Global Warming Event Research Articles

Liver transcriptome changes in pearl gentian grouper in response to acute high-temperature stress

Pearl gentian grouper is the main cultivated grouper variety along the southeast coast of China. However, the coastal waters often experience prolonged of high temperatures during summer due to global climate warming and frequent extreme high-temperature events near the coast. As a result, the high-temperature stress seriously hinders the development and growth of grouper aquaculture. In this study, SMRT-Seq and RNA-Seq sequencing techniques were used to analyze the gene expression changes in the pearl gentian grouper liver under room temperature (25 °C) and acute high temperatures (30, 34, 38, and 38 °C for 6 h). Based on the differential expression analysis, Short Time-series Expression Miner (STEM), and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), 4144 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), two significantly expressed gene profiles (Profile0 and Profile19), and two high-temperature specific modules (Blue and Turquoise) were identified. The results revealed that the grouper responded to acute high-temperature stress by regulating genes enriched in biological processes, such as protein homeostasis, oxidative defense, apoptosis, and glucose and lipid metabolisms. Furthermore, 34 °C and 38 °C were confirmed as the key temperature points for the significant alterations in the physiological and metabolic processes of pearl gentian grouper under high-temperature stress, corresponding to the critical suitable growth temperature and high-temperature tolerance, respectively. The findings in this study provide a solid theoretical basis for understanding the high-temperature adaptation mechanism of pearl gentian grouper. They also provide important guidelines for promoting the development of the grouper aquaculture industry and molecular breeding high-temperature resistant grouper varieties.

Regional flood risk grading assessment considering indicator interactions among hazard, exposure, and vulnerability: A novel FlowSort with DBSCAN

With escalating flood risks due to global warming and frequent extreme rainfall events, it is crucial to highlight the importance of flood risk assessment for devising prudent mitigation strategies and promoting sustainable development. Against this backdrop, this study proposes a novel regional flood risk grading assessment method, namely the Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN)-FlowSort method, aimed at comprehensively assessing flood risks in county-level regions of Anhui Province. The innovation of this method lies in its consideration of interactions among the hazard, exposure, and vulnerability subsystems, as well as the comprehensive determination of assessment indicator weights through the Probability Language Term Set-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (PLTS-DEMATEL) and Entropy Weight Method (EWM). Thus, the subjectivity and objectivity of the weights of the indicators are integratedly taken into account. Additionally, this study introduces DBSCAN to generate reference profiles, improving the reliance on expert input in the traditional FlowSort method and enhancing the automation and objectivity of the evaluation process. The results of the study demonstrate that the DBSCAN-FlowSort method exhibits superior classification performance in predicting flood hazards, particularly in accurately identifying and assessing high-risk areas when considering interactions among indicators in different subsystems. This method provides a new scientific tool for flood risk assessment and management, which is crucial for devising flood resource allocation and risk mitigation measures in both theory and practice.

Dynamic evolution characteristics and hazard assessment of compound drought/waterlogging and low temperature events for maize

Hazard assessment is fundamental in the field of disaster risk management. With the increase in global warming, compound water and temperature events have become more frequent. Current research lacks risk assessments of low temperatures and their compound events, necessitating relevant hazard assessment work to improve the accuracy and diversity of maize disaster prevention and mitigation strategies. This study comparatively analyzed the dynamic evolution characteristics and hazards of compound drought/waterlogging and low temperature events (CDLEs and CWLEs) for maize in the Songliao Plain during different growth periods from 1981 to 2020. First, composite drought/waterlogging and low temperature magnitude indices (CDLMI and CWLMI) were constructed to quantify the intensity of CDLEs and CWLEs by fitting non-exceedance probabilities. Next, static and dynamic hazard assessment models were developed by fitting probability density and cumulative probability density curves to CDLMI and CWLMI. The results showed that the correlations between SPRI and LTI across different decades were mainly negative during the three growth periods. The hazard ratings for both CDLEs and CWLEs were relatively high in the northern part of the study area, consistent with the higher occurrence, duration, and severity of both CDLEs and CWLEs at higher latitudes. Relative to 2001–2010, the center of gravity of hazard shifted southward for CDLEs and northward for CWLEs in 2011–2020. The mean duration, frequency, and hazard were generally higher for CWLEs, but CDLEs were associated with more severe maize yield reductions. This study provides new insights into compound disaster risk assessment, and the research methodology can be generalized to other agricultural growing areas to promote sustainable development of agricultural systems and food security.

Weathering, redox proxies and carbon isotope data from the Maokou Formation, Upper Yangtze, South China: Implications for the Guadalupian P3 glaciation of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age

Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) was a key climate event of the deep-time earth evolution system. Although the sedimentary successions from eastern Australia have well constrained the timeframe of the glacial-nonglacial intervals, the link between these glaciations and coeval geological events is still being explored. The Guadalupian (Middle Permian) P3 glaciation was the prelude to the upcoming end of LPIA, which is a key window to examine the uncertainty of the climatic transition from icehouse to greenhouse and linkages with the geological and biological events. This study focuses on the marine sedimentary succession of the Shangsi outcrop located in the low-latitude Yangtze block, investigating the carbon/strontium isotopes, redox proxy, and chemical index of alteration (CIA). Multiple weathering indices revealed climatic fluctuations during the Guadalupian, corresponding to the onset and demise of the high-latitude P3 glaciation. The high level of CIA following the Kungurian-age Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) event indicates that the weathering of basic rocks caused the positive 13C drift, which was the main factor for the onset of the P3 glaciation. Then the breakup of Pangea, enhanced ocean oxidation, and a series of volcanic activities including Emeishan LIP could contribute to the accumulation of CO2 and consequently cause the demise of the P3 glaciation in middle Capitanian. Enhanced continental weathering was synchronous with the eruption surge of the volcanic activities, indicating a following global warming event, which may play a crucial role in triggering the Mid-Capitanian extinction event.

Uncovering the evolution of ozone pollution in China: A spatiotemporal characteristics reconstruction from 1980 to 2021

Ozone pollution emerged as a significant environmental concern in China in recent years. Given the enduring impact of anthropogenic activities on the atmosphere, understanding the long-term evolutionary patterns of ozone pollution is crucial for effective pollution mitigation strategies. However, there have been limited studies to reconstruct spatiotemporal continuity ozone concentrations in China since 1980. In this research, monthly MDA8 ozone concentrations from 1980 to 2021 were first estimated by reproducing the numerical relations between ozone pollution and the atmospheric environment based on a machine learning approach. The verification results from temporal, spatial, and sample-based cross-validation methods demonstrated the model performance in simulating MDA8 ozone concentration spatiotemporally, with correlation coefficients (R) ranging from 0.76 to 0.79, mean square error (RMSE) ranging from 22.72 μg·m−3 to 24.28 μg·m−3, and mean absolute error (MAE) ranging from 17.06 μg·m−3 to 18.25 μg·m−3. The evolution of ozone pollution in China can be delineated into two phases, characterized by an increasing trend since 2001, coinciding with significant rises in average annual temperature and hot weather frequency over the past four decades. The 90th percentile of ozone concentration from 2001 to 2021 increased by 1.79% compared to the period from 1980 to 2001. Notably, ozone episodes have expanded beyond summer months, partly due to global warming and frequent extreme climate events, contributing to an annual temperature increase of 0.03 °C. Despite several pollutant emission restrictions since 2013, the ozone pollution in China has persisted due to the increased emissions of VOCs. Spatially, severe ozone pollution hotspots are evident in Xinjiang province, the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration, and Northeast China, with notable increases observed in Tibet and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area over the past six years. Moreover, the influence factors were identified by the average reduction of node impurity calculation. The evolution of ozone pollution was inextricably linked to solar radiation and atmospheric temperature, which played pivotal positive roles in ozone formation. Whilst, there is significant heterogeneity in the effect of meteorological conditions on ozone concentrations due to the disparity between land and oceanic climates.

The importance of education and role of educational institutions in climate change mitigation and achieving UN SDG 13 Climate Action

Climate change is a long-term shift in weather patterns driven by natural and human activities, leading to global warming and extreme weather events. Education - both formal and informal, plays a crucial role in climate change mitigation by enhancing awareness, fostering critical thinking, and promoting sustainable practices. It equips individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the complexities of climate change and engage them in informed decision-making. Education also promotes innovation and solutions, supports policy and advocacy, builds resilience, and empowers vulnerable populations. Climate change mitigation strategies align with Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) “Climate Action”, but they also present synergies and trade-offs with other SDGs. Large-scale implementation of technologies can positively impact economic growth and job creation, but environmental issues linked to mineral extraction can detract from other SDGs. Careful management is essential to balance these interactions and minimize trade-offs. Educational institutions play a crucial role in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) by fostering knowledge, research, advocacy, and sustainable practices. They contribute to climate education and awareness through curriculum development, research and innovation, leadership and institutional action, policy advocacy, capacity building, community engagement, ethical and sustainable values education, and monitoring and reporting. Higher education institutions can integrate climate change education into curricula, equipping students with the necessary skills to address environmental challenges. They can also promote global citizenship and empower individuals to contribute to climate solutions. By incorporating multidisciplinary approaches, educational institutions can bridge gaps in climate education and promote innovative solutions to mitigate climate impacts.

Geochemical and palynological records of the Early‐Middle Jurassic in the Turpan‐Hami Basin, NW China: Implications for paleoenvironment and paleoclimate change

The Early‐Middle Jurassic is one of the crucial coal‐forming geologic periods in the world and an important target for hydrocarbon exploration in the Turpan‐Hami Basin, China. The paleoenvironment and vegetation reconstruction of the Early‐Middle Jurassic have been investigated using elemental geochemistry and palynological analysis to reveal paleoclimate evolution. A total of 48 genera of pteridophyte spore and 35 genera of gymnosperm pollen were identified, and 5 palynological assemblages were longitudinally divided, which showed significant differences in geochemical behaviours. The paleoenvironment was a transition from suboxidation to anoxia and then to an oxidation environment under freshwater conditions. The paleowater in the northern Taibei Sag was deeper than that in the southern part during the Middle Jurassic, which coincided with the sedimentary background of the sublacustrine fan in the north and the shallow braided river delta in the south. The paleovegetation evolved from mixed lowland–upland forest in the Hettangian‐Toarcian, to lowland fern forest in the Aalenian‐Bajocian, to upland conifers forest in the early Bathonian, to upland Cheirolepidiaceae forest in the late Bathonian‐Callovian. The Toarcian and Bathonian‐Callovian arid climate and the Hettangian‐Pliensbachian and Aalenian‐Bajocian warm‐humid climate were responses to the continued global warming events and the intensification of the East Asian monsoon circulation, respectively. The influence of the Bathonian‐Callovian aridification event on the sedimentary response in the southern Taibei Sag will be delayed due to the gradual southward migration of the depositional centre.

Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) and its imprint in the continental Escanilla Formation, Spain

Abstract. The Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) is a global warming event mainly recognized in the marine domain and described less in the terrestrial environment. Here we present a comprehensive geochemical record of the MECO from the Escanilla Formation, a fluvial sedimentary succession in the southern Pyrenees, Spain, based on a suite of sampled paleosols, fluvial stromatolites, and pedogenic nodules. Our multiproxy approach involves using carbon and oxygen stable isotope compositions to identify the regional preservation of the MECO, calculate chemical weathering intensity and mean annual precipitation, perform clumped isotopes on carbonates, and identify clay mineralogy assemblages of paleosols. Results indicate that the Middle Eocene interval in the southern Pyrenees was characterized by low weathering rates under warm and arid climatic conditions. This is further supported by the presence of smectite, palygorskite, illite, and chlorite, which suggest seasonal rainfall but under generally dry conditions resulting in weak chemical weathering. Importantly, a negative organic carbon isotopic excursion indicates the regional, terrestrial impact of the MECO, highlighting that fluvial sedimentary successions even in active foreland basins can represent particularly interesting terrestrial archives of past changes in global climate.

Orbital modulation of an intensified hydrological cycle during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼56 Ma) was an abrupt global warming event linked to massive carbon release into the ocean-atmosphere system. As such, it is considered a potentially useful analogue for present and future climate change. Consequently, deciphering its impact on the hydroclimate is important for predicting future changes under high pCO2 and temperature conditions, especially in East Asia where more than a quarter of the world's population lives. Here, we use magnetic and geochemical data obtained through a thick lacustrine record of the PETM from China to demonstrate a large-scale increase in weathering and precipitation coeval with the PETM. Moreover, we show that precipitation variations through the PETM were strongly controlled by eccentricity, precession and half-precession climate cycles. Our results show that orbital forcing of low-latitude insolation played a key role in driving hydroclimate fluctuations and multi-phase changes in precipitation during the PETM, emphasizing the sensitivity of East Asian hydroclimate to subtle changes in insolation under conditions of high temperature and pCO2, perhaps similar to those expected in the future.

Recycled polyethylene terephthalate/ FeCo@C/ Silver nanowire/ polyimide sandwich membrane for electrothermal heating and electromagnetic interference shielding

The increasing frequency of global warming and extreme weather events raises concerns regarding energy conservation and efficient personal thermal management. As communication and technology progress, multifunctional wearable thermal management devices are gaining significant attention. In this study, a novel green recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET)-based sandwich composite with FeCo@C nanoparticles, silver nanowires (AgNWs), and polyimide tape (rPET/FeCo@C/AgNWs/PI) assembled by an efficient “filtering and taping” method was developed for multi-functions, including excellent Joule heat performance that rapidly increase to 165.7 ℃ at 0.9 V voltage in 12 s, electromagnetic interference shielding property with 49.35 dB at 120 μm thickness in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz), antibacterial and self-cleaning properties. Experimental results confirm the potential to the rPET/FeCo@C/AgNWs/PI composite for the thermal management and electromagnetic interference shielding.

Spatiotemporal Variation in Extreme Climate in the Yellow River Basin and its Impacts on Vegetation Coverage

Global warming and extreme climate events (ECEs) have grown more frequent, and it is essential to investigate the influences of ECEs on vegetation in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and other environmentally fragile areas. This study was based on data from 86 meteorological stations in the YRB for the period 2000–2020. Twenty-five extreme climate indices (ECIs) were chosen, encompassing four dimensions: extreme value, intensity, duration, and frequency. The trend analysis approach was used to examine the spatiotemporal characteristics of extreme climate conditions. Additionally, geographical detectors and Pearson correlation analysis methods were employed to quantitatively assess the influence of ECEs on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) method was adopted to analyze the regression of twenty-five ECIs. The findings revealed the following: (1) Over the last 21 years, there has been a distinct rise in both the extreme precipitation indices (EPIs) and the extreme temperature indices (ETIs). (2) The spatial distribution of the NDVI throughout the year displayed the characteristic of being high in the south and low in the north. The annual NDVI demonstrated a noteworthy increase at a rate of 0.055/decade, with the enhancement encompassing an extensive area of 87.33%. (3) The investigation revealed that EPIs, including PRCPTOT, R10mm, CWD, R95p, and CDD, had explanatory values surpassing 0.4. This implied that the intensity, frequency, and duration of extreme precipitation played pivotal roles in steering vegetation alterations in the YRB. (4) The correlation between the EPIs and vegetation was greater than the ETIs. Grassland meadows exhibited greater sensitivity to precipitation than woody plants. The EPIs (excluding CDD and SDII) and the ETIs (TXn) displayed a substantial positive correlation with the NDVI in regions hosting grasslands, broadleaf forests, and shrubs. Desert vegetation and cultivated plants were less affected by ECEs. This study underscores the importance of the interplay between extreme climate and vegetation in the YRB. Additionally, it provides a scientific basis for formulating environmental safeguarding strategies.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ОКРУЖАЮЩЕЙ СРЕДЫ НА РАСПРОСТРАНЕННОСТЬ АЛЛЕРГИИ

Environmental changes, especially those observed in recent decades, have a tremendous effect on human health. There is a dramatic increase in the prevalence of allergies around the world at present. This trend is especially noticeable in developed countries and big cities. Currently, great attention is paid to studying the influence of changing environmental factors on the development and prevalence of allergic pathology. Global warming, air pollution, and extreme weather events are all contributes to the rise in allergies.

МОНЕТАРНА ПОЛІТИКА І ДЕРЖАВНА ДОПОМОГА СУБ'ЄКТАМ ГОСПОДАРЮВАННЯ В ПРОЦЕСІ ЗЕЛЕНОЇ ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЇ ЕКОНОМІКИ

Climate change is one of the 21st century's greatest challenges, driven by human activities and population growth over the past 100-150 years. Its effects, such as global warming and extreme weather events, have serious implications, necessitating urgent climate protection measures. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, aims to limit global temperature rise to below 2°C, with efforts to keep it to 1.5°C. Despite growing commitments, more action is needed to meet these goals, as the global economy must undergo significant transformation to achieve sustainability. Central banks are increasingly engaging with environmental sustainability to mitigate economic risks posed by climate change. According to a UBS survey, 32% of central banks view climate change as a global economic risk, and 70 of 135 central banks have mandates related to sustainability. However, the green transition presents challenges, especially given current inflationary pressures, rising energy prices, and geopolitical shifts, such as those caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. This study explores the relationship between the green transition and monetary policy. Central bank mandates influence monetary conditions and the greening of the financial system, ideally leading to price stability and a green economy. However, determining the appropriate instruments and understanding the broader economic impact is complex. Key strategic questions include how the green transition affects price stability, the implications of potential conflicts between green goals and price stability, and the challenges central banks face in ensuring sustainability. Recent research highlights the inflationary effects of climate change into "climateflation," "fossilflation," and "greenflation." These effects increase inflation volatility, complicating monetary policy. The role of central banks in ensuring macroeconomic stability and supporting green transformation by balancing the goals of price stabilization and stimulating business entities to transition to alternative energy sources is substantiated. Monetary instruments for stimulating energy conservation of business entities in Ukraine are shown, in particular, the provision of soft loans, the development of auctions for the support of new commercial renewable energy facilities, market premium mechanisms (feed-in-premium), price difference contracts, incentives based on the principle of self-production.

Analysis of Vegetation Height Relationship with Land Surface Temperature Using Lidar Data and Landsat 8 Oli/Tirs Imagery

In recent years there have been global warming events in most areas of the hemisphere. The effects of global warming can result in changes in climate patterns in a certain time, which makes changes in the composition of the global atmosphere and increases air temperature. Increased infrastructure development and reduced vegetation that functions to absorb heat cause an increase in surface temperature. With the development of remote sensing technology, it can be used for study and research purposes. This research was conducted in Grobogan Regency which is one of the regions that is currently quite developed. This study aims to determine the relationship between vegetation height and land surface temperature (LST) and the relationship between vegetation density levels based on NDVI values with vegetation height using correlation and regression analysis methods. Data used to determine vegetation height parameters using Airborne LiDAR while to determine land surface temperature and NDVI using Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS C1 Level 1 Satellite Imagery. The result of Airborne LiDAR data is a canopy height model (CHM) where the lowest parameter of vegetation height is 1 meter and the highest parameter of vegetation height is 28 meters. While the results of the Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS C1 Level 1 Satellite Image are in the form of temperature and NDVI variation maps where there is a temperature range of 22.8°C - 27.2°C. After analyzing the correlation of vegetation height with ground surface temperature and vegetation density based on NDVI values with vegetation height, it can be concluded that vegetation height with ground surface temperature has a very low relationship with a value range of 0.00 - 0.20 and vegetation density based on NDVI values with vegetation height has a low relationship with a value range of 0.21 - 0.40.

Evolution of the Araliaceae family involved rapid diversification of the Asian Palmate group and Hydrocotyle specific mutational pressure

The Araliaceae contain many valuable species in medicinal and industrial aspects. We performed intensive phylogenomics using the plastid genome (plastome) and 45S nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. A total of 66 plastome sequences were used, 13 of which were newly assembled in this study, 12 from new sequences, and one from existing data. While Araliaceae plastomes showed conserved genome structure, phylogenetic reconstructions based on four different plastome datasets revealed phylogenetic discordance within the Asian Palmate group. The divergence time estimation revealed that splits in two Araliaceae subfamilies and the clades exhibiting phylogenetic discordances in the Asian Palmate group occurred at two climatic optima, suggesting that global warming events triggered species divergence, particularly the rapid diversification of the Asian Palmate group during the Middle Miocene. Nucleotide substitution analyses indicated that the Hydrocotyloideae plastomes have undergone accelerated AT-biased mutations (C-to-T transitions) compared with the Aralioideae plastomes, and the acceleration may occur in their mitochondrial and nuclear genomes as well. This implies that members of the genus Hydrocotyle, the only aquatic plants in the Araliaceae, have experienced a distinct evolutionary history from the other species. We also discussed the intercontinental disjunction in the genus Panax and proposed a hypothesis to complement the previously proposed hypothesis. Our results provide the evolutionary trajectory of Araliaceae and advance our current understanding of the evolution of Araliaceae species.

Opposing effects of warming on the stability of above- and belowground productivity in facing an extreme drought event.

Climate warming, often accompanied by extreme drought events, could have profound effects on both plant community structure and ecosystem functioning. However, how warming interacts with extreme drought to affect community- and ecosystem-level stability remains a largely open question. Using data from a manipulative experiment with three warming treatments in an alpine meadow that experienced one extreme drought event, we investigated how warming modulates resistance and recovery of community structural and ecosystem functional stability in facing with extreme drought. We found warming decreased resistance and recovery of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and structural resistance but increased resistance and recovery of belowground net primary productivity (BNPP), overall net primary productivity (NPP), and structural recovery. The findings highlight the importance of jointly considering above- and belowground processes when evaluating ecosystem stability under global warming and extreme climate events. The stability of dominant species, rather than species richness and species asynchrony, was identified as a key predictor of ecosystem functional resistance and recovery, except for BNPP recovery. In addition, structural resistance of common species contributed strongly to the resistance changes in BNPP and NPP. Importantly, community structural resistance and recovery dominated the resistance and recovery of BNPP and NPP, but not for ANPP, suggesting the different mechanisms underlie the maintenance of stability of above- versus belowground productivity. This study is among the first to explain that warming modulates ecosystem stability in the face of extreme drought and lay stress on the need to investigate ecological stability at the community level for a more mechanistic understanding of ecosystem stability in response to climate extremes.

THE MIDDLE EOCENE CLIMATIC OPTIMUM (MECO) IMPACT ON THE BENTHIC AND PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERAL RESILIENCE FROM A SHALLOW-WATER SEDIMENTARY RECORD

We present here new quantitative analyses of planktic and benthic foraminifera to assess the impact of the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO, ~40 Ma) on these biotic groups studied along a shallow-water succession rich in larger benthic foraminifera (Sealza, Liguria, NW Italy). The MECO is one of the major Eocene global warming events, characterized by ~4–6°C warming, shifts in the global carbon cycle, and rise in atmospheric pCO2. The Sealza succession is interpreted as the product of a drowning ramp influenced by tectonic activity and provides an exceptional chance to compare biotic variations in shallow-water assemblages with deep-water communities across the MECO. In the section, the MECO interval is tentatively constrained by stable isotope oxygen data and calcareous plankton biostratigraphy. The marked decline in abundance of the epifaunal benthic Cibicidoides across the lower-middle part of the MECO suggests a decrease in oxygenation at the seafloor. Further evidence of oxygen depletion is the increase in organic matter content (TOC) of the sediment and the presence of infaunal genera Uvigerina and Bolivina. The planktic foraminiferal assemblages record the MECO warming in the upper water column as the mixed-layer warm index genera Acarinina and Morozovelloides markedly increase in abundance. In the post-MECO interval, here poorly exposed, cooler conditions are indicated by the dominance of the cold-water index genus Subbotina. Remarkably, Acarinina decline in abundance in the upper MECO interval and never recover. The MECO perturbance permanently impacted the benthic and planktic communities at Sealza that exceeded the tipping point to move to a new regime, thus proving the fauna to be not resilient, but also not recording any extinctions.

Evolution and Multi-Scenario Prediction of Land Use and Carbon Storage in Jiangxi Province

In recent years, escalating global warming and frequent extreme weather events have caused carbon emission reduction to become a pressing issue on a global scale. Land use change significantly impacts ecosystem carbon storage and is a crucial factor to consider. This study aimed to examine the evolutions in land use and their impact on carbon storage in Jiangxi Province, China. Using the coupled PLUS-InVEST model, we analyzed the spatial patterns alterations of both land use and carbon storage from 2000 to 2020 and set four scenarios for 2040. Our findings indicated the following: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the area of cropland, forest, grassland, and unused land declined, whereas the area of water and built-up land increased, with changes mainly occurring in 2010–2020. (2) From 2000 to 2020, due to the land use change, carbon storage in Jiangxi Province demonstrated a decreasing trend, with a total reduction of 2882.99 × 104 t. (3) By 2040, under the dual protection scenario for cropland and ecology, the expansion of built-up land will be most restricted among the four scenarios, and the largest projected carbon storage was foreseen. This suggests that carbon loss can be minimized by focusing on cropland and ecological conservation, especially forests. Our research findings can facilitate policy decisions to balance economic development and environmental protection in Jiangxi Province in the future.

Continental climate variability during the middle Eocene global warming

Middle Eocene saw several global warming events. However, the terrestrial climate linkage to the warming events is still enigmatic. Particularly, the paleoclimate of middle Eocene East Asia is unclear when the East Asian monsoons started to prevail. Here, we present a combination of high-resolution elemental, compositional and natural gamma-ray (GR) records and conduct an orbital-scale paleoclimate reconstruction for the middle Eocene lacustrine shale dated from 43.4 to 40.9 Ma in the Bohai Bay Basin, East Asia. The results show an obvious shift in orbital variability from obliquity- to eccentricity-dominated cycles and an evident humidification at ∼41.9 Ma in the East Asia. Eccentricity maxima filtered from the terrestrial records coincide with the deep-sea temperature rises during ∼41.9–41.5 Ma. The terrestrial climate transition at 41.9 Ma was most likely attributed to intensification of the East Asian monsoons responding to the elevated atmospheric pCO2 during the concurrent global warming.

Changes in design precipitation over the Nordic-Baltic region as given by convection-permitting climate simulations

The increased risk of flooding due to global warming and subsequent heavy rainfall events in the Nordic-Baltic region, call for recommendations directed at long-term planning. One example of such recommendations are climate change allowances. These are often based on expected changes in design precipitation as given by climate model simulations, and are used as a buffer on top of current design values to avoid a future increased damage potential as a consequence of climate change. We here compute expected changes in precipitation design values, so-called climate factors (CFs), for the Nordic-Baltic region, based on 3 km convection permitting simulations from the Nordic Convection Permitting Climate Projections project. These have the advantage of explicitly resolving convection, which has been shown to be the main contributor to increased rainfall. We assess the dependence of the CFs on rainfall duration, return period, and geographical location, focusing on the summer (convective) season, short durations and the high emission scenario RCP8.5. We also compare these CFs to those computed from a non-convection permitting regional climate model ensemble.We found higher CFs for the longer return period, with only few exceptions, and distinctly higher CFs going from daily to sub-daily durations. However, the different simulations give conflicting results for very short-duration rainfall (<3 h). The huge difference in the climate sensitivity of driving GCMs dominates the magnitude of estimated return levels. Our analysis is shaped by the high computational costs of running convection permitting models, resulting in a very limited ensemble (3 members) representing a single emission scenario (RCP8.5). Therefore, we believe that combining results from convection permitting simulations with a larger ensemble (21 members) of non-convection permitting simulations adds value to the assessment of robust climate change allowances for heavy precipitation in the Nordic-Baltic region.