Reviews & Analysis

Hurricanes and typhoons are tracking further poleward due to the effects of climate change, according to a synthesis of numerical modelling results, observations and palaeoclimate records.

Fires reduce plant biomass, which should deplete soil carbon stocks, but a review of recent literature shows that fires also slow decomposition rates and increase soil organic matter stability, offsetting aboveground biomass carbon losses.

Climate change mitigation strategies based on biochar generation—and its application to agricultural soils—can effectively sequester carbon, although biogeochemical and economic trade-offs must be considered.

Storm surge barriers can protect against coastal flooding. Observations from the Venice Lagoon in Italy show that the operation of these types of barriers must be carefully tuned to avoid inhibiting sedimentation and compromising marsh resilience to sea-level rise.

Evaporative loss of sulfur from molten planetesimals can explain the sub-chondritic sulfur isotope composition of the bulk silicate mantle, suggesting an important role for planetesimal evaporation in establishing Earth’s volatile budget.

The fate of sedimentary carbon in rivers is determined by a combination of mineral protection and transit time. Along the fluvial journey from headwaters to sea, biogeochemical transformations control whether carbon is buried or returned to the atmosphere as CO₂.

Northern autumns and winters are getting warmer, and their weather is also getting blander. Observations and climate model simulations reveal that human activities have managed to make today’s weather measurably different than it was only a generation ago.

Sea spray droplets contribute to the exchange of gases between the oceans and atmosphere. Accounting for this spray-mediated pathway may provide more accurate modelling of air–sea interactions and the ocean response to climate change.

A synthesis of intervals of rapid climatic change evident in the geological record reveals some of the Earth system processes and tipping points that could lead to similar events in the future.

The enhanced CO₂ uptake by vegetation in response to powdered rock should be considered in assessing the feasibility of enhanced weathering as a negative emission technology in mitigating climate change, suggest simulations of a land surface model.

Reforestation of agricultural lands in Europe increases local and downwind summer rainfall, according to a new analysis of rain-gauge measurements from across the continent. Realistic levels of tree planting could therefore mitigate future droughts expected with climate change.

The combined effects of decades-long warming and particularly vigorous injections of atmospheric heat from lower latitudes were the likely culprits for sharp declines in sea-ice extent around Antarctica starting in 2016.

Phosphorus plays a dynamic and complex role in marine biogeochemistry, which is closely connected to carbon, nitrogen and metal cycling, according to a literature synthesis on recent advances in understandings of the marine phosphorus cycle.

Analysis of global ocean carbonate chemistry and water mass age information confirms the substantial in situ dissolution of calcium carbonate particles in the upper water column.

High-frequency radar tracking of icebergs floating in front of a glacier in Greenland show that movements of the ice mélange consistently increase before calving events, indicating that mélange has the potential to modulate calving.

Highly redox-active compounds play an important role in biogeochemical element cycles in aquatic systems that are exposed to frequent hydrological disturbances.

Corals reveal that part of the plate-boundary fault near Sumatra slipped slowly and quietly for three decades before a large earthquake in 1861. The exceptional duration of this slip event has implications for interpreting deformation to assess seismic hazard.

Near-surface stress patterns, influenced by topography, control the size and location of the largest landslides — but not necessarily smaller ones — according to a study of mountains at the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

European mineral soils may lose less organic carbon due to climate change than previously suggested, according to analyses of climate responses from two physical fractions of soil carbon.

Nutrient availability influences the susceptibility of marine primary producers to viral infection. For diatoms in iron-limited waters, reduced infection rates impact marine biogeochemical cycles by enhancing the flux of material to depth.