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The Influence of Wave Events on Open Water Suspended Sediment Fluxes on the Alaskan Beaufort Sea Shelf: A Numerical Modeling Study
1 Introduction Sediment transport in the ocean impacts light attenuation, biogeochemical dynamics, habitat suitability, and changes in bathymetry that impact coastal flooding, shoreline change, and coastal navigation (Aumack et al., 2007; Bonsell & Dunton, 2018; Carmack et al., 2004; Cooper et al., 2024; Horner, 1979; Hume & Schalk, 1967; Malito et al., 2022; Meire et al., 2023; Vonk et al., 2012; Zimmermann et al., 2022).
River ice controls permafrost bank erosion across an Arctic delta
1 INTRODUCTION Warming in the Arctic is destabilizing permafrost landscapes (Biskaborn et al., 2019; Lachenbruch & Marshall, 1986). Permafrost is ground that remains at or below 0°C for at least 2 years (Harris et al., 1988). Climate reanalysis suggests that near-surface air temperature in the Arctic rose by 2.7°C between 1971 and 2017, much faster than global warming trends (Box et al., 2019).
Accounting for Satellite Sampling Bias in the Validation of CESM2 Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll
1 Introduction Earth system models (ESMs) are essential for making future projections of climate. These models use mathematical equations to represent processes across components of the climate system, such as the atmosphere, ocean, and land, which exchange states and fluxes through a coupler. The ocean plays a key role in climate by circulating heat and modulating atmospheric composition through air-sea gas exchange.
James Buttle Review: Dynamic Water Storage Shapes Critical Zone Function in Snow‐Dominated Mountain Watersheds
1 Introduction Water is the lifeblood that supports and connects organisms (including people), communities, and ecosystems in the critical zone (CZ) at all spatial and temporal scales. While precipitation is often the primary driver of where and when water is available, the storage of precipitation profoundly alters patterns of water availability and the quality of that water.
Plant functional trait uncertainty can outweigh climate scenario uncertainty in tundra ecosystem productivity
Data availability Computing and data storage resources, including the Derecho supercomputer, were provided by the Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL) at NCAR. CLM code (CTSM Development Team, 2024) is available through the CTSM Github page and archived at: https://www.cesm.ucar.edu/models/clm. The CLM5 data analyzed in this manuscript (Jay & Wieder, 2025) are archived at NCAR's Geoscience Data Exchange (GDEX): doi: 10.5065/4gaq-xe30.
As mountain glaciers melt, risk of catastrophic flash floods rises for millions
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Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing global risk as mountain glaciers melt
Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing global risk as mountain glaciers melt
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Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing risk as mountain glaciers melt around the world
Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing risk as mountain glaciers melt around the world
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Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing risk as mountain glaciers melt around the world
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Alton C. Byers, University of Colorado Boulder and Suzanne OConnell, Wesleyan University (THE CONVERSATION) Each summer in the mountains above Juneau, Alaska, meltwater from the massive Mendenhall Glacier flows into mountain lakes and into the Mendenhall River, which runs through town.
Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing risk as mountain glaciers melt around the world
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Integrating Microbial Community Data Into an Ecosystem‐Scale Model to Predict Litter Decomposition in the Face of Climate Change
1 Introduction Plant litter decomposition is a critical ecosystem process and globally important carbon (C) flux, which both contributes to soil respiration losses to the atmosphere and serves as a starting point for soil organic matter (SOM) formation. Historically, litter decomposition was thought to be driven predominantly by climate and litter quality, with uncertainty in the relative importance of these two controls (Meentemeyer 1978; Aerts 1997; Cornwell et al. 2008; Zhang et al.
Population Persistence and Soil Microbial Communities of a Serpentine Endemic Plant Outside Its Historic Elevation Range
1 Introduction Species are shifting their ranges (i.e., geographic distributions) in response to a changing climate, often moving upward in elevation or latitude to maintain hospitable climate conditions (Parmesan et al. 2003). Range shifts along macroclimatic gradients such as elevation and latitude can allow species to access cooler temperatures and more favorable precipitation regimes (Lenoir and Svenning 2013).
Tundra Plant Canopies Gradually Close Over Three Decades While Cryptogams Persist
Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Supporting Information Filename Description gcb70155-sup-0001-FileS1.pdfPDF document, 18.2 MB File S1. Poster presenting the heights of the top (upper canopy) hits and microtopography of the bottom (ground surface) hits at each of the 85 plots at the Toolik Lake 1 km2 grid (left) as well as the species present at the top (upper canopy) and bottom (ground surface) hits (right). Maps represent the first sampling (1990) only.
Effects of Climate Change Scenarios on Population and Distribution Pattern of Tree-Ferns in Nepal
1 Introduction Ferns are an ancient group of vascular plants that evolved during the Carboniferous period (Stampede 2012). Among 12,000 species of ferns, the genus Alsophila (tree-fern) comprises about 322 species (CoL 2024). Scaly ferns, those with thorns in the leaf of Alsophila, are a group of primarily tree-forming ferns with fossil evidence dating back to their origin in the Middle Jurassic age (Tryon and Tryon 1982).
Opinion | Growing risk of melting glaciers
In mountain ranges around the world, glaciers are melting as global temperatures rise. Europe’s Alps and Pyrenees lost 40 percent of their glacier volume from 2000 to 2023. These and other icy regions have provided freshwater for people living downstream for centuries—almost 2 billion people rely on glaciers today. But as glaciers melt faster, they also pose potentially lethal risks. Water from the melting ice often drains into depressions once occupied by the glacier, creating large lakes.
Quantifying the Potential Predictability of Arctic Marine Primary Production
Supporting Information References , , , , , & (2014). Recent Arctic Ocean sea ice loss triggers novel fall phytoplankton blooms. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(17), 6207–6212. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061047 , , , , , , et al. (2020). Environmental drivers of under-ice phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the Arctic Ocean. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 8, 30. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.430 , , , , , , et al. (2012). Massive phytoplankton blooms under Arctic sea ice.
Glacial lake flood hits Juneau, Alaska, reflecting a growing global risk as mountain glaciers melt
Jeff Conaway/U.S. Geological Survey Each summer in the mountains above Juneau, Alaska, meltwater from the massive Mendenhall Glacier flows into mountain lakes and into the Mendenhall River, which runs through town. Since 2011, scientists and local officials have kept a close eye on one lake in particular: Suicide Basin, an ice-dammed bowl on an arm of the glacier. Glacier ice once covered this area, but as the ice retreated in recent decades, it left behind a large, deep depression.
Rooting for the little guy: Below‐ground traits predict juvenile grass demography in microsites
1 INTRODUCTION The emergence and recruitment of new individuals is one important driver of population and community persistence. However, successful recruitment is frequently limited by abiotic and biotic bottlenecks early in a plant's life (James et al., 2011, 2019), and the majority of population mortality occurs during recruitment (Gómez-Aparicio, 2008; Zeiter et al., 2006).
Twenty‐First‐Century Environmental Change Decreases Habitat Overlap of Antarctic Toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) and Its Prey
1 Introduction Climate change threatens ecosystem structure and functioning and the exceptional regional biodiversity in the Southern Ocean through ocean warming, sea-ice decline, changes in circulation, changes in oxygen distributions, and ocean acidification (De Broyer et al. 2014; Douglass et al. 2014; Rogers et al. 2020; Cavanagh et al. 2021; Nissen, Lovenduski, et al. 2024).
The Nonlinear and Distinct Responses of Ocean Heat Content and Anthropogenic Carbon to Ice Sheet Freshwater Discharge in a Warming Climate
1 Introduction The global ocean has taken up roughly a third of all anthropogenic emissions of CO 2 ${\text{CO}}_{2}$ ( C ANTH ${\mathrm{C}}_{\text{ANTH}}$ ) over the course of the industrial period (DeVries et al., 2023; Friedlingstein et al., 2022; Gruber et al., 2023; Khatiwala et al., 2013) and over 90% of the excess heat over the last 50 years (Bindoff et al., 2007), thereby buffering the effects of climate change.
Expanded Understanding of the Western Antarctic Peninsula Sea‐Ice Environment Through Local and Regional Observations at Palmer Station
1 Introduction Sea ice around the continent of Antarctica plays an important role in the coastal marine ecosystem, as well as in the magnitude and variability of the Southern Ocean carbon sink (Death et al., 2014; Rintoul, 2018). The Southern Ocean hosts spatially variable and predominantly seasonal sea ice, with very little surviving through each summer to become multi-year ice.
Long‐Term Alpine Plant Responses to Global Change Drivers Depend on Functional Traits
1 Introduction The current pace of global change is rapid and its impacts on natural ecosystems, global biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are widespread (Chapin et al. 2000; Grimm et al. 2013). Determining how global change factors will influence species diversity and ecosystem function is critical to managing ecosystems in conservation and restoration (Suding et al. 2013).
Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement in Deep Water Formation Regions Under Low and High Emission Pathways
1 Introduction The Paris Agreement 2015 states that the average global surface temperature increase relative to preindustrial conditions should be limited to well below 2 ° $2{}^{\circ}$ C and preferably to 1.5 ° $1.5{}^{\circ}$ C by the end of the 21st century (UNFCCC, 2015). To reach this goal, the future emission pathways outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasize the crucial role of emissions reductions.
Dispersion of inertial particles in turbulent canopy flows with buoyant and nonbuoyant plumes
This experimental study aims to compare the role of plume dynamics and canopy-induced instabilities on the transport of inertial particles, with application to firebrand transport in spotfire spread. In an idealized “wind-driven” model system, we consider the impact of plume buoyancy, plume momentum, and canopy turbulence on the downstream transport of particles in the wake of a canopy, and in particular the mean and standard deviation of the distribution of landing sites.
Antarctic pelagic ecosystems on a warming planet
Keywords climate change Antarctic marine ecosystems pelagic food webs Global implications of changing high-latitude marine systems Polar marine ecosystems are regions of high seasonal productivity and, despite their remoteness, provide society with food, fuel, and fiber [1,2]. These regions have a disproportionately large role, relative to their size, in Earth’s biogeochemical cycles [3,4].
A mathematical model for bedrock incision in near‐threshold gravel‐bed rivers
1 INTRODUCTION Rivers on Earth showcase an enormous diversity of morphologies, flow regimes and erosional and depositional behaviours. However, current mathematical models for river profile evolution usually address only a restricted range of behaviour and often conflate morphology and behaviour.
Thermodynamics Drive Post‐2016 Changes in the Antarctic Sea Ice Seasonal Cycle
1 Introduction Antarctic sea ice has been subject to puzzling changes since the start of remote sensing observations. Over more than three decades, there was a striking contrast between the substantial decrease in Arctic sea ice (Cavalieri & Parkinson, 2012) and the overall weak but clear increase in Antarctic sea ice (Comiso, 2017; Parkinson & Cavalieri, 2012).
Scaling up ocean conservation through recognition of key biodiversity areas in the Southern Ocean from multispecies tracking data
INTRODUCTION Biodiversity plays a critical role in supporting ecosystem services and is of high cultural and intrinsic value to humanity worldwide. Increased biodiversity can bolster ecosystem resilience to environmental change through increased adaptive capacity from genetic diversity (Ehlers et al., 2008; Liu et al., 2022) and increased redundancy within functional groups (Isbell et al., 2015; Oliver et al., 2015; Peterson et al., 1998).
Snow drifts as a driver of alpine plant productivity as observed from weekly multispectral drone imagery
1 INTRODUCTION Across mountainous regions of the Western United States satellite–based productivity data (e.g. normalised difference vegetation index [NDVI]) and ground-based snow observations have shown that snowmelt strongly influences water limitations on forested ecosystem productivity (Knowles et al., 2018).
Leveraging plant functional traits in the design of nature‐based solutions: A research agenda
Katharine Suding Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado–Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado–Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA Nature-Based Solutions Initiative, University of Colorado–Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA Search for more papers by this author
Changes in snow water storage and hydrologic partitioning in an alpine catchment in the Colorado Front Range
1 INTRODUCTION Seasonal snowpack is an essential component of Earth's hydrological cycle. About one-sixth of the global population relies on seasonal snowpack and glacier-derived runoff as a primary water resource (Barnett et al., 2005; Pörtner et al., 2019).
The hydrologic and geochemical contributions from snow to streamflow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica
Supporting Information Filename Description hyp15195-sup-0001-FigureS1.pdfPDF document, 701.5 KB Figure S1. Snow covered area (in km2) for each topographic watershed determined by satellite imagery from the years 2006–2019, including only the austral summer months of October–March. hyp15195-sup-0002-FigureS2.pdfPDF document, 6.5 MB Figure S2. Map of where snow is present in >25% of the summer imagery (A) and >50% of the summer imagery (B).
Opinion | Everest: A high-altitude garbage dump
Spring is go time for climbers who hope to summit Mount Everest, Earth’s highest peak above sea level. Hundreds of mountaineers from around the world travel to Asia in April and May headed for base camps in Nepal and Tibet. But jagged peaks won’t be the only thing they see. Especially on Everest’s more heavily traversed Nepal side, they’ll find garbage fields—including cans, bottles, plastic and human and animal excrement.
Climbers have turned Mount Everest into a high-altitude garbage dump, but sustainable solutions are within reach
By Alton C. Byers, Senior Research Associate, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder Spring is go time for climbers who hope to summit Mount Everest, Earth's highest peak above sea level. Hundreds of mountaineers from around the world travel to Asia in April and May, headed for base camps in Nepal and Tibet.
Response of Onshore Oceanic Heat Supply to Yearly Changes in the Amundsen Sea Icescape (Antarctica)
1 Introduction The floating portion of the Antarctic ice sheet, the ice shelves, exhibit some of their highest melting rates in the Amundsen Sea (Rignot et al., 2019) and have the potential to contribute to global sea level rise substantially over the next century (e.g., Joughin et al., 2021).
Parametric study of the dispersion of inertial ellipsoidal particles in a wave-current flow
The degree to which particles such as larvae, seagrass pollen, and microplastics are dispersed by waves and currents influences many ecologically important aspects of their transport and fate. Particle transport models often assume dispersion is simply a function of the local turbulence, but there are many additional parameters related to both the particle characteristics and the flow dynamics that can impact how particles disperse.
Divergent community trajectories with climate change across a fine‐scale gradient in snow depth
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT Johnathan Henn is an Associate Editor of Journal of Ecology, but took no part in the peer review and decision-making processes for this paper. Supporting Information Filename Description jec14223-sup-0001-Supinfo.docxWord 2007 document , 7.6 MB Figure S1.
Cross‐scale facilitation: a framework for microclimate moderation of climate change
References , , and 2021. The experimental manipulation of atmospheric drought: teasing out the role of microclimate in biodiversity experiments. – J. Ecol. 109: 1986–1999. , , and 2006. Facilitation of seedling microsites by Rhododendron caucasicum extends the Betula litwinowii alpine treeline, Caucasus Mountains, Republic of Georgia. – Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res. 38: 481–488. , and 2015. Novel competitors shape species' responses to climate change. – Nature 525: 515–518. , and 2014.
Skillful Multi‐Month Predictions of Ecosystem Stressors in the Surface and Subsurface Ocean
1 Introduction The global ocean is facing growing threats from the accumulation of excess heat and carbon dioxide in the Earth System, leading to ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation (Bopp et al., 2013; Doney et al., 2009; Gruber, 2011; Kwiatkowski et al., 2020; Levin, 2018; Whitney, 2022).
Plant functional traits are dynamic predictors of ecosystem functioning in variable environments
1 INTRODUCTION Global change has drastically altered ecosystem functioning by shifting patterns of biodiversity through species extinctions, range shifts and changes in abundance (Cardinale et al., 2012; De Laender et al., 2016).
Making remote sense of biodiversity: What grassland characteristics make spectral diversity a good proxy for taxonomic diversity?
1 INTRODUCTION Conserving and restoring biodiversity are among the major goals for society in the next decades (CBD, 2021). Achieving these goals is challenging, yet urgent, because biodiversity is changing rapidly across space and time (Blowes et al., 2019; Newbold et al., 2018). Monitoring programmes are crucial to detect biodiversity changes. However, field surveys are heavily limited by logistical and financial constraints.
Seeing the Disturbed Forest for the Trees: Remote Sensing Is Underutilized to Quantify Critical Zone Response to Unprecedented Disturbance
1 Introduction The critical zone (CZ—the terrestrial Earth's surface above the base of actively circulating groundwater) determines how forest ecosystems and streams will respond to drought, warming temperatures, and disturbances (Condon et al., 2020; Keller, 2019). Because of the high spatial and temporal variability of CZ structure and function, understanding the links and feedbacks among a myriad of CZ processes remains a challenge in Earth Science.
Functional diversity buffers biomass production across variable rainfall conditions through different processes above‐ versus below‐ground
Functional diversity responses to composition and rainfall treatments Forb-dominated plots had more genera present and more evenness of forbs and grasses than mixed or grass plots (Figure ). In forb-dominated plots, cover of forbs increased in spring dry and grasses increased in consistent dry, but rainfall treatment did not affect the cover of functional groups in mixed or grass plots (Figure ). Forb-dominated plots had higher SLA and shorter plants compared to mixed plots (Figure 5a,c).
Intercomparison of snow water equivalent products in the Sierra Nevada California using airborne snow observatory data and ground observations
Kehan Yang1,2,3,4*, Karl Rittger2,5, Keith N. Musselman2, Edward H. Bair5, Jeff Dozier6, Steven A. Margulis7, Thomas H. Painter8 and Noah P.
AMT - Results of a long-term international comparison of greenhouse gas and isotope measurements at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Observatory in Alert, Nunavut, Canada
Allison, C. E. and Francey, R. J.: Verifying Southern Hemisphere trends in atmospheric carbon dioxide stable isotopes, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D21304, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JD007345, 2007. Allison, C. E., Francey, R. J., and Meijer, H. A.
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