Research articles

Physics-Informed Neural Networks trained with natural dust values and paleoclimatic measurements can reconstruct the global dust deposition during the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum, complementing traditional kriging reconstruction methods.

In the United States, electrification can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger transportation by half now and up to 85 percent by 2050 with a decarbonized grid, according to an analysis that uses life cycle assessment and ridership scenarios.

The 1995 Benguela Niño, the strongest in the past 40 years, was intensified by high freshwater discharge from the Congo River due to a major Indian Ocean Dipole in late 1994, according to analysis of oceanic, atmospheric and hydrological data.

Rising global temperatures of 1.5 °C, 3 °C, and 4.5 °C will shorten stratification by 0.7, 4.6, and 6.9 days, and lengthen overturning by 0.7, 4.2, and 8 days annually by 2096 in the Northern Hemisphere, affecting lake ecosystems through altered ventilation and nutrient cycling, according to sub-daily simulations of ice-covered lakes.

In the United States, the different perceptions about critical minerals influence preferences for mineral use in energy transition strategies, according to a survey-based assessment of the public awareness of critical minerals with 1,200 respondents.

The hysteresis in precipitation-sea surface temperature sensitivity differs between strong El Niño and La Niña phases, with El Niño intensifying and shifting eastward due to deep convection, while La Niña is more equator-centered with a shorter hysteresis period, according to a large ensemble simulation of symmetric CO₂ ramp-up and ramp-down pathways.

In the US, the delay in novel carbon dioxide removal until mid-century and focus on other mitigation actions reduces 2050 residual emissions to 17 percent of 2020 levels but at a high economic cost, according to an analysis that uses a market equilibrium model with a scenario approach.

From 1960 to 2023, 27.9% of the global land surface became more arid, while 20.5% became less arid, resulting in a 5.9% increase in arid regions, linked to reduction of land’s carbon sink capacity and climate warming, according to analysis of the ERA5-land monthly aggregated climate reanalysis dataset.

In Europe, converting today’s cropland areas into perennial grasses, such as switchgrass, reduces annual mean temperatures in summer and autumn, according to an analysis that uses a regional climate model and life cycle assessment.

Submesoscale eddies in the upper ocean play a critical role in the vertical transport and dispersion of ocean properties, including heat, nutrients, and carbon, making them essential for regulating the Earth’s climate system, according to results from the new airborne Doppler Scatterometer.

A transcontinental drainage system transported sediments from the North China Craton into the eastern Paleo-Tethys Ocean in the Middle Triassic, as shown by a multi-proxy provenance and paleogeographic study from MiddleTriassic sediments from the North China Craton, Qinling, and Songpan-Ganzi regions.

In China, under the high cement quality scenario, the increase of environmental taxes is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption in the cement industry by 2060, according to an analysis that uses an integrated assessment model with the flow of energy and materials.

More than 8.4 million cubic metres of timber, 197 million live plants, and 4.6 million kilograms of plant products listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species were traded globally from 2000 to 2020, according to an analysis that uses trade data and a statistical approach.

Across 36 forest offset projects in China, the vegetation increased from 2000 to 2022, and the forest gain is also evident in buffer zones, according to an analysis that uses biophysical and land-use variables and a difference-in-difference model.

The biological carbon pump exports about 7.36 Pg of carbon globally per year from the upper ocean, according to an estimation of the dissolved oxygen budget that accounts for air–sea exchange, advection, and diffusion.

Traditional knowledge of plants and animal species, geological hazards, and astronomy combined with Western science observations can create an early warning system for a foodborne illness, Ciguatera fish poisoning in Vanuatu, according to thematic analysis that builds on community interviews.

Central Europe experiences hot and dry extreme events due to atmospheric and surface anomalies, with dry soil’s impact on temperature increasing by up to 67% and atmospheric drivers’ impact on soil moisture increasing by up to 50% between 1979 and 2020, according to a Causal Effect Networks analysis.

Farmers and people collecting drinking water outside are projected to be at risk of not achieving sufficient heat dissipation to maintain a stable body temperature at 2 degrees Celsius of global warming, according to an analysis based on a physically based model and heat stress scenarios.

Fertilizer-derived nitrogen with low isotopic nitrate and particular matter values is mainly exported to the Gulf of Mexico during wet season, according to an analysis combining hydrographic and nutrient data, and isotope samples.

Discourse on carbon dioxide removal on social media has become positive over time, except for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, with 31 percent of tweets from infrequent users, which make up 78 percent of all users, according to an analysis of Twitter (now X) data from 2010 to 2022.