Climate change is expected to influence the frequency and severity of biological invasions in a variety of ways, including creating novel introduction pathways, decreasing the resilience of native habitats, inducing range shifts and expansions, and altering phenologies. As such, it is important to gain a better understanding of how invasive species managers incorporate climate change in their management strategies and identify the invasive species that are expected to pose the greatest threat under climate change. To address these questions, the Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management Network surveyed invasive species researchers and managers across four regions of the continental U.S. (the Northeast, Southeast, North Central, and Northwest) to determine the invasive species of greatest concern. This analysis will identify and compare the invasive species most frequently reported by researchers and managers for each region and describe their ecologies.

Modeling the nonlinear interactions between flow, sediment, and vegetation is essential for improving our understanding and prediction of river system dynamics. Using simple numerical models, we simulate the key flow-sediment-vegetation interaction where the disturbance is intrinsically generated by the presence of vegetation. In this case, biomass growth modifies the flow field, induces bed scour, and thus potentially causes vegetation uprooting when erosion exceeds root depth. Our results show that this nonlinear feedback produces deterministic chaos under a wide range of conditions, with complex aperiodic dynamics generated by a period-doubling route to chaos. Moreover, our results suggest relatively small values of Lyapunov time, spanning 2-4 growth-flood cycles, which significantly restrict the predictability of riverbed evolution. Although further spatial and temporal processes may add complexity to the system, these results call for the use of ensemble methods and associated uncertainty estimates in ecomorphodynamic models.

A document by Megan Purchase. Click on the document to view its contents.

The Fram Strait is a key region for ice export, linking the Arctic with the world ocean. We present floe-scale observations of sea ice motion in the Fram Strait marginal ice zone (MIZ) derived from moderate-scale optical imagery spanning the 2003-2020 period. Tracked ice floes provide Lagrangian measures of ice motion during the spring and summer. We show that the floe size distribution affects the rotation rates and fluctuating velocities of sea ice floes. Using simulations based on a quasi-geostrophic ocean model and a discrete element sea ice model, we show that ocean eddy forcing alone can produce the distinct non-Gaussian velocity anomaly distributions seen in observations. The scale of the velocity distributions decreases with increasing floe size and with increasing distance from the ice edge. Similarly, we show that the rotation rate distribution in both observations and simulations narrows with increasing floe size. Finally, we show that the deformation rates measured from tracked MIZ ice floes reproduce the power law scaling seen in the central Arctic, with the deformation rate decreasing as the scale of observations increases. The observations presented here provide a new avenue for sea ice model development and validation in the summer MIZ.

Accurate land cover data can provide powerful insight into characterizing the effects of climate change. Remote sensing satellites enable state-of-the-art land cover measurements, but data collected on the Earth's surface offers a new perspective on land cover characteristics through its more localized scope. Areas that may be generalized to a single pixel in a remote sensing satellite’s data products can be observed at a more granular level through on-site data collection strategies. Low-cost sensors, such as NASA’s Science and Technology Education for Land/Life Assessment (STELLA), make such granular data collection more cost-effective. Citizen Science programs, like the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, provide a blueprint for reliably scaling this type of on-site data collection. STELLA is an open-source platform that allows volunteers, like Citizen Scientists, to measure electromagnetic waves to calculate irradiance and temperature in a specific Area Of Interest (AOI). STELLA is cost-effective, as its kit can be assembled by any user with access to makerspace tools commonly found in educational institutions, like 3D printers and soldering irons. This work presents a comparative analysis of the land cover measurements recorded by the STELLA sensor and remote sensing satellites, such as LANDSAT9. Surface temperatures were recorded hourly using the STELLA sensor on four different types of land cover within a 500-square-meter area in Reno, Nevada. The results indicate a statistically significant discrepancy between measurements recorded by the STELLA sensor and LANDSAT, highlighting an untapped data trove in localized sensor measurements. Additionally, we present a data collection control flow for Citizen Science volunteers to record reliable STELLA sensor data. We demonstrate how such Citizen Science data can provide a valuable alternative perspective when compared to its state-of-the-art counterparts, rendering it a valuable tool for future studies. AGU23 Poster LinkAGU23 Abstract Link

The East Asian monsoon system is generated by land-ocean thermal contrast between Asia and NW Pacific, altering the hydroclimate variability in the region. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) consists of a mixture of geochemical pools with distinct origins, evolutionary paths, behaviors and isotopic signatures. The characteristics of SPM reflect the physical processes occurring within a river catchment, including erosion, sediment transport, nutrient and pollutant movement, and organic matter dynamics. The Changjiang is the second largest supplier of global SPM, discharges the largest fresh water and suspended sediment discharge into the East China Sea, significantly influencing the oceanic mass balance. The Changjiang basin is subject to the Indian Monsoon in its headwaters and the East Asian Monsoon downstream, which dominates the chemical weathering patterns in the basin.A widespread inherited feature of the Changjiang basin is its heavy Cu signatures in dissolved and particulate loads. However, the SPM samples conversely displays light 𝛿65Cu values in Lower Reaches, ranging from −0.26 to +0.45 ‰ (2SD, n=31), with almost constant CuSPM concentrations (average ~49 µg/g). Heavy and light Cu isotopic signatures are naturally sourced, albeit with considerable fluctuations in daily samples. The flood event in July 2020 elucidate the effect of intense erosion over Cu concentrations and isotopes, showing larger variations from −0.10 to +0.45 ‰ (2SD, n=10). We infer that the temporal and spatial variations in Cu isotopes of Changjiang SPMs with low enrichment metrics is the combined effects of monsoon-driven weathering and soil erosion in the large catchment. This study provides new insights into Cu geochemical behavior during earth surface processes, which will contribute to a holistic understanding of the global Cu cycle.

Water scarcity is a significant issue in Iran, especially on its central plateau. Although climate change contributes to this problem, mismanagement and over-exploitation of available water resources worsened the situation. This study investigated water conservation opportunities in the Eskandari watershed, a crucial agricultural region in the Zayandeh-Rud River basin. We examined the trend of changes in all the factors affecting water resources in this watershed, including precipitation, discharge, leaf area index (LAI), inter-basin water transfer, and groundwaters from 2004 to 2019 at an annual scale. The classic Mann-Kendall (MK) and the non-parametric Trend-Free pre-whitening Mann-Kendall (TFPW-MK) statistical tests were employed to analyze the changing trends of these parameters over time. The results indicated that precipitation, discharge, and cultivated area have not shown any significant trend over 16 years. While in this period, the inter-basin water transfer tunnel entered into the basin with an upward trend, the water volume of all three aquifers experienced a drastic negative trend, suggesting an imbalance between the inflow and outflow of the watershed. Based on the groundwater depletion and the inter-basin water transfer inflow, an estimated 336.14 million cubic meters of water were consumed over the study period. This loss aligned with estimated water wastage in the form of wind drift and evaporation losses (WDEL) caused by the development of sprinkler irrigation systems in the study area. To address water scarcity and conserve water resources in the Eskandari watershed, it is essential to adopt sustainable irrigation practices that consider reducing the pressure on aquifers.

A document by Jakob Christiaanse. Click on the document to view its contents.

PRISMA is a hyperspectral satellite mission launched by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in April 2019. The mission is designed to collect data at global scale for a variety of applications, including those related to the cryosphere. This study presents an evaluation of PRISMA Level 1 (L1) and Level 2 (L2D) products for different snow conditions. To the aim, PRISMA data were collected at three sites: two in the Western European Alps (Torgnon and Plateau Rosa) and one in East Antarctica (Nansen Ice Shelf). PRISMA data were acquired contemporary to both field measurements and Sentinel-2 data. Simulated Top of the Atmosphere (TOA) radiance data were then compared to L1 PRISMA and Sentinel-2 TOA radiance. Bottom Of Atmosphere (BOA) reflectance from PRISMA L2D and Sentinel-2 L2A data were then evaluated by direct comparison with field data. Both TOA radiance and BOA reflectance PRISMA products were generally in good agreement with field data, showing a Mean Absolute Difference (MAD) lower than 5%. L1 PRISMA TOA radiance products resulted in higher MAD for the site of Torgnon, which features the highest topographic complexity within the investigated areas. In Plateau Rosa we obtained the best comparison between PRISMA L2D reflectance data and in situ measurements, with MAD values lower than 5 % for the 400-900nm range. The Nansen Ice Shelf instead resulted in MAD values <10% between PRISMA L2D and field data, while Sentinel-2 BOA reflectance showed higher values than other data sources.

Arctic sea ice is retreating, thinning, and exhibiting increased mobility. In the Beaufort Gyre (BG), liquid freshwater content (FWC) has increased by 40\% in the last two decades, with sea ice melting being a primary contributor. This study utilizes satellite observations of sea surface salinity (SSS) and sea ice concentration, along with model-based sea ice thickness from 2011 to 2019. The aim is to investigate the sea ice-SSS relationship at different scales in the Arctic and understand the sea-ice meltwater dynamics in the BG. Our findings reveal a strong synchrony and positive correlation between sea ice area and SSS in the Arctic Ocean. In September, when the BG exhibits the largest ice-free ocean surface, a noticeable release of freshwater from sea ice melting occurs, a phenomenon not accurately reproduced by the models. The SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission proves valuable in detecting meltwater lenses (MWL) originating from sea ice melting. These MWLs exhibit mean SSS ranging from 19 psu at the begining of sea ice retreat to 25 psu before sea ice formation. Wind-driven anticyclonic eddies can trap MWLs, preserving the freshest SSS imprints on the sea surface for up to 10 days. Furthermore, events of sea surface salinification following sea ice formation suggest that SMOS SSS might be capturing information on brine rejection. The daily evolution of sea ice-SSS within the MWLs demonstrates a tight correlation between both variables after sea ice melting and just before sea ice formation, indicating a transient period in between.

Sixteen of the world’s largest cities, with populations of over 10 Million, are located within 100 km of the coast (as are sixteen European cities, with populations of over 1 Million). The need to understand the contribution that the lowering of the ground surface, through natural geological phenomena, can make to estimates of relative sea level change is especially relevant to these lowland areas, which are usually the most geologically susceptible to subsidence. In this work, the methodology developed within the SubCoast EC-FP7 project was exploited to create a combined natural sub-sidence potential percentage change value for each lithology of the OneGeology dataset for Europe. Calibration of potential volume changes against ground motion statistics extracted from interpreted Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) and geohazard mapping datasets allowed for the deriva-tion of potential ground motion rates for the coastline of Europe. By utilising this subsidence po-tential methodology and combining it with the British Geological Survey (BGS) geology (superficial and bedrock) 1:50,000 scale dataset, a nation-wide dataset of potential natural subsidence rates was produced for Great Britain, providing information for all lithologies of the country. By incorporating the most current and up-to-date PSI data, the potential subsidence rates could be re-calculated, and a more detailed, calibrated polygon dataset could be created in the future. SubCoast was a collab-orative research project funded by the EU, the aim of which was to assess the combined impact of sea level rise and coastal subsidence as measured with satellite radar interferometry.

Quantifying the extent of drought and flood magnitude and frequency under the climate change impacts is essential for an effective water resource management. In this study, we utilize the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model, drought indices as well as the Interquartile Range (IQR) method for a comprehensive analysis of the river flow response to projected climate change scenarios. Four General Circulation Models (GCMs) under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2-4.5 and 5-8.5) have been used for our analysis (2023-2090). Our objective is to reveal the future projected drought and flood events in terms of intensity, frequency, and potential consequences for local livelihoods in the Srepok River basin (SRB), a tributary of the Mekong River basin (MRB), Southeast Asia. Our findings serve as the scientific basis for stakeholders and decisionmakers to develop adaptative strategies and sustainable plans to promote the region's resilience.

Mountains are integral and important parts of the world that are sometimes mined for their metals and minerals. While lucrative, mines in mountainous regions have not always received proper environmental stewardship. Thus, some mining regions have suffered accordingly, which in turn influences watersheds and their biota. In Butte, Montana, historical mining practices wreaked havoc on the montane/subalpine landscape.

“Pressure and time.” A momentous quote in a compelling movie from a few decades ago interestingly pointed at some of the ingredients that contributed to shaping the Earth. The movie set off from how to seep through masses that appeared just too vast to be shakable or vulnerable – if not by deciphering their inner core. The planetary size and time frame of the Earth may have elicited a perception of a durable, unbuckling living environment – just because “pressure and time” to really affect it would have been out of human reach – supposedly. However, the Earth and environmental sciences have long striven to alert contemporary societies that this is just not the case, as humans have been well exerting scattered yet ubiquitous, planetary-scale pressure over a relatively brief time – with consequential, durable effects. Rising global population, long-term migration shifts of continental extents – due to risks, climate, resources – and unpredicted factors – from vulnerabilities to instabilities – pressure on the environment (natural and built) in unprecedented scale throughout human history. The Earth sciences were born out of deciphering ancient life forms teeming in an aboriginal environment, unfolding on a planet that could be explained only by looking at the Solar system – and at the inception of the Universe.Cross-disciplinary by nature, the Earth and environmental sciences offer crucial tools to gauge location, economic turnout, and societal costs of those very resources and fragilities. They also are pivotal co-actors of intellectual stewardship bridging the gulf with sister disciplines well beyond the remits of the physical sciences. From economics to philosophy, and from history to literature, multiple, diverse and concurring threats call for resourceful, multi-faceted mind- and skill-sets where no single hazard may be really treated apart – not on societal terms.Adapting a famous statement from the 20th century, evolution in a time of poly-crises, multiple hazards, and accrued vulnerabilities is not going to be a dinner party for contemporary societies – especially as they dwell a world perceived as increasingly richer in risks and poorer in resources, with a growing population and across instabilities. Human Earth sciences offer a bridge towards our collective future – as societies, continents, planets.Earth-prints @ INGV  

Here we present a dissemination method that combines science and art to visualize a seismic experiment conducted in northern Chile. Through the expertise of an illustrator using digital watercolor techniques and a science journalist who contributed her expertise in creating plain-language keynotes, we created six visually compelling art pieces to summarize the progress and results of the first year of a project funded by Fondecyt-ANID. The artwork, called “Images of Silence” (Imágenes del Silencio, originally in spanish), plays with the concepts of silence and images. Here, the quitness of the desert is often interrupted by the loudness of seismic activity. Additionally, the illustrations - images to tell a story - offers a narrative for a seismic experiment that aims to image the Earth's interior. This artwork creatively incorporates indigenous pictograms found in regional rock formations, making a meaningful connection between seismology and the region's rich cultural heritage. Finally, Images of the Silence is an transdisciplany work with scientifics, journalists and artists to develop an unconventional approach to better communicate our results and remind us that science and art always go together.

The International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) maintains fundamental in situ components of the Arctic Observing Network. Automated Drifting Stations (ADS) consisting of sea ice, meteorological, and oceanographic buoys are collectively deployed at many sites with webcams to help understand the intricate and complex interactions between sea ice, the atmosphere, and the ocean.While passive microwave satellites provide substantial information about the Arctic, remote sensing still has resolution limitations despite broad spatial coverage. Climate modeling and atmospheric reanalysis help surmount these limitations, but traditional observational methods of in situ data collection still have many advantages. Buoys and webcams can monitor Arctic sea ice changes above and below, allowing for more direct observations of localized ice floes when deployed in close proximity.Using data from webcams in the Arctic, we have stitched together images into time-lapse animations that provide insight into physical sea ice processes. Coupled with buoy data, we compare physical measurements (like temperature) with webcam observations (like cloud cover) to explain trends and anomalies. For example, isothermal periods in the buoy temperature data match time-lapse images with cloudy skies, while the opposite is also true: high variability correlates with sunny skies. Hence, these instruments allow for the verification of Arctic observations both visually and statistically.Although significant challenges like camera lifetimes and temporal resolution still persist, we argue that buoys and time-lapse videos can help validate satellite data and offer cheaper solutions to collecting vital information that increases our understanding of geophysical processes. We’ve compiled these datasets and present case studies showing the use of time-lapse videos to help monitor and understand the interplay and processes of the Arctic environment.

• Time-frequency analysis of the the total solar irradiance (TSI) dataset recoreded by the FY3E/JTSIM/DARA • DARA observations closest to the TIM/TSIS measurements in terms of mean value comparison (0.07 W/m 2) • Analysis of the integration of the new JTSIM-DARA dataset into the 43 year long TSI composite time series

River bedforms influence fluvial hydraulics by altering bed roughness. With increasing flow velocity, subaqueous bedforms transition from flat beds to ripples, dunes, and an Upper Stage Plane Bed. Although prior research notes increased bedform height variation with flow strength and rapid shifts between bed configurations, the latter remains understudied. This study reanalyzes data from earlier experiments, and reveals a bimodal distribution of dune heights emerges beyond a transport stage of 18. Dune heights flicker between a low and high alternative state, indicating critical transitions. Potentially triggered by local sediment outbursts, these shifts lead to dune formation before returning to an Upper Stage Plane Bed. This flickering behavior challenges the adequacy of a single snapshot to capture the system's state, impacting field measurements and experimental designs, and questions the classical equilibrium equations. This study calls for further research to understand and quantify flickering behavior in sediment beds at high transport stages.

Abstract: Globally, more people are impacted by extreme hydrologic events such as flooding than all other types of natural disasters combined, and the effects can be devastating. Two examples are the 2012 and 2022 floods along the Niger and Benue Rivers within the Lower Niger River Basin (LNRB) in Nigeria. Flooding within the LNRB typically occurs annually during the rainy season, however, the 2012 and 2022 flood events were of similar magnitude, had catastrophic socioenvironmental impacts, and occurred one decade apart. Limited historical gage data along the Niger and Benue Rivers precludes traditional flood frequency analysis in the LNRB. Hence, this study seeks to utilize globally available observations from satellite remote sensing to compute flood depths using the Floodwater Depth Estimation Tool (FwDETv2.1 version) implemented in Google Earth Engine. Other hydrological and physiographic characteristics of LNRB in 2012 and 2022 are also evaluated using remote sensing observations. Since the FwDET requires only globally available input data (flood inundation map and Digital Elevation Model) which favors data-sparse regions such as Nigeria, the potential for the FwDET tool to automatically quantify flood water depths, an important variable in flood frequency estimation and damage assessment, can be analyzed even when historical observations are lacking. The utility of the FwDETv2.1 for flood management and mitigation studies along global rivers with limited historical data is discussed. ReferenceIdowu, Dorcas, and Wendy Zhou. "Performance evaluation of a potential component of an early flood warning system—A case study of the 2012 flood, Lower Niger River Basin, Nigeria." Remote Sensing 11.17 (2019): 1970.Brakenridge, G. R., Kettner, A. J., Paris, S., Cohen, S., Nghiem, S. V. , River and Reservoir Watch Version 4.5, Satellite-based river discharge and reservoir area measurements, DFO Flood Observatory, University of Colorado, USA. http://floodobservatory.colorado.edu/ SiteDisplays/ 20.htm (Accessed 6 December 2023).Cohen, S.; Peter, B.G.; Haag, A.; Munasinghe, D.; Moragoda, N.; Narayanan, A.; May, S. Sensitivity of Remote Sensing Floodwater Depth Calculation to Boundary Filtering and Digital Elevation Model Selections. Remote Sens. 2022, 14, 5313. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14215313.B. G. Peter, S. Cohen, R. Lucey, D. Munasinghe, A. Raney and G. R. Brakenridge, "Google Earth Engine Implementation of the Floodwater Depth Estimation Tool (FwDET-GEE) for Rapid and Large Scale Flood Analysis," in IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, vol. 19, pp. 1-5, 2022, Art no. 1501005, doi: 10.1109/LGRS.2020.3031190.Brakenridge, G. Robert, Son V. Nghiem, and Zsofia Kugler. "Passive microwave radiometry at different frequency bands for river discharge retrievals." Earth and Space Science 10.8 (2023): e2023EA002859.Idowu, Dorcas. Assessing the Utilization of Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques for Flood Studies and Land Use/Land Cover Analysis Through Case Studies in Nigeria and the USA. Diss. Colorado School of Mines, 2021.Idowu, Dorcas, and Wendy Zhou. "Global Megacities and Frequent Floods: Correlation between Urban Expansion Patterns and Urban Flood Hazards." Sustainability 15.3 (2023): 2514.

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Natural climate solutions (NCS) have the potential to achieve up to one-third of emission reductions, but uncertainties surrounding their effectiveness hinder their full realization. Here we employ modern portfolio theory to build NCS portfolios (NCSPs) including a variety of pathways listed in Griscom et al. 1. The different pathways are treated as risky assets within a 'carbon mitigation market' with their returns and risks defined by global estimates of mitigation potential. Our aim is to maximize carbon sequestration while minimizing the risk of carbon loss, thus effectively navigating the 'efficient frontier', where the best trade-off between maximum carbon sequestration and risk occurs. Diversifying pathways leads to decreased risk and enhanced resilience, particularly when risks of carbon loss due to environmental stressors are spatially or temporally uncorrelated. The optimal NCSPs provide valuable insights into distributing investments and land within pathway categories (forests, agriculture and wetlands), intervention types (e.g., manage, protect, restore), cost-effectiveness, and geographical contexts. We hope these results help inform policymakers to reduce risk while pursuing ambitious carbon mitigation targets.

Climate attribution assessments are now common for exceptional weather events, but lesser extremes and everyday weather remain largely unexamined. Here we use a multi-method approach to calculate the influence of human-caused climate change on 54 years of daily temperatures around the world. We use a new metric called the change in information due to perspective that contrasts the likelihood of a temperature in two climates: one forced by extra greenhouse gases and another with no anthropogenic warming. We show that exposure to climate change surged in the middle of 2023. On August 21, a record 4.9 billion people experienced temperatures made at least twice as likely by climate change. On August 22, 49.5% of the land surface reached this level. The distribution of exposure of both ecosystems and countries in August was largely consistent with long-term trends, with higher exposure at night, in tropical ecosystems, and in less developed countries. Notable exceptions to this pattern occurred in Europe and the United States. On August 21, Spain and Italy experienced anomalously warm conditions with very strong climate fingerprints. Over the second half of the year, cities in the United States from Texas to Florida experienced exceptional streaks of extreme and attributable temperatures. We extend the daily attribution approach to quantify how climate change is increasing the exposure of people, especially in Africa and small island states, to stressfully warm temperatures. Daily climate change attribution of temperature provides a new index of climate exposure and new opportunities to communicate about climate change. Significance Statement We quantify the climate fingerprint on local temperature, everywhere and for every day from 1970-2023. We show how the exposure of people and ecosystems to elevated daily temperatures that have been made more likely by climate change surged in 2023. This exposure is not even: it occurs more intensely at night and falls more heavily on countries and ecosystems near the equator. Elevated temperatures are a health risk, and we show that climate change is increasing the exposure of people to stressful daily temperatures. Quantifying climate change on a daily, local scale highlights conditions that will benefit from 1

A document by Poulomi Ganguli. Click on the document to view its contents.

A document by Poulomi Ganguli. Click on the document to view its contents.