borradores y múltiples revisiones, incluido uno por parte del público, y revisiones de expertos de las 13 agencias del USGCRP y las Academias Nacionales de Ciencias, Ingeniería y Medicina. El resultado es un documento completo sobre el estado de la ciencia climática, con evaluaciones de escenarios climáticos estadísticamente probables en los Estados Unidos hasta el final del siglo.

Avances en la ciencia desde la última evaluación

El CSSR representa la evaluación más completa de la ciencia realizada para una Evaluación Nacional del Clima. Como tal, el informe refleja una serie de avances en la ciencia del clima desde que se publicó la Tercera Evaluación Nacional del Clima de EE. UU. (NCA3) en 2014.

Los investigadores ahora pueden identificar más de cerca las influencias humanas sobre el clima individual y los fenómenos meteorológicos extremo.Por ejemplo, desde NCA3, han surgido pruebas más sólidas del calentamiento continuo, rápido  de la atmósfera y los océanos globales causado por el hombre. Los investigadores ahora pueden identificar más de cerca las influencias humanas sobre el clima individual y los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos.

Además, se han logrado avances significativos en la comprensión de los eventos climáticos extremos en los Estados Unidos y cómo se relacionan con el aumento de las temperaturas globales y los cambios climáticos asociados. El nuevo informe también analiza hasta qué punto la circulación atmosférica en las latitudes medias está cambiando o se prevé que cambie, posiblemente de formas no captadas por los modelos climáticos actuales.

Por primera vez en el proceso de la NCA, las proyecciones del aumento del nivel del mar incorporan variaciones geográficas basadas en factores como el hundimiento local de la tierra, las corrientes oceánicas y los cambios en el campo gravitacional de la Tierra. En un análsis de los riesgos potenciales, el CSSR encontró que tanto los cambios de estado a gran escala en el sistema climático (a veces llamados “puntos de inflexión”) como los extremos compuestos tienen el potencial de generar sorpresas climáticas imprevistas.

Aspectos destacados del informe: perspectiva global

En el corazón del informe se encuentran algunos hechos indiscutibles. La concentración de dióxido de carbono (CO2) atmosférico global en todas partes es ahora más de 400 partes por millón (ppm), un nivel que ocurrió por última vez hace unos 3 millones de años, cuando tanto la temperatura media global como el nivel del mar eran significativamente más altos que en la actualidad. El crecimiento continuo de las emisiones de CO2 producidas por el hombre durante este siglo y más allá conduciría a una concentración atmosférica que no se ha experimentado en decenas o cientos de millones de años.

Es más, los últimos 115 años son ahora el período de tiempo más cálido en al menos los últimos 1700 años. La temperatura del aire en la superficie promediada anualmente a nivel mundial ha aumentado aproximadamente 1.8°F (1.0°C) desde 1901 (Figura 1).

Fig. 1. (izquierda) La temperatura media anual global ha aumentado en más de 0.7°C (1.2°F) durante el período 1986–2016 en relación con 1901–1960. Las barras rojas muestran temperaturas que estuvieron por encima del promedio de 1901-1960, y las barras azules indican temperaturas por debajo del promedio. (Derecha) Cambio de temperatura de la superficie (en °F) para el período 1986–2016 en relación con 1901–1960. El gris indica que faltan datos. Crédito: CSSR, capítulo 1, USGCRP

Muchos otros aspectos del clima global están cambiando. Por ejemplo, el promedio mundial del nivel del mar ha aumentado entre 7 y 8 pulgadas desde 1900, y casi la mitad (alrededor de 3 pulgadas) de ese aumento se produjo desde 1993. El cambio climático causado por el hombre ha contribuido sustancialmente a este aumento, contribuyendo a una tasa de aumento que es mayor que la de cualquier siglo anterior en al menos 2800 años.

Se espera que el nivel del mar promedio mundial continúe aumentando, al menos varias pulgadas en los próximos 15 años y de 1 a 4 pies para 2100. No se puede descartar un aumento de hasta 8 pies para 2100.

¿Qué significa esto para los Estados Unidos?

La temperatura promedio anual en los contiguos Estados Unidos ha aumentado en 1.8°F (1.0°C) durante el período de 1901 a 2016; durante las próximas décadas (2021–2050), se espera que las temperaturas medias anuales aumenten alrededor de 2.5°F para los Estados Unidos, en relación con el pasado reciente (promedio de 1976–2005), en todos los escenarios climáticos futuros plausibles.

El informe documenta cómo, en general, se espera que las temperaturas más altas proyectadas para los Estados Unidos y el mundo aumenten la intensidad y frecuencia de los eventos extremos. Los cambios en las características de los eventos extremos son particularmente importantes para la seguridad humana, la infraestructura, la agricultura, la calidad y cantidad del agua y los ecosistemas naturales.

A continuación, se muestran algunos de los ámbitos en los que se espera que Estados Unidos enfrente cambios profundos. Lo sorprendente aquí es que los eventos que consideramos extremos pueden convertirse en la nueva normalidad para fines de siglo.

Inundación costera. El aumento global del nivel del mar ya ha afectado a Estados Unidos; la incidencia de las inundaciones por mareas diarias se está acelerando en más de 25 ciudades del Atlántico y la costa del Golfo. Se espera que el aumento del nivel del mar sea más alto que el promedio mundial en algunas partes de los Estados Unidos, especialmente en las costas del este y del golfo de Estados Unidos. Esto se debe, en parte, a los cambios en el campo gravitacional de la Tierra por el derretimiento del hielo terrestre, los cambios en la circulación oceánica y el hundimiento local.

Eventos de precipitación más grandes. Las fuertes precipitaciones, ya sea como lluvia o nevadas, están aumentando en intensidad y frecuencia en los Estados Unidos (Figura 2) y el mundo. Se espera que estas tendencias continúen. Los mayores cambios observados en las precipitaciones extremas en los Estados Unidos se han producido en el noreste y el medio oeste.

Fig. 2. Cambios porcentuales en la cantidad de precipitación que cae en eventos muy fuertes (el 1% más fuerte) de 1958 a 2016 para los Estados Unidos sobre una base regional. Existe una clara tendencia nacional a que una mayor cantidad de precipitación se concentre en eventos muy fuertes, particularmente en el Noreste y Medio Oeste. Crédito: actualizado de NCA3; CSSR, capítulo 7, USGCRP

Olas de calor. Las olas de calor se han vuelto más frecuentes en los Estados Unidos desde la década de 1960, mientras que las temperaturas extremadamente frías y las olas de frío se han vuelto menos frecuentes. Se proyecta que los años cálidos que han establecido récords recientes se volverán comunes en el futuro cercano para los Estados Unidos a medida que las temperaturas medias anuales sigan aumentando.

Incendios forestales. La incidencia de grandes incendios forestales en los estados contiguos occidentales de los Estados Unidos y Alaska ha aumentado desde principios de la década de 1980 y se prevé que aumente aún más en esas regiones a medida que el clima se calienta, con cambios profundos en los ecosistemas regionales. La frecuencia de los grandes incendios forestales está influenciada por una combinación compleja de factores naturales y humanos.

Sequía. Las tendencias anuales hacia el deshielo primaveral más temprano y la reducción de la capa de nieve ya están afectando los recursos hídricos en el oeste de Estados Unidos, con efectos adversos para la pesca y la generación de electricidad. Se espera que estas tendencias continúen. En los escenarios de emisiones más altas y suponiendo que no se produzcan cambios en la gestión actual de los recursos hídricos, la sequía hidrológica crónica y de larga duración es cada vez más posible antes de finales de este siglo.

Las sequías recientes y las olas de calor asociadas han alcanzado una intensidad récord en algunas regiones de EE. UU. Hasta este momento, el informe señala que evaluar el efecto humano en las recientes sequías importantes de EE. UU. es complicado. Se encuentra poca evidencia de una influencia humana en los déficits de precipitación observados, pero se encuentra mucha evidencia de una influencia humana en los déficits de humedad de la superficie del suelo debido al aumento de la evapotranspiración causada por temperaturas más altas.

Huracanes. Los procesos físicos sugieren, y las simulaciones de modelos numéricos generalmente lo confirman, un aumento en la intensidad de los ciclones tropicales en un mundo más cálido, y los modelos del sistema terrestre generalmente muestran un aumento en el número de ciclones tropicales muy intensos. Para los huracanes del Atlántico y el este del Pacífico Norte, se proyectan aumentos en las tasas e intensidad de precipitación. Se prevé que la frecuencia de la más intensa de estas tormentas aumente en el Atlántico y el Pacífico Norte occidental y en el Pacífico Norte oriental.

Ríos atmosféricos. Estas corrientes estrechas de humedad representan entre el 30% y el 40% de la capa de nieve y la precipitación anual típicas en la costa oeste de EE. UU. También están asociados a eventos de inundaciones graves cuando pierden su humedad. La frecuencia y gravedad de los ríos atmosféricos que tocan tierra aumentará porque el aumento de las temperaturas aumenta la evaporación, lo que da como resultado concentraciones más altas de vapor de agua atmosférico.

Un destino que depende de las emisiones

La magnitud del cambio climático más allá de las próximas décadas dependerá principalmente de la cantidad de gases de efecto invernadero (especialmente dióxido de carbono) emitidos a nivel mundial. Y sin recortes significativos de las emisiones, es casi seguro que las temperaturas globales medias anuales se eleven por encima de los 2°C a finales de siglo.

“Las decisiones que se tomen hoy determinarán la magnitud de los riesgos del cambio climático más allá de las próximas décadas.”En otras palabras, el objetivo frecuentemente dicho de mantener el cambio de temperatura promediado globalmente en este nivel o por debajo de este para minimizar los impactos potenciales en los seres humanos y los ecosistemas sólo se puede lograr mediante reducciones sustanciales de las emisiones antes de 2040: las decisiones que se tomen hoy determinarán la magnitud de los riesgos de  cambio climático más allá de las próximas décadas.

Con reducciones significativas en las emisiones, el aumento en la temperatura global promedio anual podría limitarse a 3.6°F (2°C) o menos. La figura 3 muestra los cambios proyectados en la temperatura de EE. UU. para dos posibles escenarios futuros.

La ciencia está en esto, y el CSSR la documenta de una manera tan completa como reveladora. También proporciona información importante para el desarrollo de otras partes de la NCA4, que se centrarán principalmente en el bienestar humano, los elementos sociales, económicos y ambientales del cambio climático. Está previsto que el volumen II de la NCA4, con énfasis en los impactos del cambio climático, se publique a finales de 2018. (Editor: El Volumen II se publicó en 2018, y la Quinta Evaluación Nacional del Clima (NCA5) está actualmente en proceso, con entrega anticipada en 2023.)

Fig. 3. Cambios proyectados en las temperaturas medias anuales (°F) para América del Norte bajo dos vías de concentración representativas (RCPs, por sus siglas en inglés) identificadas en el Quinto Informe de Evaluación del Panel Intergubernamental sobre Cambio Climático. Los RPCs son trayectorias de concentración de gases de efecto invernadero, llamadas así porque representan el cambio en los valores de forzamiento radiativo (por ejemplo, +4.5 vatios por metro cuadrado) modelados para 2100 en relación con la época preindustrial. Aquí se muestra la diferencia entre las temperaturas medias para mediados de siglo (superior) (2036–2065) y finales de siglo (inferior) (2071–2100) y las temperaturas medias para el presente cercano (1976–2005). Cada mapa representa la media multimodelo ponderada. Los incrementos son estadísticamente significativos en todas las áreas (es decir, más del 50% de los modelos muestran un cambio estadísticamente significativo y más del 67% están de acuerdo con el signo del cambio). Los análisis se basan en análisis a escala reducida de los modelos del Proyecto 5 de intercomparación de modelos acoplados. Crédito: CSSR, capítulo 6, LOCA CMIP6 Agradecimientos

La redacción del CSSR requirió el esfuerzo concertado de un equipo de grandes, diversos y experimentados  científicos climáticos de todo Estados Unidos que trabajaron durante muchos meses. El USGCRP brindó organización y orientación para el proceso general, la NOAA supervisó como agencia líder y los Centros Nacionales de Información Ambiental de la NOAA brindaron apoyo técnico, editorial y de producción para los borradores del documento y el producto final. Agradecemos las revisiones independientes del público y las realizadas por la Academia Nacional de Ciencias.

Earth’s oceans play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. As seawater moves and mixes, it stores and transports huge amounts of carbon in the form of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon molecules. However, the various sources and fates of marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) are complex, and much remains to be learned about its dynamics—especially as climate change progresses.

Carbon isotope ratios can help determine the age of DOC, which gives clues to its source and journey through the carbon cycle. Photosynthetic organisms in surface waters are thought to produce most marine DOC, but radiocarbon dating shows that marine DOC is thousands of years old, so more information is needed to clarify how it mixes and lingers in the ocean.

Relying on radiocarbon dating of seawater samples collected during a research cruise in 2016–2017, Druffel et al. provide new insights into DOC dynamics in the eastern Pacific and Southern Oceans. Their investigation lends support to a hypothesis that hydrothermal vents could be an important source of DOC in this region.

While traveling south aboard NOAA’s R/V Ronald H. Brown, the researchers collected seawater samples at multiple sites, including from a station near Antarctica to a site off the Pacific Northwest. Parts of their path followed the East Pacific Rise, a key area of hydrothermal activity off the west coast of South America.

Radiocarbon dating of the samples enabled construction of a profile of isotopic ratios found in both DOC and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) at various depths for each site studied. Analysis of these profiles showed that both forms of dissolved carbon age similarly as they are transported northward in deep waters. According to the authors, this suggests that northward transport is the main factor controlling the isotopic composition of both DOC and DIC in these deep waters.

Meanwhile, the radiocarbon data indicate that hydrothermal vents associated with the East Pacific Rise may contribute ancient DOC to ocean waters. In line with earlier research, the findings suggest the possibility that chemoautotrophic microbes at these vents may “eat” DIC from ancient sources, converting it into DOC that is released into the ocean.

Further research will be needed to confirm whether hydrothermal vents indeed contribute significant amounts of ancient DOC to seawater, affecting its isotopic composition. If so, models of global ocean circulation may need to be adjusted to account for that contribution. (Geophysical Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092904, 2021)

—Sarah Stanley, Science Writer

Through the 2015 Paris Agreement, nearly 200 state parties collectively aspired to limit global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. Even compared to 2°C of warming, meeting this goal would significantly curtail the extent of heat waves and other extremes induced by rising temperatures. But by 2017, the world had already reached 1°C above preindustrial levels and is projected to hit 1.5°C in 2040 with the current pace of warming.

How can we meet such an ambitious target?

The United Nations formally turned to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to get input from scientists. In response, the IPCC presented in 2018 a special report that included about 50 scenarios that could limit warming to 1.5°C. These mitigation scenarios modify variables including population, consumption of goods and services (including food), economic growth, behavior, technology, policies, and institutions. A new study, published in Environmental Research Letters, finds a problem with these scenarios: Only half can be realistically achieved, and all require the world to take a wide array of very bold actions.

We Need All Options

The study assessed how reasonable the IPCC scenarios were based on the extent to which they include five actions: reducing fossil fuel use, reducing energy use, planting more trees, reducing greenhouse gas emissions besides carbon dioxide (CO2), and removing CO2 from the air to store deep underground.

Shifting away from fossil fuels is vital, but “we have to do something more than that in terms of structural changes, behavior, energy demand, and land demand.”Through their appraisal, the authors found that the only realistic scenarios to limit warming to 1.5°C are ones in which all five options are pursued at full throttle. “We do not have the luxury to discard a few and just rely on the others,” said Elmar Kriegler, Professor for Integrated Assessment of Climate Change at the University of Potsdam, Germany, and a coauthor of the study.

The work is “highlighting some points that people are missing” from the IPCC special report, said Natalie Mahowald, a professor of atmospheric science at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Mahowald was a lead author of the special report but was not involved in the new study. Shifting away from fossil fuels is vital, she said, but “we have to do something more than that in terms of structural changes, behavior, energy demand, and land demand. I feel like people didn’t really understand that” when the special report was published.

For example, the required reductions in global energy use “are profound,” Mahowald said. “We did not do them under COVID,” she pointed out, when global CO2 emissions dropped by only around 6%.

“Questionably Optimistic” Assumptions

Many modeled scenarios rely too much on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.In the paper, the authors identify several scenarios that include “questionably optimistic” technology deployments and behavioral shifts. “The underlying assumptions which have been made in the report are not always realistic or feasible,” said Daniela Jacob, director of the Climate Service Center Germany, a coauthor of the study, and a coordinating lead author of the special report. Most prominently, she said, many modeled scenarios rely too much on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, or BECCS. This strategy entails growing crops (or harvesting scraps) to burn for energy, trapping the resulting CO2, and strategically storing it deep underground. Because the plants pulled CO2 from the air as they grew, the net effect is long-term CO2 removal.

At the time of the special report, the scenarios—most of which were created using integrated assessment models—“had difficulty limiting energy demand and dropping CO2 emissions quickly enough,” said Heleen de Coninck, a professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, and a special report coordinating lead author who was not involved in the new study. “There was this option available: BECCS that was producing electricity and it was giving you negative emissions. The models were overusing it, some models more than others,” she said. Alternative technologies like direct air capture of CO2 will likely take some of the spotlight from BECCS in future IPCC reports as the science advances.

More to Consider

Although the paper has value in “narrowing down the options,” said de Coninck, it avoids some important conversations that limit its scope. Notably, competition between strategies like reforestation and BECCS over land resources is left out, a factor that would likely further reduce feasibilities.

Still, the paper makes bold, yet warranted, conclusions that the IPCC, with its stance to be “policy-neutral, never policy-prescriptive,” cannot. Jacob agrees that the IPCC should not be policy prescriptive, but “it’s very clear that we have to act now,” she said. Outside the IPCC, “we cannot shy away from absolute statements on feasibility and on urgent needs.”

These absolute statements aim to motivate substantive debate about how to meet the Paris Agreement’s target. But that debate needs to happen quickly if the world hopes to limit warming to 1.5°C. After a couple more years of current emission rates, Kriegler said, “our attainability statement that it’s still possible is going to disappear.”

—Jordan Wilkerson (@JordanPWilks), Science Writer

Citation John R. Elliott

In his research, John Elliott focuses on using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and other geodetic methods for advancing knowledge of earthquake cycle deformation and tectonics. His papers range from studying tiny ground displacements associated with stress buildup between large earthquakes to mapping and modeling meter-scale ground ruptures in major seismic events. What sets John’s studies apart is his insightful integration of geodetic results with good knowledge of local geology and tectonics, resulting in papers that are more complete and go further than usual. Some of these studies are well known in the community for this reason, such as his papers on the Christchurch, Gorkha, and Van earthquakes. In addition to his outstanding contributions to the field, he also addresses societally important questions in his work related to hazard and risk.

John possesses excellent communication skills, and like many others, I always look forward to his inspiring presentations at conferences. They are packed with interesting information, and still he uniquely manages to clearly explain complex topics, hypothesis testing, alternative ideas, and in-depth implications of the results. He is clearly passionate about his work and keeps his audiences easily engaged with his humor, enthusiasm, and high-octane presentation style. His interest in geodesy, earthquakes, and tectonics also translates into private discussions and meetings, and surely into the classroom as well.

John has been very active in the geodetic community, both in England and beyond, working tirelessly in committees, at conferences, and as a lecturer at workshops. When I was associate editor for the Journal of Geophysical Research, John was my favorite reviewer. He finished his reviews early, was exceptionally thorough and detailed, yet fair, and provided excellent comments and constructive suggestions for improvement.

Given his many achievements and contributions to our community, I am glad that the AGU Geodesy section has recognized John with the 2020 John Wahr Early Career Award.

—Sigurjón Jónsson, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

 

Response

I am very grateful to have been selected for the John Wahr Early Career Award and for the kind words and time Sjonni has made in providing his citation. I also thank the Geodesy section award panel for their support and recognition in choosing my nomination. I appreciate that this is often a difficult decision, and I know there are many suitable candidates in the field for this award, so I am humbled to have been chosen this year.

The pursuit of scientific inquiry and its endeavors are increasingly collaborative and team based. My research has been possible only through the skill and strength of the many collaborators I have worked with across the world. I therefore thank the many excellent partners I have had the pleasure to collaborate with and learn from in the past 15 years, as well as my research group more recently.

Being able to succeed in science requires the trinity of aptitude, hard work, and luck, with the greatest of these, I feel, being luck. And by luck, this often means opportunity. I have been fortunate to have been given great opportunities to pursue my lines of research. In particular, I must thank the mentors, supervisors, and advisers who enabled me to develop as a scientist and who provided those key opportunities. These favorable circumstances have enabled me to stay within science, despite almost taking a different fork in the road on at least three occasions. My greatest thanks go to Susanna Ebmeier for her support over more than a decade with advice, acting as a sounding board and providing ideas.

—John R. Elliott, University of Leeds, Leeds, U.K.

Citation Parisa Mostafavi

Parisa Mostafavi completed an outstanding Ph.D. thesis titled “Shock waves and nonlinear plasma waves mediated by pickup ions and energetic particles” in the Department of Space Science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. A question of long-standing interest is how energetic particles, whether solar energetic particles, pickup ions, or anomalous and galactic cosmic rays, mediate the structure of shock waves as they are energized via diffusive shock acceleration. The problem is important to space weather because some very fast, strong interplanetary shocks are completely dominated by the energy of the accelerated particles, often rendering the character of the shock quite different from classical magnetohydrodynamic shocks. Parisa examined the foundations of shock structure, developing a theoretical description that accounted for the energetic particles and their coupled feedbacks to the background thermal plasma and fields. Parisa’s model described accurately the structure of the Voyager 2 observed TS-3 heliospheric termination shock crossing, including the preferential heating of pickup ions. In another major contribution, Parisa pointed out, much to the surprise of many in the community, that the very local interstellar medium (VLISM) is collisional on scales of interest to the Voyager observations, unlike the collisionless interplanetary medium. Hence, collisional dissipative processes are important for weak VLISM shocks. The puzzling observations of unusually broad weak shocks transmitted from the solar wind into the VLISM observed by Voyager 1 were explained by Parisa as a natural consequence of collisional dissipation (primarily the collisional heat flux associated with proton–proton collisions). Parisa was able to describe the structure, scalings, and properties of the interstellar shocks observed by Voyager 1. This paper is establishing a new paradigm for the physics of the VLISM. Parisa’s thesis resulted in nine refereed journal papers, of which she was first author on four, and seven refereed conference papers.

—Gary P. Zank, Department of Space Science and Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville

 

Response

I would like to thank the award committee and the AGU Space Physics and Aeronomy section for selecting me for this year’s Fred L. Scarf Award. I am deeply honored to receive it. I am grateful to many people in my life. Specifically, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Ph.D. adviser, Dr. Gary Zank, for his continuous support. He always generously found time in his busy schedule to help me whenever I needed it. He gave me excellent guidance on my research and taught me to work hard. During the last year of my Ph.D., I had the privilege of working with the space physics group at Princeton University. I am thankful to Dr. Dave McComas for this opportunity. He taught me how to work through research challenges and use my time wisely. I would like to extend my thanks to Dr. Len Burlaga for supporting my work and giving me the opportunity to collaborate with him. I want to thank Dr. Peter Hunana, Dr. Eric Zirnstein, and Dr. Laxman Adhikari for their valuable discussions. I also owe many thanks to my instructors and colleagues in the space physics department of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Finally, I wish to thank my family for their unconditional love and support. Now I am a postdoc working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab and looking forward to many more new research experiences.

—Parisa Mostafavi, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.

Wide-angle seismic refraction profiles are commonly undertaken to image crust and uppermost mantle structure.  Seismic waveform data like those above (black phases in panels above) encode variations in subsurface velocity and density but are typically band limited. As a consequence, traditional inversion approaches are highly susceptible to cycle-skipping, a manifestation of nonlinearity in the inverse problem.

Górszczyk et al. [2021] employ a new inverse formulation based on optimal transport theory to mitigate this nonlinearity and apply it to observations from the Nankai Trough in Japan. They demonstrate successful solution recovery (blue phases are predicted data from solution in lower panel) even when the initial model is far from the solution (red/blue phases are predicted data from initial model).

Citation: Górszczyk, A., Brossier, R., & Métivier, L. [2021]. Graph-space optimal transport concept for time-domain full-waveform inversion of ocean-bottom seismometer data: Nankai Trough velocity structure reconstructed from a 1D model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 126, e2020JB021504. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB021504

—Michael Bostock, Editor, JGR: Solid Earth

Citation for Alexander Turner Alexander Turner

Alexander Turner receives the James R. Holton Award for his groundbreaking contributions to atmospheric sciences, including advances in atmospheric chemistry, climate, and the carbon cycle.

Atmospheric methane has proven a challenge to interpret, and definitive answers to why methane has gone through periods of growth, stabilization, and growth in the past 30 years have proven elusive. Historically, the primary atmospheric loss mechanism, the hydroxyl radical (OH), has been treated as effectively constant in time (supported by inferred stability in OH from methyl chloroform observations), and thus changes in atmospheric growth have been linked and attributed to changes in sources. Alex demonstrated that OH levels could have shifted in conjunction with changes in atmospheric methane while still being consistent with methyl chloroform observations. This changes the perspectives of recent atmospheric variability, as it elegantly illustrates that subtle changes in OH could explain some changes in atmospheric methane and that variable OH must be considered as we move forward.

While Alex has built on this work in expected directions (continuing analysis of recent changes in methane), he has also demonstrated powerful lateral thinking that has led to significant insights. He has considered how OH may vary on different timescales and in correlation with different climate/weather features. This culminated in a model study covering a 6,000-year period linking variability in OH to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This work linked climate and chemistry in a manner not previously considered and has implications for how we consider and interpret contemporary methane.

Alex’s body of work is extensive, and beyond methane he has made contributions to mathematical methods for inverse modeling as well as developing new approaches combining multiple data streams to infer photosynthesis from space-based observations.

It is a pleasure to present the James R. Holton Award to Dr. Alexander Turner.

—Eric Kort, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

 

Response

I am deeply honored to receive this award. Speaking frankly, I was shocked when I received an email about it from AGU. It would have been flattering to know that I was nominated, let alone to receive this award. I never had the honor of meeting Jim Holton, but his impact on the field is obvious to all. I distinctly remember getting a copy of his textbook as a first-year graduate student; it felt like the first step toward becoming an atmospheric scientist. Receiving an award bearing his name is flattering, truly.

This award is particularly special to me because among the many prominent past recipients, my former undergraduate research adviser, Arlene Fiore, was the second to receive it. She is someone whom I deeply admire and one of the people who inspired me to pursue a career in atmospheric science. Being included on a short list with so many luminaries in the field is simply humbling.

There is a long list of brilliant and passionate scientists who have influenced me along the way. A few who stand out are Daven Henze for introducing me to research—I would not be an atmospheric scientist had I not met him as an undergraduate; Daniel Jacob for his unwavering support as I stumbled and grew through my dissertation; Ron Cohen for the freedom to explore an eclectic set of topics and invaluable feedback; and Inez Fung for continually pushing me to ask interesting questions. As I prepare to start my career, I hope I can emulate a fraction of those great scientists I learned from and support young scientists as they pursue their studies in atmospheric science.

—Alexander Turner, University of Washington, Seattle

 

Citation for Megan D. Willis Megan D. Willis

Megan Willis receives the James R. Holton Award for her groundbreaking contributions to atmospheric science, in particular, the importance of aerosol composition in remote and polluted environments.

Megan’s doctoral research made extensive use of an aerosol mass spectrometer, and early in her degree she led experiments in which a new version of the instrument, which included the ability to measure soot-containing particles, was characterized. Using measurements collected from a roadside site, Megan was able to quantify the mixing state of black carbon (soot) from traffic, with important implications for air quality and climate. She also collaborated on a number of studies in which the instrument was used in a laboratory, to probe the impacts of oxidation on soot particles, and in the field, to characterize carbonaceous particles in an industrially influenced boreal region.

Megan’s most significant contributions were made during her participation in NETCARE (Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments). Megan published two first-author articles demonstrating the importance of biogenic compounds for the growth of small particles in the Arctic atmosphere during the summer. Those studies reported the first observations of the growth of newly formed particles in the Arctic marine environment and identified secondary chemistry as a likely contributor. Her work provides new information about how local ocean–atmosphere feedbacks via atmospheric chemistry and aerosol–cloud interactions may change as the Arctic climate system warms. A subsequent paper focused on disentangling the many factors contributing to aerosol loading during springtime in the Arctic—when the impact of lower latitudes on the region is more significant. Given her extensive work in this area, Megan is now one of the community’s experts on the processes affecting Arctic aerosol composition, and she published a review article on the subject in 2018.

—Jennifer Murphy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada

 

Response

I’d like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the AGU Atmospheric Sciences section for this award. It is both humbling and inspiring to receive an award bearing John Holton’s name, and I aspire to live up to his legacy as a scientist, mentor, teacher, and community member. I’m also humbled to receive this award alongside Alex Turner, whose work I admire.

I am fortunate to be supported by an incredible community of scientists and mentors. I’ve had the opportunity to both learn from and work with many kind, smart, and passionate people around the world in my short career. Our field is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary, and so I can’t imagine working without the collaboration and generosity inherent to this community.

While many people have supported and guided me along the way, I’d like to express my gratitude to a few people explicitly: Erik Krogh and Chris Gill for igniting my enthusiasm for environmental chemistry; my Ph.D. adviser, Jon Abbatt, for opening my awareness to a wide world of questions in atmospheric chemistry, for his tireless support, and for always gently pushing me farther than I thought I could go; and Kevin Wilson for giving me the opportunity to think about atmospheric chemistry from a different perspective and for putting up with me, a fieldwork person, while I tried to learn laboratory physical chemistry.

Finally, I am deeply grateful to Kevin Worthington and the rest of my family for their unconditional support. I would be nowhere without them.

—Megan Willis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins

Citation Anja Klotzsche

It is a great pleasure to cite Anja Klotzsche as the inaugural winner of the AGU Near-Surface Geophysics Early Career Achievement Award. Dr. Klotzsche’s contributions are remarkable because they combine theoretical methods development with meticulous and creative applications to a range of geological, hydrogeological, and biogeological problems. She brought cross-borehole ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data analysis from ray tracing into full-waveform inversion. Her work overcame both theoretical challenges and significant practical hurdles for dealing with real borehole data. Full-waveform inversion offers significantly higher resolution, facilitating a decimeter-scale resolution of the subsurface that opens the door to a range of problems waiting to be solved. The value of the full-waveform inversion was quickly recognized internationally. Through a series of collaborations, Dr. Klotzsche has demonstrated the impact of the method on questions related to flow in porous media, peatland processes, agricultural monitoring, Mars analogue soils, and more, through both borehole and surface GPR. Remarkably for an early-career investigator, Dr. Klotzsche has cosupervised the work of 11 Ph.D. students and nine M.S. students. Many of her recent papers share student coauthorship. On top of her exceptional collaborations and mentoring, she has been a steady and active contributor to the near-surface geophysics community, within both AGU and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Her impact is a testament to her remarkable ability to solve both theoretical and practical problems and to collaborate productively with investigators from around the globe.

—Sarah Kruse, University of South Florida, Tampa

 

Response

Thank you, Sarah, for the very kind citation and nomination for the Near-Surface Geophysics Early Career Achievement Award. I am truly honored to receive this award and deeply grateful to Sarah, AGU, and the near-surface geophysics community. Throughout my scientific career, I have had the great chance to be inspired by and to work with great scientists, mentors, collaborators, and friends who guided me and shaped my working life. I would not have received this award without many of them, and I am sorry that I can name here only a few.

Already during my master’s studies, I was blessed with a great supervisor and mentor, Jan van der Kruk. While working with him on my master’s thesis, I got introduced into the concepts of hydrogeophysics, GPR, and the full-waveform inversion. I was so fascinated by these topics that I never left sight of them, and they are now the fundaments of my career. During my Ph.D. and postdoc time at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jan, and also Harry Vereecken, always encouraged me to think big, link disparate fields, and understand processes, but also to maintain a work–life balance. At the Agrosphere Institute, I always found great colleagues and an inspiring environment to broaden my understanding of different fields. Furthermore, I had the chance to visit other labs and universities as a visiting scientist. These visits allowed me to extend and strengthen my research and cooperation and to broaden the field of applications for the GPR full-waveform inversion. It was especially Peter Annan, Andrew Binley, John Bradford, Tony Endres, Antonios Giannopoulos, Susan Hubbard, Rosemary Knight, Sarah Kruse, Niklas Linde, Majken Looms, Lars Nielsen, and Craig Warren who tremendously inspired me in my career. To everyone I have been fortunate enough to work with, to interact with, to exchange ideas with, and to the entire near-surface community: Thank you!

—Anja Klotzsche, Agrosphere IBG-3, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany

Atmospheric cold pools are pockets of air cooler than their surrounding environment that form when rain evaporates underneath thunderstorms. These relatively dense air masses, ranging between 10 and 200 kilometers in diameter, lead to downdrafts that upon hitting the ocean surface, produce temperature fronts and strong winds that affect the surrounding environment. Cold pools over the tropical oceans produce large changes in air temperature and wind speed in the planetary boundary layer. But how they affect the larger atmospheric circulation is not clear. To understand the role of cold pools in tropical convection, scientists need detailed measurements of these events; however, observations in hard-to-reach ocean locations have been lacking.

Uncrewed sailing vehicles, or USVs, could be a solution. In a new study, Wills et al. describe the use of Saildrone USVs, wind-propelled sailing drones with a tall, hard wing and solar-powered scientific instruments. Over three 6-month missions, 10 USVs covered a distance of over 137,000 kilometers within regions of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and made measurements of over 300 cold pool events, defined as temperature drops of at least 1.5°C in 10 minutes. In one case, four USVs separated by several kilometers captured the minute-by-minute evolution of an event and revealed how the cold pool propagated across the region.

The Saildrone USVs measured variations in air temperature, wind speed, humidity, pressure, and sea surface temperature and salinity. Analysis of these variables revealed key features of cold pool events, including how much and how quickly air temperatures dropped, how long it took for wind speeds to reach their peaks, and the dynamics of sea surface temperature changes. The results could be used to evaluate mathematical models of tropical convection and explore more questions, such as how wind gusts at cold pool fronts affect air–sea heat fluxes. (Geophysical Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093373, 2021)

—Jack Lee, Science Writer

Glaciers have long been thought of as static, picturesque totems or as changeless coverings over permanently frozen landscapes, particularly among societies distant from mountains and the poles. However, as traditional mountain cultures with firsthand experience have long known and treasured—and as glaciologists, hydrologists, and climate scientists have deciphered and communicated—glaciers are by no means static. Rather, they are dynamic landscape agents and unmistakable indicators of rapid environmental transformation [Gagné et al., 2014]. With widespread media coverage of anthropogenic climate change and the realization that glaciers are endangered species [Carey, 2007], popular perceptions are gradually changing, and scientists, grassroots movements, and policymakers are increasingly committing to developing legal protections for glaciers.

With Chile facing significant challenges associated with a long drought affecting its most populated regions, environmentally focused legislation has become a main priority for many Chileans.In 2006, legislative efforts to enact a glacier protection law in Chile started as a result of increasing concerns about how mining activities were endangering small glaciers in the north of the country [Herrera Perez and Segovia, 2019]. Around the same time, other initiatives affecting glacierized basins, such as the HidroAysén hydroelectric project, helped to galvanize local and national activists, who demanded stronger environmental actions from the government. With the country facing significant challenges associated with a long drought affecting its most populated regions, environmentally focused legislation has become a main priority for many Chileans after the populace overwhelmingly requested a new constitution. As of early 2021, the latest initiative related to glaciers, called the “Ley sobre protección de glaciares” (law for glacier protection), is still in discussion in the Senate chamber. Despite the law’s admirable aims, in its current form it includes some flaws that, if passed, will undermine its effectiveness.

Chile’s Crucial Cryosphere

Stretching roughly 4,300 kilometers from Cape Horn in the south to its northern border while spanning only about 180 kilometers on average between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, Chile contains most of the ice and snow cover in the Southern Hemisphere outside the polar regions. It also hosts a significant yet little-studied periglacial landscape characterized by permafrost features, including soils and rock glaciers, among others (Figure 1). Glaciers, snow, and permafrost are found along the Chilean Andes and across several climatic regimes, from nearly tropical to subantarctic, epitomizing the wide range of the environmental conditions where these water reservoirs can grow and wane.

Fig. 1. This world map shows the locations of glaciers around the world according to the Randolph Glacier Inventory. Chile’s borders are outlined in red. The inset map of Chile shows potential locations of permafrost as indicated by the Global Permafrost Zonation Index Map. Waterfalls pour from an outlet glacier in Queulat National Park in Chilean Patagonia. Credit: Alfonso Fernández

Chile’s cold environments are part of the essence of the country, and socioeconomic development here is ineradicably linked to cryosphere dynamics. Agriculture, mining, drinking water provision, hydroelectricity, tourism, and ecosystem services depend, in one way or another, upon the presence of snow and ice. In the south, for example, the majestic glacierized Patagonian landscape attracts visitors from all over the world. In the semiarid north and center of the country, large agricultural areas, including Chile’s world-renowned wine-producing regions, are watered largely by mountain streams nourished by ice and snow melt. In a sense, anyone enjoying a Chilean Carménère is likely tasting drops of the Chilean cryosphere.

A legal framework that considers the latest technical and theoretical understanding of Chile’s cold environments is essential for effective regulation and for maintaining the cultural and socioeconomic value these environments provide. Members—including ourselves—of the Sociedad Chilena de la Criósfera, the only scientific society in Chile dedicated to studying the country’s cryosphere, and other geoscientists have appealed to the National Congress of Chile and the public to provide support and advice to develop scientifically sound and accurate legislation. However, we are increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of the glacier protection law because current iterations under discussion in the congress include misleading concepts and criteria.

Some Limitations of the Proposed Law

At the most basic level, we are alarmed by how proposed legislation uses “cryosphere” and “glaciers” synonymously.At the most basic level, we are alarmed by how these proposals use “cryosphere” and “glaciers” synonymously. The proposed legislation covers glaciers and permafrost, so a more accurate framework would entail protection of the entire cryosphere. However, there are more profound concerns that may become hard to correct once the law is enacted. Among others, these concerns include unfeasible definitions of what a glacier is, poor understanding of the relationship between glacial and periglacial environments, and impacts of the proposed legislation on key infrastructure.

Fundamentally, a glacier is a body of ice massive enough to flow under its own weight, a characteristic that sets it apart from perennial snowfields or smaller patches of snow and ice. Combining understanding from Glen’s flow law, a fundamental glaciological tenet that relates ice flow velocity with slope and thickness [Cuffey and Paterson, 2010], with well-established relationships between glacier surface area and volume [Bahr et al., 1997] offers guidance on the minimum size of an ice patch that can be considered a glacier.

A panoramic view of Universidad Glacier in central Chile. Credit: Alfonso Fernández

During congressional discussions, overly simplistic definitions of glaciers based on flow properties and debris cover have been contrasted with definitions considering more operative yet technically contestable criteria, such as a minimum surface area threshold to be used for mapping and protection purposes under the law. Some proposals by members of congress have argued that this minimum limit should be as small as 0.1 hectare (1,000 square meters). This threshold is much stricter than what is normally applied in the scientific literature, which suggests instead that a surface area of 1 hectare (about the size of a soccer field) may be a more reasonable threshold to use in mapping glacial inventories [Paul et al., 2009; Leigh et al., 2019].

A 0.1-hectare threshold would make it possible to misinterpret ephemeral firn or snow patches as bodies of glacier ice. Under a wide range of realistic glacier surface slopes, the flow law predicts surface velocities well within the uncertainty range of modern measurement techniques like high-precision GPS for average ice thicknesses (about 4 meters) corresponding to the 0.1-hectare threshold. Also, energy and mass balance research shows that Chilean glaciers can melt at rates in excess of 15 meters per year [e.g., Kinnard et al., 2018]. Thus, plausible rates of 4 meters per year result in total melt out of a 0.1-hectare surficial frozen water body within a year or so, further supporting the idea that such small bodies should not be cataloged as glaciers in inventories.

The current proposal and ongoing debate are flawed because they do not consider the hydrological role of permafrost and periglacial areas.Within the law, permafrost and periglacial environments are key elements to be protected, and rightly so. There is plenty of science suggesting that many areas experiencing water stress are covered by sediments and soils that may contain either perennial or seasonal ice (Figure 1) [Ruiz Pereira et al., 2021]. These environments are demarcated on the basis of morphological features, such as the presence of frozen ground, as well as climatic thresholds, particularly with respect to the elevation of the zero-degree isotherm (above which the air temperature is always below 0°C). Although these criteria are in line with established understanding of the conditions that sustain permafrost and rock glaciers [Dobinski, 2011], the current proposal and ongoing debate are flawed nonetheless because they do not consider the hydrological role of permafrost and periglacial areas. In high-elevation regions, including large areas of the Chilean Andes, water storage and drainage are sensitive to permafrost, rock glacier, and glacial changes. Therefore, overlooking this role is inexplicable, especially considering that the first article in the law explicitly indicates that the main reason for preserving glaciers, permafrost, and periglacial areas is their critical value as strategic water reservoirs.

How Geoscientists Can Contribute

We understand some of the considerations and debates surrounding the glacier protection law in Chile—for example, over the minimum surface area threshold—on the grounds that lawmakers are hoping to forestall future legal battles over its interpretation and application. Such battles have occurred in Argentina following implementation of a law similarly intended to preserve that country’s cryosphere. There, conflicting civil and private judicial challenges associated with the use of a 1-hectare threshold in the official glacier inventory have been launched, with the mining sector contending the threshold was too restrictive and others saying it did not protect enough area. These challenges led to the indictment of the chief scientist in charge of compiling the inventory for allegedly failing to uphold the country’s glacier protection law when he adopted the 1-hectare threshold, ironically punishing one of the few people who fought to use the most reliable scientific evidence in cryosphere protections.

Glaciologists traverse a valley glacier in central Chile to deploy sensors. Credit: Alfonso Fernández

As scientists, we know that enacting a law will not end conflicts over how to govern Chile’s glaciers and cryospheric environments. We want to build bridges between citizens and the government to inform expectations of the law on all sides and to provide clear and accurate information for policymaking. As Isaac Asimov said, “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” We echo this and believe there is a unique opportunity to fine-tune Chile’s policymaking by implementing dynamic and updatable features in the country’s cryosphere protection law.

For example, the law should establish panels of academic experts, citizens, and public officers tasked with regularly updating operative definitions used in the legislation and with reviewing the latest technical developments (e.g., improvements in methods for glacier inventorying and monitoring). This approach could facilitate assessment of potential effects of activities, such as tourism and/or the development of water management infrastructure, within glacierized and periglacial areas.

This practice is not new: Expert panels often support policy—related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to fisheries management, for instance—by providing guidance about implications of the latest research and by proposing and evaluating metrics. In the case of glaciers, such an advisory group could, for instance, study criteria for mapping small glaciers [Leigh et al., 2019]. Considering the substantial seasonal and interannual dynamics and variation of glaciers, this kind of approach can help harmonize preservation and management.

The scale and preeminence of Chile’s glacial and periglacial landscapes argue for the nation’s responsibility and opportunity to lead the world in cryosphere protection.Today we see with great hope that Chile is finally awakening to the value and fragility of its grandiose glacierized Andean landscapes, rather than turning its back, as celebrated French glaciologist Louis Lliboutry lamented during his 20th-century journeys through the Andes [Lliboutry, 1956]. The scale and preeminence of Chile’s glacial and periglacial landscapes argue for the nation’s responsibility and opportunity to lead the world in cryosphere protection. Thus, governmental actions regarding protection should serve as frameworks for other nations facing impacts of climate change in mountainous areas.

In our view, the current version of the proposed law regrettably suffers from uncertainties and omissions that could sow further conflict instead of the solutions expected by Chile’s public. We assert that it can be improved significantly if the country’s well-trained scientific community is consulted. This community is eager to cooperate in developing accurate regulation that can serve as a milestone for the rest of the world. We hope that the congress heeds our offer before passing misguided legislation.

Volcanoes and earthquakes are intrinsically linked: both are outcomes of Earth’s dynamic plate tectonics. However, they are hard to study in unison. This is because they are often spatially separated by hundreds of kilometers, they are largely based in different types of science (earthquakes occur in the brittle crust; volcanoes are driven by melt), and approaches to monitoring them can be very different, since volcano science aims for predictions while earthquake science relies primarily on long-term forecasts.

When an earthquake occurs on a volcano, it is therefore often treated as a volcanic event – one not only triggered by volcano-related deformation, but also responding to the volcano and providing information about the volcano.

When a Mw 4.9 earthquake occurred on the eastern flank of Mount Etna, several papers promptly described how the earthquake indeed matched to a dyke intrusion. In contrast, Romagnoli et al. [2021] take a broader view. Their careful measurements of fault offset and interpretation of the tectonic setting led them to a different conclusion: while the event may have been triggered by the volcano, the deformation patterns are controlled by long-term tectonics. The geometry of the southeastern part of the rupture matches to a major tectonically active lineament that extends offshore, accommodating tectonic extension. To the northwest, approaching the volcano, the rupture splinters into a series of en echelon conjugate fractures; here, the slip patterns match the stress field of the broad Sicily collisional zone, which controls the deformation in this region.

Thus, long-term tectonics, rather than short-term volcanic deformation, seems to be responsible for both the geometry and the slip patterns in this event – although the volcano may have helped to trigger it.

This leaves room for further studies, as the authors point out: if earthquakes are telling us about regional tectonics rather than transient volcanic behavior, we may be able to use observations of past earthquake deformation to better understand the tectonics, and then leverage that understanding into a better forecast of future earthquakes.

Citation: Romagnoli, G., Pavano, F., Tortorici, G., & Catalano, S. [2021]. The 2018 Mount Etna earthquake (Mw 4.9): Depicting a natural model of a composite fault system from coseismic surface breaks. Tectonics, 40, e2020TC006286. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020TC006286

—Judith Hubbard, Associate Editor, Tectonics

When a volcano violently erupts, a plume of ash and gases spews skyward. The hot slurry quickly rises into the atmosphere, where various atmospheric dynamics interact to shape the volcanic cloud’s composition, height, and radiative properties. Volcanic clouds reflect solar radiation, cool Earth, cause weather extremes, and delay global warming, but scientists have long wondered exactly how volcanic material evolves and parses itself after eruption. To date, observations of the initial stage of strong eruptions have been sparse, and conventional climate models used to study the impact of volcanic eruptions cannot capture this initial stage in great detail.

Animation from the study’s simulations of the evolution of volcanic plumes from the Pinatubo volcano eruption in 1991 in the Philippines. The simulation includes 25-kilometer-grid spacing considering simultaneous injections of sulfur dioxide (SO2), ash, sulfate, and water vapor. Credit: Sergey Osipov

In a new study, Stenchikov et al. modified a regional atmospheric chemistry model, WRF-Chem, to better capture the initial stage of volcanic cloud development. The researchers modeled the 1991 Pinatubo volcanic eruption in the Philippines for their study, assuming that along with the eruptive jet, a significant amount of volcanic debris was delivered into the lower stratosphere. They conducted simulations with 25-kilometer-grid spacing considering simultaneous injections of sulfur dioxide (SO2), ash, sulfate, and water vapor. In addition, they accounted for radiative heating and cooling effects of all plume components including gaseous SO2.

The researchers found that differential heating played an essential role in the initial evolution of a volcanic cloud and its separation into layers, which then dispersed or fell to the ground. Their new model showed that during the first week after eruption, the volcanic cloud rose into the atmosphere 1 kilometer per day, driven initially by ash solar absorption and later by sulfate aerosol absorption of solar and terrestrial radiation.

The researchers note that their findings could be helpful in many applications, from aviation safety to understanding climate and geoengineering technologies. (Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033829, 2021)

—Sarah Derouin, Science Writer

Raging wildfires pump tiny pollutants into the air, degrading air quality across vast areas. These pollutants, or aerosols, can soar high into the atmosphere at the tops of smoke plumes or creep close to the ground where they pose a health risk to humans. To accurately track these pollutants and their spread, scientists need accurate monitoring systems that can see the whole picture.

In the past, satellite monitoring, while providing a huge visual scope, fell short of on-the-ground measurements. In a new study, Loría-Salazar et al. evaluated improved algorithms using imagery from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instruments. They tracked the spread of aerosols outward from the fire source and upward into the atmosphere, focusing on August 2013 fires in the western United States.

The researchers found that the new algorithms are much more accurate, aligning well with on-the-ground measurements. Research into their plume heights also revealed that whether aerosols from wildfires will remain within the planetary boundary layer—the lowest layer of the atmosphere (where people live, breathe, and are exposed to smoke), which is heavily influenced by Earth’s surface—depends on local geography and daily weather conditions. In addition, the researchers argue that it is necessary to continue investigation into the role of aerosols in local and regional weather when smoke penetrates different layers of the atmosphere.

The new research suggests that satellites may fill in observation gaps in areas without ground-based monitoring or by providing additional data in areas with complex weather patterns. The accurate algorithms used to track aerosol distribution can also inform models of future aerosol conditions, especially to predict impacts to human health. (Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD034180, 2021)

—Elizabeth Thompson, Science Writer

Citation Jane K. Willenbring

It is an honor and a source of great pride to present Jane Willenbring as winner of the inaugural Marguerite T. Williams Award for midcareer scientists. Jane received this award in recognition of her contributions toward the use of cosmogenic radionuclides to advance foundational understanding of Earth surface processes and of her support of woman and minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Jane’s research has tackled a broad range of questions and technique developments that are pertinent to critical zone processes, geomorphic change, and erosion rates. Her publications are thought-provoking and dip into the heart of leading-edge questions related to the application of cosmogenic nuclides to geomorphic research. Importantly, Jane is recognized for her tireless mentorship and community outreach activities and her active voice in support of change regarding discrimination, equity, and harassment in the geosciences and other STEM fields. Jane’s combined research and outreach efforts exemplify some of the best characteristics of a scientific leader and embody the spirit of the Marguerite T. Williams Award for contributions to research and community-building.

—Tammy Rittenour, Utah State University, Logan

 

Response

Thank you, Tammy, for your generous citation, to my nominators for their support, and to the Earth and Planetary Surface Processes group that proposed this new award named after the first Black geologist to receive a Ph.D. in the United States. Thanks also to Nicole Gasparini, friend and collaborator, who led both the creation of the award and my nomination.

Although at heart I’m still just a kid making rivers in the mud with a garden hose, my worldview has been shaped by many people since then. As a high school student, then as a McNair Scholar at North Dakota State University, I worked with Prof. Allan Ashworth. Having his example of patient mentorship showing me how science can bring decades of joy and adventure to life was truly formative. I note that those student opportunities created possibilities for me that the award’s namesake and many others would have benefited from in the past.

I like to imagine that I have navigated my science life path using a constellation of scientist stars too numerous to mention—each shining in their own way. Some guided me toward ideas without even knowing me. Some showed me new ways of thinking about problems. Some provided examples of how to be a decent human—or not. I’m grateful to those who walk with me now. I’m so inspired by how far we’ve all come together and how far we can still go.

—Jane Willenbring, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.

Citation James M. Russell

It is my great pleasure to introduce Jim Russell as the 2020 AGU Willi Dansgaard Award recipient. Jim began his research career with a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2004 and completed a postdoc at the Large Lakes Observatory in 2005. He joined Brown University’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences in 2006 and is currently its chair.

Jim has long been a leader in marrying classical methods in paleolimnology with more novel tools from organic geochemistry to investigate the environmental history of the tropics. He applies this diverse skill set to investigate a wide array of phenomena, ranging from glacial geology to past atmospheric circulation, climate change, paleoecology, and human prehistory. Among his many accomplishments, Jim and his advisees have developed new molecular methods to reconstruct continental temperature and have produced some of the first continuous records of tropical continental temperature. They have also developed networks of long, isotope-based hydrological records from tropical Africa and Southeast Asia to better inform our understanding of the mechanisms of Quaternary rainfall change in these monsoonal regions. His research in these areas represents major breakthroughs.

In addition to his research accomplishments, Jim is a committed educator and mentor. He has trained over a dozen graduate students and postdocs, and the very high level of achievement of so many of his former mentees is strong testimony to his excellence as an adviser. He is also deeply committed to undergraduate education and currently holds a Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence chair at Brown. Jim is also recognized as an international service leader in paleoceanography and paleoclimatology through his efforts to promote continental scientific drilling, as associate editor of Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, and for his efforts to promote climate change literacy in the global south.

For all of these achievements, Jim merits recognition with the Dansgaard Award.

—Paul Baker, Duke University, Durham, N.C.

 

Response

I thank Paul Baker for his kind words and for the nomination. I also thank my other nominators and the Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology award committee for selecting me. It’s truly a great feeling to be recognized by one’s colleagues, and I am honored to join the outstanding paleoceanographers and paleoclimatologists who have won this award before me.

As Paul described, much of my work seeks to understand tropical climate and environmental change. This can be frustrating work. We are limited by the available archives, but fieldwork is logistically difficult. We develop cutting-edge geochemical techniques that produce more and more robust estimates of past climate and environmental change, but we are left with uncertainty and new questions. At the same time, our pursuit to understand the climate system is critically important and fascinating work, and I always feel blessed that I found this profession. I have been extraordinarily lucky to work with a group of outstanding graduate students and postdocs, and with colleagues and collaborators at Brown and beyond who keep me energized and enthusiastic to learn. They have contributed greatly to my scientific accomplishments and career, and this award would have been impossible without all of their hard work and insight.

—Jim Russell, Brown University, Providence, R.I.

The past few years has seen a surge of papers applying machine learning and deep learning, a particular form of neural networks, to predicting hydrological variables. Although, predictions by deep learning methods are often more accurate than physically based models, they are usually restricted to single components of the hydrological cycle. Bennett and Nijssen [2021] use a component-based hydrological modeling framework to replace a physically based parameterization of turbulent heat fluxes with trained deep learning representations. Evaluation with observations shows that when more information is allowed to exchange between the physically based models and the deep learning methods, predictions are increasingly accurate.

Citation: Bennett, A., & Nijssen, B. [2021]. Deep learned process parameterizations provide better representations of turbulent heat fluxes in hydrologic models. Water Resources Research, 57, e2020WR029328. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029328

—Marc F. P. Bierkens, Editor, Water Resources Research

Uganda is venturing into the field of space technology, aiming to launch its first satellite in 2022. The project, first announced in 2019, recently took a major step forward with the approval of funding for a ground station near Kampala.

The station, located at the Mpoma facility where Uganda already has two antennas, will serve as the operations and communications center for satellites launched by the government and universities. The existing antennas are associated with Intelsat’s Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean satellites.

“The site was chosen because it already had some infrastructure that the country has been using for international telecommunication satellites. This was decided on to minimize on [the] cost of developing new structure,” said Elioda Tumwesigye, Uganda’s minister for Science, Technology and Innovation.

Uganda has already invested significant resources to develop the technology. The country has committed $2 million for technology, research, and development and another $200,000 to improve infrastructure at Mpoma.

Tumwesigye said the satellite and facility will receive capacity-building funding support from Russia and will be launched from Asia. “The satellite will be launched from Japan, but it will be for Uganda,” he said.

In addition, Tumwesigye said, the country is working to establish an education network around space technology; it already sends Ugandan engineers to train at facilities in Japan. Kampala’s Makerere University has recently started a teaching program in space technology.

Security and Education

Judith Nabakooba, Uganda’s minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, said Uganda will join the growing list of African countries to have launched satellites: Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Sudan.

“We will not be gambling with technology.”Nabakooba said the satellite program will primarily address national security concerns. “We will not be gambling with technology,” she said. “We are sure that our defense and security will improve through improved capabilities for cross-border movement monitoring and surveillance for the country.”

In his 2021 state of the union speech, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni also prioritized the security benefits of a satellite. He said Uganda is concerned with stabilizing security in East Africa.

The president also emphasized the educational benefits of a space program, pointing to the new space technology program at Makerere University’s College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology and the possibility of establishing a space camp in Uganda.

“I have asked my officials to work closely with [the] European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland regarding this program. This will create an opportunity for having a space camp in Uganda,” Museveni said. Ideally, he explained, tutors from CERN would train Ugandan students at the camp.

Investing in Uganda

Nabakooba also stressed the possibility of increased private sector investment in space science, technology, and research and innovation, including foreign direct investment and collaborations.

“Space science is new in Uganda, and we will seek to [work with] foreign countries that implemented space science before so that we can exchange knowledge and use their research as [a] benchmark to improve on ours.”“Space science is new in Uganda, and we will seek to [work with] foreign countries, including Japan, Russian, and Israel among others that are already developed with high technology and have implemented space science before, so that we can exchange knowledge and use their research as [a] benchmark to improve on ours,” she said.

The satellite venture will also help improve weather forecasts used by the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), added Chris Nsamba, chief executive officer and founder of the African Space Research Program.

“With the change in climate, sometimes the unpredictable weather has been delaying some flights from Entebbe International Airport. But with the satellite, UCAA will have more accurate weather forecasts to allow flights to take off and land at the scheduled time,” he said.

—Hope Mafaranga (@Mafaranga), Science Writer

This is an authorized translation of an Eos article. 本文是Eos文章的授权翻译。

气象站可提供气温、降水和风暴事件的详细记录。然而，这些站点的间隔未必适当，可能分散在城市中，在有些偏远地区甚至可能没有。

在没有直接的天气测量数据时，研究人员有一个变通办法。他们使用现有的网格气候数据集(gridded climate data sets, GCDs)在不同的空间分辨率下对一个特定网格内的天气做平均处理。与监测站不同的是，这些网格单元的估计温度是基于模型预报和气候模型以及观测数据的结合，其中观测数据可能来自地面监测仪、飞机、海上浮标和卫星图像等。这些GCD在大尺度气候研究和生态研究中非常有用，尤其是在没有监测站的地区。

那么，GCD在流行病学研究中是否有效呢？例如，在观察不利温度可能如何影响人类健康和死亡率方面?

在一项新的研究中，de Schrijver等人测试了在气象站稀少地区使用GCD研究与温度有关的死亡率时是否有用。他们将网格化的温度数据与英格兰威尔士和瑞士两个地方的气象站温度数据进行了比较，以观察其中一组数据是否比另一组数据更为有效。这些地区的地形、温度范围各不相同，人口分布也各不相同，这些都导致了区域内温度的不规则分布。

为了解哪一种温度数据对预测社区的健康风险最有帮助，研究人员比较了GCD和气象站数据的高温和低温死亡人数。他们使用每个国家的气象站数据以及高分辨率和低分辨率的地方和区域尺度GCD数据，来看看哪一种数据能更好地预测因寒冷或炎热而死亡的风险。

研究团队发现，这两组数据对于温度暴露对健康的影响预测出了相似的结果。不过，在某些情形下，当人口分布不均时，高分辨率的GCD数据与气象站数据相比能够更好地捕捉到极端高温。这在人口密集的城市地区尤其如此，这些地区内部存在显著的温度差异。

研究人员得出结论称，在地势崎岖的城市和地区，当地的GCD数据可能比气象站数据更适合用于流行病学研究。(GeoHealth, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GH000363, 2021)

—科学作家Sarah Derouin

This translation was made by Wiley. 本文翻译由Wiley提供。

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Citation Suzanne Anderson

Prof. Suzanne Anderson works on (and defines) the interface between geomorphology, hydrology, and geochemistry; her creative and novel scholarship and strong leadership in the critical zone community have vastly expanded and enriched surface processes research and inspired colleagues and students to tackle interdisciplinary topics.

As a graduate student, I fondly remember immersing myself in Suzanne’s papers; the margins of my hard copies were littered with comments, questions, and sketches…evidence of the inspiration she continues to impart.

Dr. Anderson cowrote the textbook through which our students learn geomorphology, and my students have been fortunate to stand atop hillslopes where Suzanne used fundamental observations, experiments, and models to characterize how rock is transformed in the near-surface environment. She deftly weaves together concepts and processes like rock fracturing, chemical weathering, soil production, and hydrologic response to make sense of the terrain.

Suzanne also takes time to write papers that synthesize our knowledge of critical zone processes. Her conceptual model of a chemical reactor on a hillslope provides an elegant and accessible framework, and her work on the geochemistry of glaciated landscapes has key implications for global solute loads and the carbon cycle.

As a central player in critical zone research, Suzanne established the Boulder Creek Critical Zone Observatory, where a limited footprint existed previously. Such work requires a ridiculous amount of time, patience, and vision, and Suzanne’s efforts led to a welcoming and inclusive platform for others to collaborate and forge discovery. With dedication and care, Suzanne’s outreach opened up the critical zone to a new and more diverse generation of scientists.

In the words of Kate Maher, “When we connect the dots back to the origins of critical zone science, Suzanne’s work is at the center.” Suzanne Anderson is supremely deserving of the G. K. Gilbert Award. Congratulations!

—Josh Roering, University of Oregon, Eugene

 

Response

I thank Josh Roering and the committee for their kind words and effort. I’m indebted to Bob and our daughters, Grace and Hannah, for their support and love. It’s doubly humbling to receive the G. K. Gilbert Award: Gilbert is legendary, and previous recipients are personal heroes.

Until the 2018 award to the incomparable Ellen Wohl, only white men had received the Gilbert Award. In 2019, awardee Kelin Whipple urged us to focus on increasing diversity. This year, explosion of the Black Lives Matter movement has heightened awareness of racism and of barriers to persons of color. Our commitment to inclusiveness must redouble.

Commitment is easy; it’s harder to find effective ways to build an inclusive community. From personal experience, some simple actions can make a difference.

Be an example. My mother attended community college when I was in junior high school. Botany class inspired her lifelong volunteer work documenting and cataloging plant specimens, using her homemade plant press and her microscope. She followed her interests, an example that freed me to beat my own drum.

Inspire, encourage, and validate. Exploring geology, I found inspiration in the geomorphology class cotaught by Tom Dunne and Bernard Hallet. As my M.S. adviser, Bernard listened to my nascent ideas and validated my timid steps. At a social event, Tom explicitly encouraged me to pursue a Ph.D. These actions matter.

Foster community. Myriad surface processes grad students formed a community that nurtured my sense of belonging. Bill Dietrich modeled inclusivity with a diverse and gender-balanced group of students and visitors.

We all have the power to set an example, to encourage, to listen, to validate, and to build community. I urge all to use your powers—your superpowers—to build our surface processes community into one that is diverse and welcoming.

—Suzanne Anderson, University of Colorado Boulder