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Anthropogenic activity is considered a central driver of current climate change. A recent paper, studying the consensus regarding the hypothesis that the recent increase in global temperature is predominantly human-made via the emission of greenhouse gasses (see text for reference), argued that the scientific consensus in the peer-reviewed scientific literature pertaining to this hypothesis exceeds 99%. This conclusion was reached after the authors scanned the abstracts and titles of some 3000 papers and mapped them according to their (abstract) statements regarding the above hypothesis. Here, we point out some major flaws in the methodology, analysis, and conclusions of the study. Using the data provided in the study, we show that the 99% consensus, as defined by the authors, is actually an upper limit evaluation because of the large number of "neutral" papers which were counted as pro-consensus in the paper and probably does not reflect the true situation. We further analyze these results by evaluating how so-called "skeptic" papers fit the consensus and find that biases in the literature, which were not accounted for in the aforementioned study, may place the consensus on the low side. Finally, we show that the rating method used in the study suffers from a subjective bias which is reflected in large variations between ratings of the same paper by different raters. All these lead to the conclusion that the conclusions of the study does not follow from the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Climate change represents one of the most pressing societal and scientific challenges of our time. While much of the current research on climate change focuses on future prediction, some of the strongest signals of warming can already be seen in Arctic and alpine areas, where temperatures are rising faster than the global average, and in the oceans, where the combination of rising temperatures and acidification due to increased CO2 concentrations has had catastrophic consequences for sensitive marine organisms inhabiting coral reefs. The scientific papers highlighted as part of this anniversary issue represent some of the most impactful advances in our understanding of the consequences of anthropogenic climate change. Here, we reflect on the legacy of these papers from the biotic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coasts are highly dynamic and geomorphologic complex systems that evolve under the increasing pressure of climate change and anthropogenic activities, having direct or indirect impacts on the coastal environment. Among the major adverse effects, coastal erosion represents one of the most pressing global issues, especially in flat and low-lying coastal areas that appear to be particularly susceptible to beach erosion and related shoreline retreat. This Special Issue collects a set of twelve papers on "Shoreline Dynamics and Beach Erosion". Of course, this collection of papers does not cover all the broad number of topics concerning the dynamics and spatial-temporal evolution of shorelines and beach systems, but, in our opinion, they contribute to the growing body of knowledge. Coastal systems of variable complexity located in different geographic and climatic contexts are investigated from various points of view by using multi- and interdisciplinary approaches, as well as new experimental ones. The major topics covered concern the morphodynamics and hydrodynamics of coastal systems, the driving factors of coastal erosion, and the use of models/indexes to study coastal vulnerability and the mitigation of human/natural pressures affecting coastal ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a response to comments made by researchers from the Universidad de Sevilla regarding a paper on extending climate justice to animals. The authors of the response agree with the commenters that the Iberian Lynx population has increased due to conservation efforts, but they clarify that their paper was not intended as a critique of these measures. The purpose of their paper is to discuss how to help wild animals cope with climate change, using the Iberian Lynx as an illustrative case. They argue that while the population has increased, the species is still at risk of extinction due to climate change. The authors also address the commenters' mention of the lack of originality in their proposed conservation measures, stating that their intention was to examine the moral implications of intervention strategies. Overall, the authors emphasize the importance of climate justice for animals, including the Iberian Lynx. [Extracted from the article]

Biobanks have become an integral part of health and bioscience research. However, the ultra-low temperature (ULT) storage methods that biobanks employ [ULT freezers and liquid nitrogen (LN2)] are associated with carbon emissions that contribute to anthropogenic climate change. This paper aims to provide a 'Roadmap' for reducing carbon emissions associated with ULT storage in biobanking. The Roadmap offers recommendations associated with nine areas of ULT storage practice: four relating to ULT freezers, three associated with LN2 storage, and two generalised discussions regarding biosample management and centralisation. For each practice, we describe (a) the best approaches to mitigate carbon emissions, (b) explore barriers associated with hindering their implementation, and (c) make a series of recommendations that can help biobank stakeholders overcome these barriers. The recommendations were the output of a one year, UK-based, multidisciplinary research project that involved a quantitative Carbon Footprinting Assessment of the emissions associated with 1 year of ULT storage (for both freezers and LN2) at four different case study sites; as well as two follow up stakeholder workshops to qualitatively explore UK biobank stakeholder perceptions, views, and experiences on how to consider such assessments within the broader social, political, financial, technical, and cultural contexts of biobanking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document summarizes a collection of research papers on the effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in marine and freshwater ecosystems. The papers discuss topics such as the discharge of nutrients into water systems, eutrophication, and the increase in frequency and severity of HABs worldwide. They also explore the diversity, growth, toxins, and toxicity of harmful algae, as well as mitigation strategies. The studies provide valuable insights into the impact of human activities on HAB-forming species and the need for further research and mitigation efforts. [Extracted from the article]

In 1980, reports of deep-sea jellyfish blooms in Norwegian fjords led researchers to investigate the problem. The helmet jellyfish, Periphylla periphylla, has since migrated far north into Arctic waters. This paper examines what happened when the jellyfish blooms were noticed in 1980 from a historical and ethnographic perspective. It traces four research projects and business ideas that proposed solutions to the jellyfish problem and asks how they are representative of the ways in which humans meet the challenges of anthropogenic climate change. The paper concludes that the jellyfish problem was met with a "techno-fix" attitude that sought to "turn a problem into a resource", which eventually leads to what Julia Livingston has termed "self-devouring growth". In a final outlook, the article asks how we can engage with questions of conservation from a humanities perspective and concludes that the jellyfish story can help us to ask questions about "conservation for whom". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These eight articles are summarized below: Two papers address the regional impacts of climate change in East Asia and the Mediterranean. Author Contributions D.E.R. conceptualized the theme of this Special Issue and A.D.P. prepared the original draft of this editorial. Anthropogenic climate change is responsible for warming global surface temperatures, which has increased the frequency and intensity of weather and climate events [[1]]. [Extracted from the article]

At scales of ≈10 days (the lifetime of planetary scale structures), there is a drastic transition from high frequency weather to low frequency macroweather. This scale is close to the predictability limits of deterministic atmospheric models; so that in GCM macroweather forecasts, the weather is a high frequency noise. But neither the GCM noise nor the GCM climate is fully realistic. In this paper we show how simple stochastic models can be developped that use empirical data to force the statistics and climate to be realistic so that even a two parameter model can outperform GCM's for annual global temperature forecasts. The key is to exploit the scaling of the dynamics and the enormous stochastic memories that it implies. Since macroweather intermittency is low, we propose using the simplest model based on fractional Gaussian noise (fGn): the Scaling LInear Macroweather model (SLIM). SLIM is based on a stochastic ordinary differential equations, differing from usual linear stochastic models (such as the Linear Inverse Mod15 elling, LIM) in that it is of fractional rather than integer order. Whereas LIM implicitly assumes there is no low frequency memory, SLIM has a huge memory that can be exploited. Although the basic mathematical forecast problem for fGn has been solved, we approach the problem in an original manner notably using the method of innovations to obtain simpler results on forecast skill and on the size of the effective system memory. A key to successful forecasts of natural macroweather variability is to first remove the low frequency anthropogenic component. A previous attempt to use fGn for forecasts had poor results because this was not done. We validate our theory using hindcasts of global and Northern Hemisphere temperatures at monthly and annual resolutions. Several nondimensional measures of forecast skill - with no adjustable parameters - show excellent agreement with hindcasts and these show some skill even at decadal scales. We also compare our forecast errors with those of several GCM experiments (with and without initialization), and with other stochastic forecasts showing that even this simplest two parameter SLIM model is somewhat superior. In future, using a space-time (regionalized) generalization of SLIM we expect to be able to exploiting the system memory more extensively and obtain even more realistic forecasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is changing the Earth system processes that control the characteristics of natural hazards both globally and across Australia. Model projections of hazards under future climate change are necessary for effective adaptation. This paper presents BARPA-R (the Bureau of Meteorology Atmospheric Regional Projections for Australia), a regional climate model designed to downscale climate projections over the Australasian region with the purpose of investigating future hazards. BARPA-R, a limited-area model, has a 17 km horizontal grid spacing and makes use of the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) atmospheric model and the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model. To establish credibility and in compliance with the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) experiment design, the BARPA-R framework has been used to downscale ERA5 reanalysis. Here, an assessment of this evaluation experiment is provided. Performance-based evaluation results are benchmarked against ERA5, with comparable performance between the free-running BARPA-R simulations and observationally constrained reanalysis interpreted as a good result. First, an examination of BARPA-R's representation of Australia's surface air temperature, precipitation, and 10 m winds finds good performance overall, with biases including a 1 ∘ C cold bias in daily maximum temperatures, reduced diurnal temperature range, and wet biases up to 25 mm per month in inland Australia. Recent trends in daily maximum temperatures are consistent with observational products, while trends in minimum temperatures show overestimated warming and trends in precipitation show underestimated wetting in northern Australia. Precipitation and temperature teleconnections are effectively represented in BARPA-R when present in the driving boundary conditions, while 10 m winds are improved over ERA5 in six out of eight of the Australian regions considered. Secondly, the paper considers the representation of large-scale atmospheric circulation features and weather systems. While generally well represented, convection-related features such as tropical cyclones, the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), the Northwest Cloudband, and the monsoon westerlies show more divergence from observations and internal interannual variability than mid-latitude phenomena such as the westerly jets and extratropical cyclones. Having simulated a realistic Australasian climate, the BARPA-R framework will be used to downscale two climate change scenarios from seven CMIP6 global climate models (GCMs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azolla is the only plant with a co-evolving nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) cyanobacterial symbiont (cyanobiont), Nostoc azollae, resulting from whole-genome duplication (WGD) 80 million years ago in Azolla's ancestor. Additional genes from the WGD resulted in genetic, biochemical, and morphological changes in the plant that enabled the transmission of the cyanobiont to successive generations via its megaspores. The resulting permanent symbiosis and co-evolution led to the loss, downregulation, or conversion of non-essential genes to pseudogenes in the cyanobiont, changing it from a free-living organism to an obligate symbiont. The upregulation of other genes in the cyanobiont increased its atmospheric dinitrogen fixation and the provision of nitrogen-based products to the plant. As a result, Azolla can double its biomass in less than two days free-floating on fresh water and sequester large amounts of atmospheric CO2, giving it the potential to mitigate anthropogenic climate change through carbon capture and storage. Azolla's biomass can also provide local, low-cost food, biofertiliser, feed, and biofuel that are urgently needed as our population increases by a billion every twelve years. This paper integrates data from biology, genetics, geology, and palaeontology to identify the location, timing and mechanism for the acquisition of a co-evolving diazotrophic cyanobiont by Azolla's ancestor in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religions play a key role in shaping our worldviews, values, and behaviours and this includes our interactions with the environment. Fuelled by the development of the technocratic paradigm, Christianity has historically received a bad reputation for perpetuating anti-environmental views. Nonetheless, the development of ecotheological strands and the emergence of faith-based organisations focusing on climate justice have aided in producing the much-needed environmental reformulations. As such, this paper seeks to provide a broad overview of the role of Christianity in shaping worldviews, from those hindering environmental action to more contemporary ecotheological approaches discussing climate change, particularly Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si'. Christianity's preparedness to navigate climate change will be theorised in relation to empirical evidence and the work of European faith-based organisations, as well as the methodological opportunities that the field of ecolinguistics can offer to inform effective communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic contamination of groundwater resources threatens the health of millions of people worldwide, particularly in the densely populated river deltas of Southeast Asia. Arsenic causes health concerns due to its significant toxicity and worldwide presence in portable water. The major sources of arsenic pollution may be natural process such as dissolution of arsenic containing minerals and anthropogenic activities. Lahore is groundwater dependent city, arsenic contamination is a major issue of portable water and has recently been most environmental health management issue especially in the plain region, where population density is very high. GIS was used in this study for visualizing distribution of arsenic groundwater concentration through geostatistics analysis technique, and exposure risk zones for two years (2010 and 2012). Town's data was compared and concentration variation evaluated. ANOVA test was also applied to compare concentration between cities and years. Arsenic concentrations widely range 7.3-67.8 and 5.2-69.3 μgL-1 in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Over 71% area is represented arsenic concentration range from 20 to 30 μgL-1 in both analyzed years. However, in 2012 arsenic concentration over 40 μgL-1 has covered 7.6% area of Data Gunjbuksh and 8.1% of Ravi Town, while over 90% area of Allama Iqbal, Aziz Bhatti and Samanabad Town contain arsenic concentration between 20-30 μgL-1. ANOVA test depicts concentration probability less than 0.05, while differences were detected among towns. In light of current results, it needs urgent step to ensure groundwater protection and preservation for future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling fire as an integral part of an Earth system model (ESM) is vital for quantifying and understanding fire-climate-vegetation interactions on a global scale and from an Earth system perspective. In this study, we introduce to the Community Earth System Model (CESM) the new global fire parameterization proposed by Li et al. (2012), now with a more realistic representation of the anthropogenic impacts on fires, with a parameterization of peat fires, and with other minor modifications. The improved representation of the anthropogenic dimension includes the first attempt to parameterize agricultural fires, the economic influence on fire occurrence, and the socioeconomic influence on fire spread in a global fire model; also an alternative scheme for deforestation fires. The global fire parameterization has been tested in CESM1's land component model CLM4 in a 1850-2004 transient simulation, and evaluated against the satellite-based Global Fire Emission Database version 3 (GFED3) for 1997-2004. The simulated 1997-2004 average global totals for the burned area and fire carbon emissions in the new fire scheme are 338Mha yr -1 and 2.1 PgCyr -1. Its simulations on multi-year average burned area, fire seasonality, fire interannual variability, and fire carbon emissions are reasonable, and show better agreement with GFED3 than the current fire scheme in CESM1 and modified CTEM-FIRE. Moreover, the new fire scheme also estimates the contributions of global fire carbon emissions from different sources. During 1997-2004, the contributions are 8% from agricultural biomass burning, 27% from tropical deforestation and degradation fires, 5% from global peat fires (3.7% from tropical peat fires), and 60% from other fires, which are close to previous assessments based on satellite data, government statistics, or other information sources. In addition, we investigate the importance of direct anthropogenic influence (anthropogenic ignitions and fire suppression) on global fire regimes during 1850-2004, using CESM1 with the new fire scheme. Results show that the direct anthropogenic impact is the main factor driving the trends of global burned area in the whole period and fire carbon emissions only before ~1870. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shelves have been estimated to account for more than one fifth of the global marine primary production. It has been also conjectured that shelves strongly influence the oceanic absorption of atmospheric CO2 (carbon shelf pump). Owing to their coarse resolution, currently applied global climate models are inappropriate to investigate the impact of climate change on shelfs and regional models do not account for the complex interaction with the adjacent open ocean. In this study, a global ocean general circulation model and biogeochemistry model were set up with a distorted grid providing a maximal resolution for the NW European shelf and the adjacent North Atlantic. Using model climate projections we found that already a moderate warming of about 2.0 K of the sea surface is linked with a reduction by ~30% of biological production on the NW European shelf. If we consider the decline of anthropogenic riverine eutrophication since the 90's the reduction of biological production amounts to 39%. The decline of NW European shelf productivity is twice as strong as the decline in the open ocean (~15%). The underlying mechanism is a spatially well confined stratification feedback along the continental shelf break. This feedback reduces the nutrient supply from the deep Atlantic to about 50%. In turn, the reduced productivity draws down CO2 absorption on the NW European shelf by ~34% at the end of the 21st century compared to the end of the 20th century implying a strong weakening of shelf carbon pumping. Sensitivity experiments with diagnostic tracers indicate that not more than 20% of the carbon absorbed in the North Sea contributes to the long term carbon uptake of the world ocean. The rest remains within the ocean mixed layer where it is exposed to the atmosphere. The predicted decline in biological productivity and decrease of phytoplankton concentration (by averaged 25%) due to reduced nutrient imports from the deeper Atlantic will probably negatively affect the local fish stock and therefore fisheries in the North Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian Prairies are associated with high natural hydroclimatic variability including the frequent periodic occurrence of droughts and pluvials. These extremes carry various risks including significant damage to the economy, environment and society. The well-documented level of damage necessitates further risk assessment and planned reductions to vulnerability, particularly in light of a warming climate. A logical starting point involves awareness and information about the changing characteristics of such climate extremes. We focus on the compound occurrence of droughts and pluvials as the risks from this type of event are magnified compared to the hydroclimatic extremes in isolation. Compound droughts and pluvials (CDP) are drought and pluvial events that occur in close succession in time or in close proximity in area. Also, research on CDP is limited even for the worldwide literature. Therefore, the purposes of this paper are to synthesize recent literature concerning the risks of CDP, and to provide examples of past occurrences, with a focus on the Canadian Prairies. Since literature from the Prairies is limited, global work is also reviewed. That literature indicates increasing concern and interest in CDP. Relationships between drought and pluvials are also characterized using the SPEI Global Monitor for the Prairies, emphasizing the recent past. Research mostly considers drought and pluvials as separate events in the Prairies, but is integrated here to characterize the relationships of these extremes. The spatiotemporal patterns showed that several of the extreme to record pluvials were found to be closely associated with extreme droughts in the Prairies. The intensities of the extremes and their dry to wet boundaries were described. This is the first research to explore the concept of and to provide examples of CDP for the Prairies and for Canada. Examples of CDP provide insights into the regional hydroclimatic variability. Furthermore, most literature on future projections strongly suggests that this variability is likely to increase, mainly driven by anthropogenic climate change. Therefore, improved methods to characterize and to quantify CDP are required. These findings suggest means of decreasing vulnerability and associated damages. Although the study area is the Canadian Prairies, the work is relevant to other regions that are becoming more vulnerable to increasing risks of and vulnerabilities to such compound extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces for the first time the δ13CDIC seasonality in the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre (NASPG) using δ13CDIC data obtained between 2005 and 2012 with Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) and nutrient observations. On the seasonal scale, the NASPG is characterized by higher δ13CDIC values during summer than during winter with seasonal amplitude of 0.77 %0. This is attributed to biological activity in summer and to deep remineralization process during winter convection. During all seasons, we observed a strong linear relationship between δ13CDIC and DIC. Results also revealed a negative anomaly for DIC and nutrients in August 2010 that could be explained by a coccolithophore bloom associated to a warming up to +2°C. Winter data also showed a large decrease in δ13CDIC associated with an increase in DIC between 2006 and 2011-2012 but with observed time rates (-0.04‰yr-1and +1.7µmol kg-1yr-1) much larger than the expected anthropogenic signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has been unequivocally linked to human impact. Human actions have affected the environment and its inhabitants in a variety of ways around the globe and the response of various species can provide insight to what the future holds if we do not begin to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Monkeys are especially important as they function as ecosystem engineers, having a significant impact on plants and other animals in their habitats. Despite their importance, primates in South America and Africa remain understudied, yet are especially at risk as these regions have already undergone significant habitat loss. These regions are also Biodiversity Hotspots with the highest numbers of primate species on Earth. This systematic literature review assesses the current state of knowledge on how monkeys have changed their behavior in response to anthropogenic climate change. For this review, we scanned 3,461 titles, and 100 papers were read in full; seven of 100 papers provided relevant data. These studies primarily reported fertility changes and food substitutions when species were exposed to harsh conditions. The paucity of results from this review demonstrates that more research is needed on this topic. The effects of climate change on primates and their habitats must also be studied in conjunction with other anthropogenic stressors. As humans encroach on wildlife habitats, policies must be implemented to protect the habitats that are still viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on our planet, and essential to the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people who depend on them for food security, income from tourism and coastal protection. Unfortunately, most coral reefs are existentially threatened by global climate change and local anthropogenic pressures. To better understand the dynamics underlying deterioration of reefs, monitoring at high spatial and temporal resolution is key. However, conventional monitoring methods for quantifying coral cover and species abundance are limited in scale due to the extensive manual labor required. Although computer vision tools have been employed to aid in this process, in particular structure‐from‐motion (SfM) photogrammetry for 3D mapping and deep neural networks for image segmentation, analysis of the data products creates a bottleneck, effectively limiting their scalability.This paper presents a new paradigm for mapping underwater environments from ego‐motion video, unifying 3D mapping systems that use machine learning to adapt to challenging conditions under water, combined with a modern approach for semantic segmentation of images.The method is exemplified on coral reefs in the northern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, demonstrating high‐precision 3D semantic mapping at unprecedented scale with significantly reduced required labor costs: given a trained model, a 100 m video transect acquired within 5 min of diving with a cheap consumer‐grade camera can be fully automatically transformed into a semantic point cloud within 5 min. We demonstrate the spatial accuracy of our method and the semantic segmentation performance (of at least 80% total accuracy), and publish a large dataset of ego‐motion videos from the northern Gulf of Aqaba, along with a dataset of video frames annotated for dense semantic segmentation of benthic classes.Our approach significantly scales up coral reef monitoring by taking a leap towards fully automatic analysis of video transects. The method advances coral reef transects by reducing the labor, equipment, logistics, and computing cost. This can help to inform conservation policies more efficiently. The underlying computational method of learning‐based Structure‐from‐Motion has broad implications for fast low‐cost mapping of underwater environments other than coral reefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change has an unprecedented impact on ecosystems and their services, with severe consequences for human well‐being, particularly for the marginalised and vulnerable members of society in the Global South. The well‐being of communities relies not only on material and regulating services ecosystems provide but also on non‐material services.In this paper, we unravel the diverse ways that climate change impacts affect Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) and the well‐being of rural populations in four sites in Madagascar—a biodiversity hotspot but one of the economically poorest countries in the world. We conducted participatory community workshops, mapping and semi‐structured interviews with local residents across social subgroups to understand the mechanisms of climate‐related degradation and the resulting impacts on different dimensions of human well‐being through an NCP lens.We found that non‐material services are generally more often associated with well‐being effects. Climate change degrades material and non‐material services through sea level rise, biodiversity loss, drought, precipitation and temperature variability, with consequences for materials, companionship and labour, food and feed, and physical and psychological experiences. Loss of land and forests is expressed through ecological grief.The outcome of our research provides evidence‐based information to local policymakers, conservation practitioners, and climate change agencies.This information can help improve government efforts toward holistic conservation and climate change adaptation by addressing the impacts on the physical and mental well‐being of the most vulnerable communities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide, the leading contributor to anthropogenic climate change, is released mainly via fossil fuel combustion, mostly for energy generation. Carbon capture technologies are employed for reducing the emissions from existing huge point sources, along with capturing them from direct air, to reduce the existing concentration. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the various subtypes of carbon capture technologies with the aim of providing an assessment of each from technological, social, geo-political, economic, and environmental perspectives. Since the emissions intensity and quantity, along with the social–political–economic conditions, vary in different geographic regions, prioritising and finding the right type of technology is critical for achieving ambitious net-zero targets. Four main types of carbon capture technology were analysed (adsorption, absorption, membrane, and cryogenic) under four scenarios depending on the jurisdiction. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (also known as the TOPSIS method) was used to establish a quantitative ranking of each, where weightages were allocated according to the emissions status and economics of each depending on the jurisdiction. Furthermore, forecasting the trends for technology types vis à vis carbon neutral targets between 2040 and 2050 was carried out by applying regression analysis on existing data and the emissions footprint of major contributing countries. The study found the membrane score to be the highest in the TOPSIS analysis in three of the four scenarios analysed. However, absorption remains the most popular for post-combustion capture despite having the highest energy penalty per ton of CO2 capture. Overall, capture rates are well short of projections for carbon neutrality; the methodology put forward for prioritising and aligning appropriate technologies and the region-by-region analysis will help highlight to technocrats, governments, and policymakers the state of the art and how to best utilise them to mitigate carbon emissions—critical in achieving the net-zero goals set at various international agreements on climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of our rapidly evolving word, where pressing issues like anthropogenic climate change and accelerating urbanization demand innovative solutions, a critical evaluation of the potential and impact of digital technologies is necessary. Climate-neutral governance entails the implementation of governmental instruments and tools designed and used to harmonize short-term policy actions with a long-term vision of achieving a climate-neutral state. This fact aims to facilitate evidence-based decision-making, foster inter-sectoral coordination, enhance transparency, and cultivate public legitimacy for climate mitigation and adaptation measures. This paper presents a focused analysis of SmartCities projects and their implementation across diverse urban centers and nations. Our objective is to provide a comprehensive overview, highlighting recent advancements in the realm of smart and climate-neutral city governance. Furthermore, we conduct a comprehensive inquiry into Romania's legislative framework, encompassing the regulations and strategies pertaining to energy, climate change, and urban development. This analysis is complemented by an exploration of the evolving perspectives and legislative proposals that are likely to shape the future course of action in these domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy rainfall in eastern Africa between late 2019 and mid 2020 caused devastating floods and landslides throughout the region. These rains drove the levels of Lake Victoria to a record-breaking maximum in the second half of May 2020. The combination of high lake levels, consequent shoreline flooding, and flooding of tributary rivers caused hundreds of casualties and damage to housing, agriculture, and infrastructure in the riparian countries of Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Media and government reports linked the heavy precipitation and floods to anthropogenic climate change, but a formal scientific attribution study has not been carried out so far. In this study, we characterize the spatial extent and impacts of the floods in the Lake Victoria basin and then investigate to what extent human-induced climate change influenced the probability and magnitude of the record-breaking lake levels and associated flooding by applying a multi-model extreme event attribution methodology. Using remote-sensing-based flood mapping tools, we find that more than 29 000 people living within a 50 km radius of the lake shorelines were affected by floods between April and July 2020. Precipitation in the basin was the highest recorded in at least 3 decades, causing lake levels to rise by 1.21 m between late 2019 and mid 2020. The flood, defined as a 6-month rise in lake levels as extreme as that observed in the lead-up to May 2020, is estimated to be a 63-year event in the current climate. Based on observations and climate model simulations, the best estimate is that the event has become more likely by a factor of 1.8 in the current climate compared to a pre-industrial climate and that in the absence of anthropogenic climate change an event with the same return period would have led lake levels to rise by 7 cm less than observed. Nonetheless, uncertainties in the attribution statement are relatively large due to large natural variability and include the possibility of no observed attributable change in the probability of the event (probability ratio, 95 % confidence interval 0.8–15.8) or in the magnitude of lake level rise during an event with the same return period (magnitude change, 95 % confidence interval 0–14 cm). In addition to anthropogenic climate change, other possible drivers of the floods and their impacts include human land and water management, the exposure and vulnerability of settlements and economic activities located in flood-prone areas, and modes of climate variability that modulate seasonal precipitation. The attribution statement could be strengthened by using a larger number of climate model simulations, as well as by quantitatively accounting for non-meteorological drivers of the flood and potential unforced modes of climate variability. By disentangling the role of anthropogenic climate change and natural variability in the high-impact 2020 floods in the Lake Victoria basin, this paper contributes to a better understanding of changing hydrometeorological extremes in eastern Africa and the African Great Lakes region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess sources and major processes controlling vertical transport of both anthropogenic and natural chemical species in deep basins of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (SE Ionian Sea, Nestor site), we performed chemical characterization (elemental carbon, major and trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) of marine sinking particles. Sediment traps were deployed at five successive depths, 700m, 1200m, 2000m, 3200m and 4300m from the sea surface, during the period of May 2007 to October 2008. Fluxes of all measured species exhibited minimum values from January to March 2008 and maximum from April to September 2008, with an evident covariance revealing a common and rapid vertical transport mechanism from 700m down to 4300m depth. Crustal matter flux from atmospheric deposition plays an important role in the temporal variability of particulate matter with significant contribution from biogenic constituents namely the seasonal succession in the export of planktonic biomass, expressed by particulate organic carbon (POC), carbonates and biogenic Si fluxes (Stavrakakis et al., 2012). Tracers (elemental carbon, retene) of the devastating forest fires occurred in August 2007 in southern Greece, were detected at sediment trap material in all depths with a delay of 15 days at 4300m, indicating a rapid and well-coupled transport of sinking particulate material between the sea-surface and deep layers of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Lateral inputs of pollutants at the deepest trap (4300m) are probably of importance, due to the influence of deep Adriatic water at the study site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigated vegetation dynamics' effect on anthropogenic climate change. The study assessed vegetation-carbon cycle and vegetation-climate interactions during climate change with the use of Earth System Model Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI ESM). It notes that vegetation dynamics have impact on the changing regional and global climate.

Emissions of particulate matter (PM) from shipping contribute significantly to the anthropogenic burden of PM. The environmental effects of PM from shipping include negative impact on human health through increased concentrations of particles in many coastal areas and harbour cities and the climate impact. The PM emitted by ship engines consists of organic carbon (OC), elemental or black carbon (EC/BC), sulphate, inorganic compounds containing V, Ni, Ca, Zn and other metals and associated water. The chemical composition and physical properties of PM vary with type of fuel burned, type of engine and engine operation mode. While primary PM emissions of species like V, Ni and Ca are supposed to be determined by composition of fuel and lubricant oil, emissions of particulate OC, EC and sulphate are affected both by fuel quality and by operation mode of the engine. In this paper a number of parameters describing emission factors (EFs) of gases and of particulate matter from ship engines were investigated during 2 on-board measurement campaigns for 3 different engines and 3 different types of fuels. The measured EFs for PM mass were in the range 0.3 to 2.7 g/kg-fuel with lowest values for emissions from combustion of marine gas oil (MGO) and the highest for heavy fuel oil (HFO). Emission factors for particle numbers EF(PN) in the range 5 × 1015-1 × 1017 #/kg-fuel were found, the number concentration was dominated by particles in the ultrafine mode and ca. 2/3 of particles were non-volatile. The PM mass was dominated by particles in accumulation mode. Main metal elements in case of HFO exhaust PM were V, Ni, Fe, Ca and Zn, in case of MGO Ca, Zn and P. V and Ni were typical tracers of HFO while Ca, Zn and P are tracers of the lubricant oil. EC makes up 10-38% of the PM mass, there were not found large differences between HFO and MGO fuels. EC and ash elements make up 23-40 % of the PM mass. Organic matter makes up 25-60 % of the PM. The measured EF(OC) were 0.59 ±0.15 g/kg-fuel for HFO and 0.22 ±0.01 g/kg-fuel for MGO. The measured EF(SO2-4) were low, ca. 100-200 mg/kg-fuel for HFO with 1 % fuel sulphur content (FSC), 70-85mg/kg-fuel for HFO with 0.5% FSC and 3-6 mg/kg-fuel for MGO. This corresponds to 0.2-0.7% and 0.01-0.02% of fuel S converted to PM sulphate for HFO and MGO, respectively. The (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (TEM and STEM) images of the collected PM have shown three different types of particles: (1) soot composed mainly of C, O, sometimes N, and with traces of Si, S, V, Ca and Ni; (2) char and char-mineral particles composed of C, O, Ca and S (sometimes Si and Al) with traces of V and Ni and sometimes P and (3) amorphous, probably organic particles containing sulphur and some vanadium. The maps of elements obtained from STEM showed heterogeneous composition of primary soot particles with respect to the trace metals and sulphur. Composition of the char-mineral particles indicates that species like CaSO4, CaO and/or CaCO3, SiO2 and/or Al2SiO5, V2O5 and Fe3O4 may be present; the last two were also confirmed by analyses of FTIR spectra of the PM samples. The TPO of PM from the ship exhaust samples showed higher soot oxidation reactivity compared to automotive diesel soot, PM from the HFO exhaust is more reactive than PM from the MGO exhaust. This higher oxidation reactivity could be explained by high content of catalytically active contaminants; in particular in the HFO exhaust PM for which the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXRF) analyses showed high content of V, Ni and S. Oxidative potential measured as a rate of consumption of consumption of Dithio-threitol (DTT) was for the first time measured on PM from ship exhaust. The obtained values were between 0.01 and 0. 04 nmol-DTT/min/μg-PM, quite similar to oxidative potentials of PM collected in urban and traffic sites. The data obtained during the experiments add information on emission factors for both gaseous and PM-bound compounds from ship engines using different fuels and under different engine load conditions. Observed variability of the EFs illustrates uncertainties of these emission factors as a result of measurement uncertainties, influences from trace components of fuels and lubricants and from differences between individual engines [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model studies suggested that human-induced increase in nutrient load may have stimulated primary production and thus has enhanced the CO2 uptake capacity in the coastal ocean. In this study, we investigated the seasonal variations of the surface water's partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2sw) in the highly human-impacted Changjiang-East China Sea system between 2008 and 2011. The seasonality of pCO2sw has large spatial variations, with the largest extreme of 170±75 µatm on the inner shelf near the Changjiang Estuary (from 271±55 µatm in summer to 441±51 µatm in autumn) and the weakest extreme of 53±20 µatm on the outer shelf (from 328±9 µatm in winter to 381±18 µatm in summer). During the summer period, stronger stratification and bio-logical production driven by the eutrophic Changjiang plume results in a very low CO2 in surface waters and a very high CO2 in bottom waters on the inner shelf, with the latter returning high CO2 to the surface water during the mixed period. Interestingly, a comparison with historical data shows that the average pCO2sw on the inner shelf near the Changjiang Estuary has decreased notably during summer, but it has increased during autumn and winter from the 1990s to the 2000s. We suggest that this decadal change is associated with recently increased eutrophication. This would increase both the photosynthetic removal of CO2 in surface waters and the respiratory release of CO2 in bottom waters during summertime, thereby returning more CO2 to the surface during the subsequent mixing seasons and/or episodic extreme weather events (e.g. typhoons). Our finding demonstrates that increasing anthropogenic nutrient delivery from a large river may enhance the sequestration capacity of CO2 in summer but may reduce it in autumn and winter. Consequently, the coastal ocean may not necessarily take up more atmospheric CO2 in response to increasing eutrophication, and the net effect largely depends on the relative time scale of air-sea gas exchange and offshore transport of the shelf water. Finally, the case we reported for the Changjiang system may have general ramifications for other eutrophic coastal oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ocean's role has been pivotal in modulating rising atmospheric CO2 levels since the industrial revolution, sequestering over a quarter of all fossil-fuel derived CO2 emissions. Net oceanic uptake of CO2 has roughly doubled between the 1960's (~1 PgCyr-1) and 2000's (~ 2 PgCyr-1), with expectations it will continue to absorb even more CO2 with rising future atmospheric CO2 levels. However, recent CO2 observational analyses along with numerous model predictions suggest the rate of oceanic CO2 uptake is already slowing, largely as a result of a natural decadal-scale outgassing signal. This recent and unexpected CO2 outgassing signal represents a paradigm-shift in our understanding of the oceans role in modulating atmospheric CO2. Current tracer-based estimates for the ocean storage of anthropogenic CO2 assume the ocean circulation and biology is in steady state, thereby missing the new and potentially important "non-steady-state" CO2 outgassing signal. By combining data-based techniques that assume the ocean is in steady-state, with techniques that constrain the net oceanic CO2 uptake signal, we show how to extract the non-steady-state CO2 signal from observations. Over the entire industrial era, the non-steady-state CO2 outgassing signal (~ 13±10 PgC) is estimated to represent about 9% of the total net CO2 inventory change (~ 142 PgC). However between 1989 and 2007, the non-steady-state CO2 outgassing signal (~ 6.3 PgC) has likely increased to be ~ 18% of net oceanic CO2 storage over that period (~ 36 PgC), a level which cannot be ignored. The present uncertainty of our data-based techniques for oceanic CO2 uptake limit our capacity to quantify the non-steady-state CO2 signal, however with more data and better certainty estimates across a range of diverse methods, this important and growing CO2 signal could be better constrained in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global ocean is a significant sink for anthropogenic carbon (Cant), absorbing roughly a third of human CO2 emitted over the industrial period. Robust estimates of the magnitude and variability of the storage and distribution of Cant in the ocean are therefore important for understanding the human impact on climate. In this synthesis 5 we review observational and model-based estimates of the storage and transport of Cant in the ocean. We pay particular attention to the uncertainties and potential biases inherent in different inference schemes. On a global scale, three data based estimates of the distribution and inventory of Cant are now available. While the inventories are found to agree within their uncertainty, there are considerable differences in the spatial distribution. We also present a review of the progress made in the application of inverse and data-assimilation techniques which combine ocean interior estimates of Cant with numerical ocean circulation models. Such methods are especially useful for estimating the air-sea flux and interior transport of Cant, quantities that are otherwise difficult to observe directly. However, the results are found to be highly dependent on 15 modeled circulation, with the spread due to different ocean models at least as large as that from the different observational methods used to estimate Cant. Our review also highlights the importance of repeat measurements of hydrographic and biogeochemical parameters to estimate the storage of Cant on decadal timescales in the presence of the variability in circulation that is neglected by other approaches. Data-based Cant 20 estimates provide important constraints on ocean forward models, which exhibit both broad similarities and regional errors relative to the observational fields. A compilation of inventories of Cant gives us a "best" estimate of the global ocean inventory of anthropogenic carbon in 2010 of 155 PgC with an uncertainty of ±20%. This estimate includes a broad range of values suggesting that a combination of approaches is necessary in order to achieve a robust quantification of the ocean sink of anthropogenic CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on use of polynomial cointegration methodology to test anthropogenic interpretation of global warming. It states that the cointegration method detects spurious correlation in economic time series data. It shows that greenhouse gas concentration, aerosol forcing, and global temperature are not polynomially cointegrated and are not related to athropogenic forcing.

Coupled-carbon-climate simulations are an essential tool for predicting the impact of human activity onto the climate and biogeochemistry. Here we incorporate prognostic desert dust and anthropogenic aerosols into the CCSM3.1 coupled carbon-climate model and explore the resulting interactions with climate and biogeochemical dynamics through a series of transient anthropogenic simulations (20th and 21st centuries) and sensitivity studies. The inclusion of prognostic aerosols into this model has a small net global cooling effect on climate but does not significantly impact the globally averaged carbon cycle; we argue that this is likely to be because the CCSM3.1 model has a small climate feedback onto the carbon cycle. We propose a mechanism for including desert dust and anthropogenic aerosols into a simple carbon-climate feedback analysis to explain the results of our and previous studies. Inclusion of aerosols has statistically significant impacts on regional climate and biogeochemistry, in particular through the effects on the ocean nitrogen cycle and primary productivity of altered iron inputs from desert dust deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Ongoing climate change is causing temperatures to rise in both summer and winter, allowing insect pests to invade new areas and potentially causing economic and human health problems. Low winter temperatures are thought to be one of the main barriers to the colonization of higher latitudes. Climate models predict that winter temperatures will increase more than summer temperatures in temperate regions, which may allow insects from warmer regions to colonize the colder, higher latitudes in the future. Understanding how climate change will affect insect distributions is critical for many areas of human activity. This paper presents a method to assess the potential of insects to colonize colder regions under a warming winter scenario. The method is based on exposing insects to laboratory simulations of a warming winter climate. The applicability of the method is tested using the example of a Mediterranean pest, Sesamia nonagrioides, whose ability to colonize Central Europe is assessed. The results indicate that S. nonagrioides could survive Central European winters even under the current state of warming or under a warmer climate predicted for the near future. The presented method may be particularly useful in pest management to estimate overwinter survival and distribution of pests due to climate change. Ongoing climate change and anthropogenic pressure are having a profound influence on insects, causing species diversity to decline and populations to shrink. Insect pests invade new areas and cause economic and human health problems. Low temperatures in winter are thought to be one of the main barriers to the successful colonization of higher latitudes. Climate models predict that winter temperatures will increase more than summer temperatures in temperate and polar regions, potentially allowing species from warmer climates to colonize higher latitudes. Understanding how climate change will affect the distribution of insects is critical to many areas of human activity. One possible but seldom used way to predict likely range shifts of insects due to climate change is through simulation experiments. Here, I present and test a method to assess the potential of insect species from warmer regions to survive winters in colder regions under a warming winter scenario. The method is based on laboratory simulations of warming winters. The applicability of the method is demonstrated using the example of a Mediterranean pest, Sesamia nonagrioides, whose ability to survive Central European winters under a warming winter scenario is assessed. The method presented here is relatively simple, with potentially high accuracy of estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) strives to increase the number of natural World Heritage Sites to protect it from the onslaught of climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. The international community at the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015 recognized reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries as one of the best low cost panacea for global environmental problems. India, in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) promised to increase its forest cover as an effort toward the mitigation of climate change. All these efforts are directed toward saving our Earth from the worst impacts of global warming. In the midst of these efforts, the conservation of Western Ghats is one of the central hotspots of biodiversity and deserves special attention. Thus, this paper looks into the questions how the Heritage Tag and Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report causes intricacies in the conservation of Western Ghats? And why local inhabitants are so much apprehensive about the conservation of their region? This study proves that negligence in addressing the concerns and participation of affected stakeholders, from the framing of the conservation projects to its implementation, leads anti-conservation movements. Additonally, such conservation projects will never break ground and will remain on paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to their Arctic habitat and elusive nature, little is known about the narwhal (Monodon monoceros) and its foraging behaviour. Understanding its ability to catch prey is essential for understanding its ecological role, but also to assess its ability to withstand climate changes and anthropogenic activities. Narwhals produce echolocation clicks and buzzing sounds as part of their foraging behaviour and these can be used as indicators of prey capture attempts. However, acoustic data are expensive to store on the tagging devices and require complicated post-processing. The main goal of this paper is to predict prey capture attempts directly from acceleration and depth data. The aim is to apply broadly used statistical models with interpretable parameters. The ultimate goal is to be able to estimate prey consumption without the more demanding acoustic data. Results: We predict narwhal buzzing activity using mixed-effects logistic regression models with 83 features extracted from acceleration and depth data as explanatory variables. The features encompass both instantaneous values as well as delayed values to capture behavioural patterns lasting several seconds. The data correlations were not strong enough to predict the exact timing of the buzzes, but were reliably able to detect buzzes within a few seconds. Most of the of the buzz predictions were within 2 s of an observed buzz (68%), increasing to 94% within 30 s. Conversely, 46% of the observed buzzes were within 2 s of a predicted buzz, increasing to 82% within 30 s. Additionally, the model performed well, although with a tendency towards underestimation of the number of buzzes per dive. In total, we predicted 17, 557 buzzes versus 25, 543 observed across data from 10 narwhals. Classifying foraging and non-foraging dives yielded a precision of 86% and a recall of 91%. Conclusion: We conclude that narwhal foraging estimation through acceleration and depth data is a valid alternative or supplement to buzz recordings, even when using somewhat simple statistical methods, such as logistic regression. The methods in this paper can be extended to foraging detection in similar marine species and can aid instrument development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying and quantifying the sources of climate impacts from land use and land cover change (LULCC) is necessary to optimize policies regarding LULCC for climate change mitigation. These climate impacts are typically defined relative to emissions of CO2, or sometimes emissions of other long-lived greenhouse gases. Here we use previously published estimates of the radiative forcing (RF) of LULCC that include the short-lived forcing agents O3 and aerosols, in addition to long-lived greenhouse gases and land albedo change, for six projections of LULCC as a metric for quantifying climate impacts. The LULCC RF is attributed to three categories of LULCC activities: direct modifications to land cover, agriculture, and wildfire response, and sources of the forcing are ascribed to individual grid points for each sector. Results for the year 2010 show substantial positive forcings from the direct modifications and agriculture sectors, particularly from India, China, and southeast Asia, and a smaller magnitude negative forcing response from wildfires. The RF from direct modifications, mainly deforestation activities, exhibits a large range in future outcomes for the standard future scenarios implying that these activities, and not agricultural emissions (which lead to more consistent RFs between scenarios), will drive the LULCC RF in the future. We show that future forest area change can be used as a predictor of the future RF from direct modification activities, especially in the tropics, suggesting that deforestation-prevention policies that 20 value land based on its C-content may be particularly effective at mitigating climate forcing originating in the tropics from this sector. Although, the response of wildfire RF to tropical land cover changes is not as easily scalable and yet imposes a non-trivial feedback onto the total LULCC RF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the interaction between climate change and anthropogenic pressures in the eutrophication process. Eutrophication, which is the excessive supply of nutrients to estuarine and coastal regions, poses a significant threat to ecosystems worldwide. The article explores the complex link between climate change and eutrophication, highlighting the potential exacerbation of eutrophication and its negative impacts due to climate-driven factors such as temperature changes, wind patterns, and sea level rise. The research topic also covers various themes related to eutrophication assessment, biogeochemical consequences, anthropogenic pressures, climate variability, ecosystem comparisons, and the effects of eutrophication on ecosystem services. The volume includes six papers contributed by scientists from different countries, providing insights into the effects of different factors on marine ecosystems. [Extracted from the article]

Degrowth advocates argue for structural transformations in how economies and societies prioritize material wealth accumulation to reduce the negative effects of future anthropogenic climate change. Degrowth proponents argue that human economic activity could be lessened, and societies transformed to prioritize improved wellbeing, reducing the threat of climate change. This paper explores implications of alternative patterns of economic growth with transformational policy pathways (i.e., redistribution) to assess what effects economic growth and broader policies have on changing patterns of human development across both the Global North and South. Using the International Futures model, this article shows that negative growth and societal transformations in the Global North are possible without dramatically damaging long-term global socioeconomic development, though these interventions do not solve the global climate crisis, reducing future cumulative carbon emissions by 10.5% through 2100. On the other hand, a global negative growth scenario will significantly reduce future cumulative carbon emissions (45%) but also dramatically undermines the pursuit of global development goals, like the elimination of poverty. Even with global policies that significantly increase cash transfers to the poor and retired, dramatically improve income inequality, and eliminate military spending, the Global Negative Growth Big Push scenario leads to an increase of 15 percentage points in global extreme poverty by 2100. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural hazard threats have grown as a result of climate change, fast demographic development, and major urbanization. Devastating floods have occurred in several areas of the world recently, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is located in a region with a dry environment. In arid or semi-arid regions, rapidly forming flash floods associated with debris flowing down over dry water courses leading to a potential threat to both lives and property. Being located at the coastal plain of western Saudi Arabia, Jeddah City has witnessed an unexpected amount of rainfall events in recent years. Such extreme rainfall events, integrated with other factors, namely topography, land use, surface runoff, etc., have led to flood generation, which is alarming indeed. Herein, this paper addresses the varying climatic classifications of the Kingdom, its risk and vulnerability, followed by reasoning about the impact of flash flood events and the associated casualties and property losses. Further, it reports about the existing strategies of the government and proposes a systematic way forward on how to alleviate such events in future. Thus, risk variables have been discovered and integrated in the context of climate change and rising anthropogenic strain on coastal communities to give planners and decision makers tools to assure effective and appropriate flood risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is changing the earth system processes that control the characteristics of natural hazards both globally and across Australia. Model projections of hazards under future climate change are necessary for effective adaptation. This paper presents BARPA-R (the Bureau of Meteorology Atmospheric Regional Projections for Australia), a regional climate model designed to downscale climate projections over the Australasian region with the purpose to investigate future hazards. BARPA-R, a limited area model, has a 17 km horizontal grid-spacing and makes use of the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) atmospheric model and the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model. To establish credibility and in compliance with the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) experiment design, the BARPA-R framework has been used to downscale ERA-5 reanalysis. Here, an assessment of this evaluation experiment is provided. First, an examination of BARPA-R's representation of Australia's surface air temperature, rainfall and 10-m winds finds good performance overall, with biases including a 1K cold bias in daily maximum temperatures, reduced diurnal temperature range, and wet biases up to 25 mm/month in inland Australia. Recent trends in diurnal maximum temperatures are consistent with observational products, while trends in minimum temperatures show overestimated warming and trends in rainfall show underestimated wetting in northern Australia. Rainfall and temperature teleconnections are effectively represented in BARPA-R when present in the driving boundary conditions, while 10-metre winds are improved over ERA5 in six out of eight of the Australian regions considered. The second section of the paper considers the representation of large-scale atmospheric circulation features and weather systems. While generally well represented, convection-related features such as tropical cyclones, the SPCZ, Northwest Cloud-Bands and the monsoon westerlies show more divergence from observations and internal interannual variability than mid-latitude phenomena such as the westerly jets and extra-tropical cyclones. Having simulated a realistic Australasian climate, the BARPA-R framework will be used to downscale two climate change scenarios from seven CMIP6 GCMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and anthropogenic development considerably influence groundwater resource distribution and conditions. Catchment basin groundwater recharge—discharge computation reliability is needed for effective groundwater management policy formulation and implementation and also for resolving environmental challenges in such a watershed. This paper compares groundwater recharge patterns between urbanized and nearly natural small catchment basins of Israel's Western Mountain Aquifer (WMA). The correlation between precipitation volumes and surface runoff shows that surface runoff volume constitutes 3–4% of the precipitation volume in the Natuf catchment and 1–2% in the Te'enim catchment. These assessments reflect the differences in the land use, outcrop lithology, topography and hydrodynamic properties of the WMA within the model basins. A groundwater recharge assessment based on water balance and water table fluctuation methods was performed for the mountainous karstic Te'enim and Natuf catchment basins for all the available data from 2000 to 2020. The water balance method provided reliable estimates. The groundwater recharge assessment considered land use classification and climate changes during this period. The average multiannual groundwater recharge values for the 2000–2021 period varied from 17.6 × 106–24.8 × 106 m3 to 24.5–29.2 × 106 m3 for the Te'enim and Natuf catchment basins, respectively. For the relatively dry period of the 2013/2014–2017/2018 hydrological years when detailed measurements of the surface runoff were available, the corresponding groundwater recharge volumes were 17.6 × 106 m3 and 24.5 × 106 m3. The corresponding local groundwater recharge coefficients constitute 0.46–0.57 for the mostly agricultural Te'enim basin and 0.29–0.32 for the urbanized Natuf basin. A significant difference in the groundwater recharge coefficients between the studied catchments is caused mostly by the differences in land use. It is suggested that applying such a groundwater recharge estimation for small hydrological sub-basins can improve one's understanding of the groundwater recharge distribution within a major basin, enabling the application of an accurate regional hydrogeological model that may be extrapolated to other similar regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of quantifying spatial and temporal variations in terrestrial water, energy, and vegetation conditions is challenging due to the significant complexity and heterogeneity of these conditions, all of which are impacted by climate change and anthropogenic activities. To address this challenge, Earth Observations (EOs) of the land and their utilization within data assimilation (DA) systems are vital. Satellite EOs are particularly relevant, as they offer quasi‐global coverage, are non‐intrusive, and provide uniformity, rapid measurements, and continuity. The past three decades have seen unprecedented growth in the number and variety of land remote sensing technologies launched by space agencies and commercial companies around the world. There have also been significant developments in land modeling and DA systems to provide tools that can exploit these measurements. Despite these advances, several important gaps remain in current land DA research and applications. This paper discusses these gaps, particularly in the context of using DA to improve model states for short‐term numerical weather and sub‐seasonal to seasonal predictions. We outline an agenda for land DA priorities so that the next generation of land DA systems will be better poised to take advantage of the significant current and anticipated shifts and advancements in remote sensing, modeling, computational technologies, and hardware resources. Plain Language Summary: Satellite remote sensing measurements have enabled the monitoring of the Earth's land surface with unprecedented scale and frequency. These measurements allow us to monitor the changes on the land surface and understand the contribution of human activities toward them. The information from such observations is combined with the modeled estimates through data assimilation (DA) algorithms. This article discusses the progress made in the development of land DA systems and the major gaps that remain. The paper also outlines priorities that we need to consider in the development of next generation land DA systems so that the potential of land remote sensing measurements can be fully realized. Key Points: Land data assimilation has shown significant promise for short‐term forecasting applicationsSignificant gaps remain in the current land data assimilation systems related to observation utilization and modelsCoordinated development with the modeling and observational community and adoption of technological enhancements are needed in the future [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Existing food production systems and dietary behaviours are not healthy nor sustainable due to the higher environmental footprint of animal-derived foods. Alternative dietary choices could provide better outcomes. We investigated Generation Z (Gen Z)'s alternative food preferences within a planetary health framework which combines human and ecological well-being. The paper is based on data from a 2021 cross-national survey conducted in the main Australian cities, which explored Gen Z's attitudes towards meat consumption in relation to climate change and alternatives to animal-based proteins. Climate change is seen as a result of human activities by 86% of the survey participants. More than a third (38%) of them believe that livestock production and the consumption of animal-sourced foods are contributing significantly to climate change and environmental deterioration. The remaining majority (62%), however, has a low awareness and understanding of the food systems' impacts, disbelieving that diet is a major contributor to climate change. We discuss how these findings will shape Australia's Gen Z, climate change and the future of alternative proteins. Scientific evidence shows that current food systems are impacting the planet in ways that are unsustainable and detrimental to human health. Various technological advances have been made in response, one of them being the development of new food products known as novel alternative proteins, including cultured meat, plant-based meat analogues, algae- and insect-based foods. The future of these alternative proteins to a large extent depends on consumer acceptance from young people. This study investigates the attitudes of Australia's adult Generation Z (Gen Z), born between 1995 and 2003, regarding climate change and more sustainable food choices. Gen Z is a diverse, important and trendsetting group known for organising globally on causes related to climate, social justice and health. The study of Australia's Gen Z is based on a 2021 cross-national survey in the main Australian cities. It shows that, although 86% of the participants perceive climate change as anthropogenic, only 38% believe that livestock-based foods are contributing significantly to global warming and environmental deterioration. The paper discusses the implications for Gen Z and novel alternative proteins given that the majority of Australia's young people has low awareness of the environmental impacts of food systems and dietary choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape fires during the 21st century are expected to change in response to multiple agents of global change. Important controlling factors include climate controls on the length and intensity of the fire season, fuel availability, and fire management, which are already anthropogenically perturbed today and are predicted to change further in the future. An improved understanding of future fires will contribute to an improved ability to project future anthropogenic climate change, as changes in fire behavior will in turn impact climate. In the present study we used a coupled-carbon-fire model to investigate how changes in climate, demography, and land use may alter fire emissions. We used climate projections following the SRES A1B scenario from two different climate models (ECHAM5/MPI-OM and CCSM) and changes in population. Land use and harvest rates were prescribed according to the RCP 45 scenario. In response to the combined effect of all these drivers, our model estimated, depending on our choice of climate projection, an increase in future (2075-2099) fire carbon emissions by 17 and 62% compared to present day (1985-2009). The largest increase in fire emissions was predicted for Southern Hemisphere South America for both climate projection. For Northern Hemisphere Africa, a region that contributed significantly to the global total fire carbon emissions, the response varied between a decrease and an increase depending on the climate projection. We disentangled the contribution of the single forcing factors to the overall response by conducting an additional set of simulations in which each factor was individually held constant at pre-industrial levels. The two different projections of future climate change evaluated in this study led to increases in global fire carbon emissions by 22 % (CCSM) and 66 % (ECHAM5/MPI-OM). The RCP 45 projection of harvest and land use led to a decrease in fire carbon emissions by -5%. Changes in human ignition led to an increase in 20%. When we also included changes in fire management efforts to suppress fires in densely populated areas, global fire carbon emission decreased by -6% in response to changes in population density. We concluded from this study that changes in fire emissions in the future are controlled by multiple interacting factors. Although changes in climate led to an increase in future fire emissions this could be globally counterbalanced by coupled changes in land use, harvest, and demography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the ozone attribution method which allows the quantification of the influence of chemistry and transport on ozone concentration changes in chemistry-climate models (CCMs) and chemistry-transport models (CCTMS). The method divides ozone tendencies into a contribution from ozone production and destruction and a contribution from transport of ozone. The results of the method are explored, which depend on the specific model used.

Landslides are one of the few types of natural hazards that have affected Sweden regularly in the recent past. We can expect that this geological phenomenon will only increase in frequency in the near future given the ongoing processes of anthropogenic climate change, and this likelihood motivates some historical retrospection. This paper explores how landslides have impacted archaeological sites in Västra Götaland, the country’s most landslide-prone region, from the mid-twentieth century onwards, and how, in turn, archaeologists have had to respond to these disasters. The 1957 Göta, 1973 Fröland, 1977 Tuve and 2006 Småröd landslides are highlighted in particular, as is the landslide-impacted site Hjälpesten. Connections are made to other different but related archaeologies of hazard and disaster, providing insights into the impact that climate change has had and will have on the discipline. While the paper showcases a set of local case studies, it is further argued that its findings have relevance for other areas as well, calling for the attention of the cultural heritage sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and anthropogenic pressure are among the main drivers of coastal environment degradation in Mauritius, a small island developing state. Globally, mitigation and adaptation strategies applied to the complex socio-ecological coastal systems offer effective solutions in curbing the adverse impacts. In environmental protection, Non-Governmental Organisations' (NGOs) role was first recognised in the 1992 UN Agenda 21 for Sustainable Development, and they are now integrated with most coastal environmental rehabilitation programmes. This paper describes two climate-based adaptation projects undertaken about a decade ago by an NGO in Mauritius. The projects were community-driven in all phases of implementation. The first project focussed on the Ecosystem-based-adaptation (EbA) approach of restoring a mangrove ecosystem and improving community life at Le Morne Village. The second project aimed at the rehabilitation of a historical site and the consolidation of a degraded coastline at Poudre d'Or Village. Components of 'hard' and 'soft' adaptive measures were applied as pathways to guide project implementation. The projects required extensive field visits, focus group interviews, and participatory inputs from all stakeholders. A 10-year assessment of the processes applied in the conceptualisation, implementation, and in evaluating the outcomes was gleaned from regular visits to local inhabitants, stakeholders, and NGO members since the completion of the projects. In 2022, an informal interview at Le Morne and a survey at Poudre d'Or showed that both projects resulted in positive outcomes. Good governance capacity and rigour in the management of the project team were highlighted as crucial attributes to the success of the projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is witnessing massive land degradation caused by climate change and various anthropogenic activities. There has been a significant increase in habitat restoration efforts, with demand for seeds to restore these degraded ecosystems in some cases outstripping supply. Traditionally, seeds for restoration activities have mainly been sourced through collections from the wild, but with the growing seed demand, this is increasingly becoming unsustainable. In order to ensure responsible restoration practice, restoration practitioners need to explore other options of economical, ethical and sustainable sourcing of seeds. Ex situ seed banks can leverage their technical and infrastructural capacity to play a greater and more direct role in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem conservation and restoration, particularly through the supply of quality ecologically and genetically suitable seed. In this paper, we review whether ex situ seed banks possess the capacity and competence for supporting habitat restoration and the challenges they are likely to face in these efforts. The review focuses on seed collecting, field-based seed bulking, seed handling and storage, seed quality control as well as experience and capacity in facilitating germplasm exchange. The availability of high-quality germplasm collections of documented provenance and with broad genetic diversity is arguably the greatest resource and asset that seed banks have in supporting habitat restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a time of increasing ecological anxiety, Ovid's Metamorphoses gains a new relevance for its distinct portrayal of the relationship between humanity and the environment. While the poem has exerted a significant historic influence in the visual arts, the text's importance reemerges for artists today as they explore current preoccupations with anthropogenic climate change, environmental degradation and posthuman futures. The significance of this 21st-century reception of Ovid in the visual arts, however, is yet to be fully examined. In this paper, I consider the work of three contemporary Danish artists, who draw the Metamorphoses into ecological discourse, representing the afterlife of the poem in the Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]