Climate sciences articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    How primary production is influenced by climatic forcing has not been tested in most ecosystems. Here, the authors study a four-decade record of grassland production and find a sustained decline in above-ground net primary production attributable to increased aridity from declining late-summer rainfall.

    • E. N. J. Brookshire
    •  & T. Weaver

  • Article |

    Intense solar radiation on desiccated desert soils can cause a short circuit in biogeochemical cycles leading to the release of CO2and nitrogen oxides. Here, the authors show that this can be linked to the production of soil superoxide radicals, which then produce peroxides and hydroxyl radicals.

    • Christos D. Georgiou
    • , Henry J. Sun
    •  & Irene Margiolaki

  • Article |

    Despite methane’s (CH4) importance as a greenhouse gas, much remains unknown regarding CH4 sources and sinks. Here, the authors conduct geochemical monitoring and analyses of several cave systems in Spain and show that subterranean atmospheres may be acting as daily sinks for atmospheric CH4.

    • Angel Fernandez-Cortes
    • , Soledad Cuezva
    •  & Sergio Sanchez-Moral

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific can influence global atmospheric circulation, yet prediction of this atmospheric signal is limited to less than 1 year. Here, the authors present observational and modelling evidence for multi-year predictability.

    • Yoshimitsu Chikamoto
    • , Axel Timmermann
    •  & Fei-Fei Jin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recent numerical simulations suggest that the fronts that develop along the rims of ocean eddies are stronger in winter than in summer. Here, the authors present observational confirmation, which informs how these frontal flows are formed.

    • Jörn Callies
    • , Raffaele Ferrari
    •  & Jonathan Gula

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although it is known that soot particles are emitted in large quantities to the atmosphere, our understanding of their environmental effects is limited. Here, the authors study hydrocarbon soot particles during oxidation by ozone, suggesting that this process leads to increases in redox activity.

    • María Antiñolo
    • , Megan D. Willis
    •  & Jonathan P.D. Abbatt

  • Article |

    The microbial carbon pump is an important pathway for marine carbon sequestration, yet the chemical complexity and stability of persistent molecules remain enigmatic. Here, the authors use bioassay experiments to investigate the complexity and refractory nature of bacterial dissolved organic matter.

    • Oliver J. Lechtenfeld
    • , Norbert Hertkorn
    •  & Ronald Benner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Local climatic effects of forests remain poorly understood due to the coarse spatial resolution of models and field observations. Here, the authors use global satellite data to analyse the spatiotemporal cooling or warming effects of tropical, temperate and boreal forests on climate.

    • Yan Li
    • , Maosheng Zhao
    •  & Shuangcheng Li

  • Article |

    Tornadoes are one of nature’s most hazardous phenomena, yet prognostic tools for tornado occurrence are lacking. Here, the authors use Bayesian inference techniques to evaluate the spatiotemporal relationship between atmospheric variables and tornado activity in North America.

    • Vincent Y.S. Cheng
    • , George B. Arhonditsis
    •  & Heather Auld

  • Article |

    The role of successional state in determining ecosystem sensitivity to climate change is largely unknown. Here, the authors subject seven European shrublands to moderate warming and drought conditions over 14 years and show that responsiveness is associated with the dynamic state of the ecosystem.

    • György Kröel-Dulay
    • , Johannes Ransijn
    •  & Josep Penuelas

  • Article |

    The Mertz Glacier Polynya—a site of sea ice production and Antarctic Bottom Water formation—was strongly impacted following the calving of a massive iceberg in 2010. Here, the authors present a 250-year long sea ice reconstruction from the region and present evidence for a ~70-year calving cyclicity.

    • P. Campagne
    • , Xavier Crosta
    •  & G. Massé

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The rainfall rate of tropical cyclones is expected to increase under a warmer climate, yet likely changes in rainfall area remain unknown. Here, the authors combine satellite data and model simulations and show that rainfall area is dependent on relative sea surface temperatures.

    • Yanluan Lin
    • , Ming Zhao
    •  & Minghua Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The sign of soil moisture–precipitation feedback has been strongly debated. Here, the authors show that rain tends to fall where soils are drier than their surroundings, but on days with overall wet and heterogeneous conditions, explaining the apparent contradictions between recent studies.

    • Benoit P. Guillod
    • , Boris Orlowsky
    •  & Sonia I. Seneviratne

  • Article |

    An underlying assumption of palaeoceanographic proxies is that they are representative of the water properties directly above their site of deposition. Here, the authors combine high-resolution particle tracking simulations and sedimentary proxy data to challenge this assumption.

    • Erik van Sebille
    • , Paolo Scussolini
    •  & Rainer Zahn

  • Article |

    Extreme sea level rises are a threat to coastal communities, but their cause, in terms of seasonal or interannual time scales, has received little attention. Here, the authors combine observational and model data to show that one such rise in 2009–10 was caused by a 30% downturn in the Atlantic overturning circulation.

    • Paul B. Goddard
    • , Jianjun Yin
    •  & Shaoqing Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conventionally, the heaviest rainfall is associated with the most intense storms, yet this relationship remains untested. Here, Hamada et al. analyse 11 years of radar observations from the topics and subtropics, and conclude that the heaviest rainfall is most commonly associated with less intense convection.

    • Atsushi Hamada
    • , Yukari N. Takayabu
    •  & Edward J. Zipser

  • Article |

    Some nutrient budgets and fluxes in aquatic environments are poorly constrained. Here, the authors identify a novel pathway of reactive nitrogen sequestration in lakes of the Sierra Nevada, and investigate the relative reactivity of dissolved organic carbon.

    • S.J. Goldberg
    • , G.I. Ball
    •  & L.I. Aluwihare

  • Article |

    The microbial carbon pump may play an important role in carbon sequestration in the deep ocean, but quantifying organic matter in this dark realm is difficult. Here, the authors use fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate the turnover time of fluorescent dissolved organic matter.

    • Teresa S. Catalá
    • , Isabel Reche
    •  & X. Antón Álvarez-Salgado

  • Article |

    Using tidal correlations as a predictive tool for earthquakes is controversial because of the size of the data set. This study examines correlations between small earthquakes and periodic fault stresses to build a simple predictive model for larger quakes that shows good agreement with observed trends.

    • Braden A.W. Brinkman
    • , Michael LeBlanc
    •  & Karin A. Dahmen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The last interglacial has been suggested as a test bed for models developed for future climate prediction, yet many climatic parameters remain unknown. Here, the authors present a precisely dated fossil coral and show that temperature seasonality in the southern Caribbean Sea 118 ka was similar to today.

    • Thomas Felis
    • , Cyril Giry
    •  & Sander R. Scheffers

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although phase transitions are fundamental for understanding aerosol particles, current models are insufficient to explain observations at the nanoscale. Here, the authors present a method for investigating droplets, suggesting particle size is a key determinant in the phase diagram of nanoparticles.

    • Yafang Cheng
    • , Hang Su
    •  & Ulrich Pöschl

  • Article |

    Suspended dust and sea salt are currently considered to be two major sources of environmental aerosol particles. Here, Joung and Buie report another mechanism of aerosol generation from rainfall impact on porous soil surfaces, whereby elements can be delivered to the air.

    • Young Soo Joung
    •  & Cullen R. Buie

  • Article |

    The effects of forests on water yield are uncertain, with some studies indicating that increased evapotranspiration reduces water yield and other showing that forests increase it. Here, the authors analyse published data to settle this debate, finding that afforestation has a positive effect on water yield.

    • Guoyi Zhou
    • , Xiaohua Wei
    •  & Yongxian Su

  • Article |

    Marine sedimentary 231Pa/230Th ratios are considered a promising tool for the investigation of past modes of ocean circulation. Here, the authors present a compilation of new and existing Atlantic sedimentary 231Pa/230Th ratios and interpret these data in the context of abrupt cooling during Heinrich Stadial 1.

    • Louisa I. Bradtmiller
    • , Jerry F. McManus
    •  & Laura F. Robinson

  • Article |

    How volcanoes and the cryosphere interact is of interest for understanding hazard mitigation at ice-clad volcanoes and for paleoclimate studies. Here, the authors provide quantitative details from an eruption in Kamchatka, demonstrating that two kinds of lava, ′a′a and pahoehoe, produced different snowpack responses.

    • B. R. Edwards
    • , A. Belousov
    •  & M. Belousova

  • Article |

    Trace elements and their isotopes are powerful as tracers in the modern ocean and proxies for oceans of the past, although there are limited data for elements such as copper. Here, the authors present copper isotope data from both seawater and rainwater, providing insight into marine biogeochemical cycling.

    • Shotaro Takano
    • , Masaharu Tanimizu
    •  & Yoshiki Sohrin

  • Article |

    Palaeoclimate research often focuses on continental, hemispheric and global scales, neglecting the local-scale changes of most importance to human adaptation. Here, the authors propose a new tree-ring-based methodology, capable of producing high-frequency, highly local climate-field reconstructions.

    • R. Kyle Bocinsky
    •  & Timothy A. Kohler

  • Article |

    Reconstructing past sea ice coverage in the Arctic is important for future climate predictions. Here, the authors present a new sea ice record from the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean and report that Arctic sea ice reached its modern winter maximum for the first time 2.6 million years ago.

    • Jochen Knies
    • , Patricia Cabedo-Sanz
    •  & Antoni Rosell-Melé

  • Review Article |

    Carbon mitigation is considered an important and viable pathway towards climate stabilization, but competition for land is high. Here, Canadell and Schulze consider the sustainable implementation of a number of land-based biological carbon mitigation activities and assess the carbon savings achievable by 2050.

    • Josep G. Canadell
    •  & E. Detlef Schulze

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Wheat is the world’s second most favoured food source, yet its production has climatic consequences. Here the authors quantify the carbon footprint of wheat production systems and evaluate potential alternative farming practices, with a reduced negative impact on climate.

    • Yantai Gan
    • , Chang Liang
    •  & Robert P. Zentner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Extreme winter flooding has caused devastation across Europe in recent years, highlighting the need for improved forecasts. Here, the authors show that the use of water vapour transport, rather than precipitation in weather prediction models, can extend the forecast horizon by as much as 3 days.

    • David A. Lavers
    • , Florian Pappenberger
    •  & Ervin Zsoter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Submarine mud volcanoes are difficult to observe from the sea surface and previous recordings at depth have been short term. Here, the authors provide the first long-term monitoring from Håkon Mosby and suggest that mud volcanoes may be more important to the global methane budget than previously thought.

    • Tomas Feseker
    • , Antje Boetius
    •  & Dirk de Beer

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