Survey evidence has indicated that a significant percentage of the population does not fully embrace the scientific consensus regarding climate change. This paper assesses whether the hourly temperature data support this denial. Specifically, this paper examines the relationship between hourly CO2 atmospheric concentration levels and temperature using hourly data from the NOAA-operated Barrow observatory in northern Alaska. At this observatory, the average annual temperature over the 2015-2020 period has been about 3.37 oC higher than in the 1985-1990 period. A time-series model to explain hourly temperature is formulated using the following explanatory variables: the hourly level of total downward solar irradiance, the hourly CO2 value lagged by one hour, proxies for the diurnal variation in temperature, proxies for the seasonal temperature variation, and proxies for possible non-anthropomorphic drivers of temperature. A time-series modeling specification is employed to capture the data’s heteroskedastic and autoregressive nature. The model is estimated using hourly data from 1 Jan 1985 through 31 Dec 2015. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that increases in CO2 concentration levels have nontrivial consequences for hourly temperature. The estimated annual contributions of factors exclusive of CO2 and downward total solar irradiance are very small. The model was evaluated using out-of-sample hourly data from 1 Jan 2016 through 31 Aug 2017. The model’s out-of-sample hourly temperature predictions are highly accurate, but this accuracy is significantly degraded if the estimated CO2 effects are ignored. In short, the results are consistent with the scientific consensus on climate change.

Lithospheric discontinuities, including the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) and the enigmatic mid-lithospheric discontinuities (MLDs), hold important clues about the structure and evolution of tectonic plates. However, P- and S-receiver-function techniques (PRF and SRF), two traditional techniques to image Earth’s deep discontinuities, have some shortcomings in imaging lithosphere discontinuities. Here, we propose a new method using reflections generated by teleseismic S waves (hereafter S reflections) to image lithospheric discontinuities, which is less affected by multiple phases than PRFs and has better depth resolution than SRFs. We apply this method to data collected by the Transportable Array and other regional seismic networks and obtain new high-resolution images of the lithosphere below the contiguous US. Beneath the tectonically active Western US, we observe a negative polarity reflector (NPR) in the depth range of 60–110 km, with greatly varying amplitude and depth, which correlates with active tectonic processes. We interpret this feature as the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary below the Western US. Beneath the tectonically stable Central and Eastern US, we observe two NPRs in the depth ranges of 60–100 km and 100–150 km, whose amplitude and depth also vary significantly, and which appear to correlate with past tectonic processes. We interpret these features as mid-lithospheric discontinuities below the Central and Eastern US. Our results show reasonable agreement with results from PRFs, which have similar depth resolution, suggesting the possibility of joint inversion of S reflections and PRFs to constrain the properties of lithospheric discontinuities.

Understanding the behavior of the shallow portion of the subduction zone, which generates the largest earthquakes and devastating tsunamis, is a vital step forward in earthquake geoscience. Monitoring only a fraction of a single megathrust earthquake cycle and the offshore location of the source of these earthquakes are the foremost reasons for the insufficient understanding. The frictional-elastoplastic interaction between the interface and its overlying wedge causes variable surface strain signals such that the wedge strain patterns may reveal the mechanical state of the interface. We employ Seismotectonic Scale Modeling and simplify elastoplastic megathrust subduction, generate hundreds of analog seismic cycles at laboratory scale, and monitor the surface strain signals over the model’s forearc over high to low temporal resolutions. We establish two coseismically compressional and extensional wedge configurations to explore the mechanical and kinematic interaction between the shallow wedge and the interface. Our results demonstrate that this interaction can partition the wedge into different segments such that the anlastic extensional segment overlays the seismogenic zone at depth. Moreover, the different segments of the wedge may switch their state from compression/extension to extension/compression domains. We highlight that a more segmented upper plate represents megathrust subduction that generates more characteristic and periodic events. Additionally, the strain time series reveals that the strain state may remain quasi-stable over a few seismic cycles in the coastal zone and then switch to the opposite mode. These observations are crucial for evaluating earthquake-related morphotectonic markers (i.e., marine terraces) and short-term interseismic GPS time-series onshore (coastal region).

Simulation models of multi-sector systems are increasingly used to understand societal resilience to climate and economic shocks and change. However, multi-sector systems are also subject to numerous uncertainties that prevent the direct application of simulation models for prediction and planning, particularly when extrapolating past behavior to a nonstationary future. Recent studies have developed a combination of methods to characterize, attribute, and quantify these uncertainties for both single- and multi-sector systems. Here we review challenges and complications to the idealized goal of fully quantifying all uncertainties in a multi-sector model and their interactions with policy design as they emerge at different stages of analysis: (1) inference and model calibration; (2) projecting future outcomes; and (3) scenario discovery and identification of risk regimes. We also identify potential methods and research opportunities to help navigate the tradeoffs inherent in uncertainty analyses for complex systems. During this discussion, we provide a classification of uncertainty types and discuss model coupling frameworks to support interdisciplinary collaboration on multi-sector dynamics (MSD) research. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for best practices to ensure that MSD research can be properly contextualized with respect to the underlying uncertainties.

Moisture recycling via evapotranspiration (ET) is often invoked as a mechanism for the high deuterium excess signals observed in continental precipitation (dP). However, a global-scale analysis of precipitation monitoring station isotope data shows that metrics of ET contributions to precipitation (van der Ent et al., 2014) explain little dp variability on seasonal timescales. This occurs despite the fact that ET contributions increase by ~50% in continental locations such as the Eurasian interior from wet to dry seasons. To explain this apparent paradox, we hypothesize that the effects of ET on dP are dampened during dry seasons due to contributions from isotopically-evolved residual water storage that act to lower the d-excess of ET fluxes (dET), in combination with changes in transpiration fraction (T/ET). To test this hypothesis, we develop a parsimonious two-season (wet, dry) model for dET incorporating residual water storage and ET partitioning effects. We find that in environments with limited water storage, such as shallow-rooted grasslands, dry season dET is lower than wet season dET despite lower relative humidity. As global average ratios of annual water storage to precipitation are relatively low (Guntner et al., 2007), these dynamics may be widespread over continents. In environments where water storage is not limiting, such as groundwater-dependent ecosystems, dry season dET is still likely lower; however, this effect arises instead due to higher seasonal T/ET when energy-driven plant water use is enhanced and surface evaporation is relatively limited by water availability. Together, these analyses also indicate multiple mechanisms by which dET may be lower than dp during the same season, challenging the view that moisture recycling feedback increases the dp in continental interiors. This work demonstrates the potential complexity of seasonal dp dynamics and cautions against simple interpretations of dP as a process tracer for moisture recycling. References: Guntner et al., 2007. Water Resour. Res., 43, W05416. van der Ent et al., 2014. Earth Syst. Dynam., 5, 471–489.

The Yellowstone magmatic system is one of the largest magmatic systems on Earth, and thus an ideal location to study magmatic processes. Whereas previous seismic tomography results could only image a shallow magma chamber, a recent study using more seismometers showed that a second and massive partially molten mush chamber exists above the Moho (Huang et al., 2015). To understand the mechanics of this system, it is thus important to take the whole system from the mantle plume up to the shallow magma chambers into account. Here, we employ lithospheric-scale 3D visco-elasto-plastic geodynamic models to test the influence of parameters such as the connectivity of the chambers and rheology of the lithosphere on the dynamics of the system. A gravity inversion is used to constrain the effective density of the magma chambers, and an adjoint modelling approach reveals the key model parameters affecting the surface velocity. Model results show that a combination of connected chambers with plastic rheology can explain the recorded slow vertical surface uplift rates of around 1.2 cm/a, as representing a long term background signal. A geodynamic inversion to fit the model to observed GPS surface velocities, reveals that the magnitude of surface uplift varies strongly with the viscosity difference between the chambers and the crust. Even though stress directions have not been used as inversion parameter, modelled stress orientations are consistent with observations. However, phases of larger uplift velocities can also result from magma inflation which is a short term effect. We consider two approaches: 1) overpressure in the magma chamber in the asthenosphere and 2) inflation of the uppermost chamber prescribed by an internal kinematic boundary condition. We demonstrate that the asthenosphere inflation has a smaller effect on the surface velocoties in comparison with the uppermost chamber inflation. We show that the pure buoyant uplift of magma bodies in combination with magma inflation can explain (varying) observed uplift rates at the example of the Yellowstone volcanic system.

Mangrove forests are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. These tropical and subtropical coastal forests provide a wide array of ecosystem services, including the ability to sequester and store large amounts of ‘blue carbon’. Given rising concerns over anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, mangrove forests have been increasingly recognized for their potential in climate change mitigation programs. However, their productivity differs considerably across environments, making it difficult to estimate carbon sequestration potentials at regional scales. Additionally, most research has focused in humid and tropical latitudes, with limited studies in arid and semi-arid regions. A semi-arid mangrove forest in Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico was studied to quantify the average net ecosystem exchange (NEE), determine the annual carbon (C) budget and the environmental controls driving those fluxes. Measurements were taken during 2012-2013 using the eddy covariance technique, with a daily mean NEE of -2.25 ±0.4 g C m-2 d-1 and annual carbon uptake of 894 g C m-2 y-1. Daily variations in NEE were primarily regulated by light, but air temperature and vapor pressure deficit were strong seasonal drivers. Our research demonstrates that despite the harsh and arid climate, the mangroves of Magdalena Bay were nearly as productive as mangroves found in tropical and subtropical climates. These results broaden understanding of the ecosystem services of one of the largest mangrove ecosystems in the Baja California peninsula, and highlight the potential role of arid mangrove ecosystems for C accounting, management and mitigation plans for the region.

Convergent orogens are typically linear with laterally continuous, orogen-parallel folds and thrusts. Over the years, geoscience research has revealed evidence for important orthogonal/cross structures as well as lateral heterogeneity in deformation style, igneous activity, metamorphic grade, geomorphology, and seismic activity. To assess the occurrence, causal mechanisms, and implications of these lateral heterogeneities, a selection of convergent orogens, with different tectonic settings and history are reviewed. The Appalachians, the North American Cordillera, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Zagros, the Andes, and several other belts all exhibit a degree of lateral heterogeneity. Major factors driving the lateral heterogeneity and/or cross structures include the pre-existing deformational history of the cratonic blocks involved, lateral change in lithology of crustal rocks, variations in crustal/lithospheric rheologic properties, or changes in plate kinematics. The Appalachian orogenic front mimics the Iapetan rift margin. Pre-existing basement structures have control on pre- and syn-orogenic sedimentation, which subsequently impacts how an orogenic wedge evolves. A thicker sedimentary column generally evolves into a salient (as opposed to a recess), which is further enhanced by the presence of weak horizons as seen in the Zagros and the Cordillera. Lateral variation in sedimentary facies also creates changes in thrust-ramp geometry. During orogenic contraction, inherited basement structures can be preferentially reactivated based on their orientation. Several cross faults in the Himalayas spatially coincide with orogen-perpendicular, lower plate, basement structures. In a similar way, oceanic subducting plate physiography can also influence deformation in the overriding plate. Along-strike variations in subduction dynamics have been reflected in the Andean deformation. Orogenic extension in the Alps has been accompanied by a system of orogen-parallel strike slip faults and extensional cross faults. It is evident that lateral heterogeneities can form crucial control on the evolution of orogenic belts and can influence seismic rupture patterns, resource occurrence, and landslide-related natural hazards.

The Early Turonian interval represents a unique confluence of climatic and oceanographic conditions including peak surface temperatures, high greenhouse-gas concentrations and maximum Phanerozoic sea level. The susceptibility of this climate mode to short-term forcings such as astronomically paced insolation remains poorly understood partly due to a limited time control and unknown phasing of astronomical cycles in this interval. Here we offer a refined astrochronology of the Early Turonian based on laterally consistent precession signals preserved in offshore strata of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (central Europe). Pristine amplitude modulation verified through interference patterns in depth-frequency plots provides a robust indication of ~100-kyr and 405-kyr eccentricity phases (maxima and minima) that are pinned to ammonite biozones and new carbon-isotope data from two cores. The Early Turonian is estimated as 885 ±46 thousand years (kyr) in duration, with the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary predating the nearest 405-kyr maximum by 81 ±32 kyr. The results support a possible link of the recovery from Oceanic Anoxic Event II to increasing magnitude of seasonal insolation extremes due to rising eccentricity on 405-kyr and million-year (Myr) time scales. Superimposed upon this trend are small-scale carbon-isotope anomalies the pacing of which passes from ~110 kyr, resembling short eccentricity, to ~170-kyr, possibly related to obliquity modulation. The loss of short-eccentricity pacing despite Myr-scale increase in eccentricity amplitudes suggests decoupling of the carbon-cycle perturbations from low-latitude seasonal insolation and involvement of mid- to high-latitude carbon reservoirs.

We examined the effect of land cover on stream discharge in hilly catchment streams during extreme rain events. Three years of rainfall-runoff observations, between January 2014 and December 2016, were collected in eleven neighbouring catchments. Each catchment was dominated by a different land cover, namely natural shola forests, natural grasslands and wattle (Acacia mearnsii). Rain intensities between percentiles 25-90, 90-95 and over 95 were categorised as light, heavy and extreme and were used to study stream discharge responses. Land cover significantly influenced the hydrologic response to extreme rain events. During light rains (< 38 mm/day), grassland dominated catchments showed higher discharge than shola (0.01 mm/s) and wattle (0.004 mm/s). However, during extreme rain events (> 71 mm/day) discharge was significantly higher in wattle dominated catchments when compared to the natural shola (0.033 mm/s) and grasslands (0.023 mm/s). Antecedent moisture conditions played a major role in determining peak flows along with rainfall, catchment shape and drainage density.

Though Venus’s atmospheric conditions and composition have been directly measured, the composition of the Venus lower atmosphere near the surface is generally still poorly known. It was extrapolated from observational data at other altitudes by assuming the constancy of elemental composition without condensation (Krasnopolsky 2007). Both in-situ measurement and remote-sensing observations reveals the most abundant components that exceed the mixing ratio of 10-4 to be CO2, N2, and SO2 (Bezard & de Bergh 2007, JGR 112, E04S07). Water and formation of photochemical H2SO4 — and condensation of cloud-forming H2SO4 — is only important at higher altitudes (Krasnopolsky 2012, Icarus 191, 25). In this work, the balancing of chemical-gravitational-thermal diffusive potentials for the ternary mixture of CO2, N2, and SO2, which represent the neutral Venusian lower atmosphere near the surface, is addressed to obtain the composition grading and to evaluate the tendency toward supercritical density-driven separation of CO2 and N2 (Lebonnois & Schubert 2017, Nat. Geosci. 10, 473). Even though dynamic atmospheric systems, including advective mixing, are more realistic, the static cases evaluated in this work provide stationary states where every dynamic process would eventually proceed to. Hence, our modeling is of a limiting case of the systems of interest, which could help explain some indications of compositional grading. The CRYOCHEM equation of state, which has been successfully applied in describing phase equilibria of Titan’s atmosphere and the surface liquid (Tan & Kargel 2018, Fluid Phase Equilib. 458, 153), as well as that involving solid phases on Pluto’s surface (Tan & Kargel 2018, MNRAS, 474, 4254), is used in this work on the supercritical Venus’s lower atmosphere. In the absence of direct measurement of composition of the lower atmosphere, as well as no lab evidence of CO2 and N2 separation under Venusian surface conditions (Lebonnois et al. 2020, Icarus 338, 113550), the results from this study may at least introduce some new concepts that would entail some tendency for molecular fractionation.

Solid-vapor phase equilibria describe the volatile ices on Pluto’s surface (Tan & Kargel 2018, MNRAS 474, 4254). A simple model of the atmosphere with three components N2/CH4/CO may have solved the long-standing puzzle of the existence of CH4-rich ice in addition to the expected N2-rich ice. An isobaric treatment using CRYOCHEM equation of state naturally results in one solid phase of either ice, which is in equilibrium with the atmosphere, depending on the local temperature variations of Pluto’s surface. CH4-rich ice forms at higher temperatures, while N2-rich ice forms at lower temperatures. A temperature also exists on Pluto where three phases coexist, including vapor in equilibrium with two ices, and where the ices can switch from one type to the other upon cooling or warming. Our model relies on fundamental physics-based thermodynamics, and it explains New Horizons observations of the distributions of these ices, as presented by Bertrand et al. (Nat. Commun. 2020, 11, 1), without invoking a vertically distributed atmospheric CH4 that has not been verified with observation. As observed by New Horizons, Pluto’s surface has valley networks and channels, perhaps resulting from either fluvial (Moore et al. 2016, Science 351, 1284) or glacial (Howard et al. 2017, Icarus 287, 287; Umurhan et al. 2017, Icarus 287, 301) mechanisms, or both, at the present or in the past. Considering the present freezing condition on the surface, if the mechanisms are still in action, they must occur under the surface. Therefore, it is of great interest to know the phase equilibria involving the ices and liquid at conditions that may exist underground. Similar to the treatment of the surface ices, this work also applies CRYOCHEM to describe the phase equilibria that progress through depth as the temperature and pressure increase. The fate of the ices can be determined by examining the resulting phase diagrams at conditions at different depths, specifically the appearance of a liquid phase.

Optical televiewer borehole logging within a crevassed region of fast-moving Store Glacier, Greenland, revealed the presence of 35 high-angle planes that cut across the background primary stratification. These planes were composed of a bubble-free layer of refrozen ice, most of which hosted thin laminae of bubble-rich ‘last frozen’ ice, consistent with the planes being the traces of former open crevasses. Several such last-frozen laminae were observed in four traces, suggesting multiple episodes of crevasse reactivation. The frequency of crevasse traces generally decreased with depth, with the deepest detectable trace being 265 m below the surface. This is consistent with the extent of the warmer-than-modelled englacial ice layer in the area, which extends from the surface to a depth of ~400 m. Crevasse trace orientation was strongly clustered around a dip of 63° and a strike that was offset by 71° from orthogonal to the local direction of principal extending strain. The traces’ antecedent crevasses were therefore interpreted to have originated upglacier, probably ~8 km distant involving mixed-mode (I and III) formation. We conclude that deep crevassing is pervasive across Store Glacier, and therefore also at all dynamically similar outlet glaciers. Once healed, their traces represent planes of weakness subject to reactivation during their subsequent advection through the glacier. Given their depth, it is highly likely that such traces - particularly those formed downglacier - survive surface ablation to reach the glacier terminus, where they may represent foci for fracture and iceberg calving.

The TRACMIP ensemble includes slab-ocean aquaplanet control simulations and experiments with a highly idealized narrow tropical continent (0-45ºW; 30ºS - 30ºN). We compare the two setups to contrast the characteristics of oceanic and continental rain bands and investigate monsoon development in GCMs with CMIP5-class dynamics and physics. Over land, the rainy season occurs close to the time of maximum insolation. Other than in its timing, the continental rain band remains in an ITCZ-like regime akin deep-tropical monsoons, with a smooth latitudinal transition, a poleward reach only slightly farther than the oceanic ITCZ’s (about 10º), and a constant width throughout the year. This confinement of the monsoon to the deep tropics is the result of a tight coupling between regional rainfall and circulation anomalies: ventilation of the lower troposphere by the anomalous meridional circulation is the main limiting mechanism, while ventilation by the mean westerly jet aloft is secondary. Comparison of two sub-sets of TRACMIP simulations indicates that a low heat capacity determines, to a first degree, both the timing and the strength of the regional solsticial circulation; this lends support to the choice of idealizing land as a thin slab ocean in much theoretical literature on monsoon dynamics. Yet, the timing and strength of the monsoon are modulated by the treatment of evaporation over land, especially when moisture and radiation can interact. This points to the need for a fuller exploration of land characteristics in the hierarchical modeling of the tropical rain bands.

In this study, we assess pan-Arctic and regional seasonal sea ice forecast skill in versions 1 and 2 of the Canadian Seasonal to Inter-annual Prediction System (CanSIPSv1 and CanSIPSv2) dynamical seasonal prediction systems. Each version applies a multi-model ensemble approach using two coupled general circulation models. CanSIPSv2 features a new model formulation (where one of the underlying models, CanCM3, was replaced with GEM-NEMO) and improved sea ice initialization. We show that the modifications made in the development of CanSIPSv2 substantially enhance forecast skill. For example, the lead time for skillful forecasts of detrended pan-Arctic September sea ice area increases from three months in CanSIPSv1 to seven months in CanSIPSv2. We also show that forecasts of detrended winter sea ice area are improved, with CanSIPSv2 producing skillful forecasts for all considered lead times (up to 11 months) for December, January, and February. We find that improvements in pan-Arctic forecast skill are due primarily to improved initialization methods.Further, a potential predictability experiment is conducted for one of the two CANSIPSv2 models, CanCM4, in order to establish – in conjunction with similar studies – the potential to further increase forecast skill with improved models, observations and initialization methods.

Europa Clipper will arrive at Jupiter at the end of this decade and will explore Europa through a series of flybys. One of its many goals is to characterize Europa’s topography and global shape using the EIS and REASON instruments. In addition, Europa Clipper’s UV Spectrograph will observe stars pass behind (be occulted by) Europa. The spectrograph has sufficiently precise timing, corresponding to a topographic precision of order meters, that these occultations can also serve as altimetric measurements. Because of gaps in the REASON radar altimeter coverage imposed by the flyby geometries, the addition of ~100 occultations results in a substantial improvement in the recovery of Europa’s long-wavelength shape. Typically five extra spherical harmonic degrees of topography can be recovered by combining occultations with radar altimetry.

Concerns about water security often inform climate risk-related decisions made by environmentally focused investors (Porritt, 2001; Stern, 2006). Yet, potential liabilities for damage caused by extreme flood and drought events linked to global warming present risks that are not always reflected in share prices (Krosinsky et al., 2012). Considering the highly destructive nature of such events, we query whether companies, or specific sectors, could and should be held at least partially liable for their emission-releasing business activities. Recent articles (Rayer & Millar, 2018; Rayer et al., 2020) estimate that under a hypothetical climate liability regime, North Atlantic hurricane seasons might increasingly generate 1-2% losses on market capitalizations (or share prices) for the top seven carbon-emitting, publicly listed companies. In this paper, we extend the concept of the climate liability regime to estimate the impact of global flood- and drought-related damages on the share prices of nine fossil-fuel firms (including the seven mentioned by Rayer et al. (2020)). Following Rayer et al. (2020), we use incremental climate impacts and historical corporate emissions to estimate that climate change-related global flood and drought damages for the period of 2012 to 2016 amount to approximately 2-3% of the top nine carbon-emitting companies’ market capitalizations. We also include a discussion of moral responsibility and the proportion of obligations between producers and users. Quantifying impacts from extreme weather events increases salience and serves as an example of how science can identify and address the important business questions, pertinent to both investors and companies, that arise from a changing climate. References Krosinsky, C., Robins, N., & Viederman, S. (2012). Evolutions in sustainable investing. John Wiley & Sons. Porritt, J. (2001). The world in context. HRH The Prince of Wales’ Business and the Environment Programme, Cambridge. Rayer, Q. G., & Millar, R. J. (2018). Investing in Extreme Weather Conditions. Citywire Wealth Manager®, (429) 36. Rayer, Q., Pfleiderer, P., & Haustein, K. (2020). Global Warming and Extreme Weather Investment Risks. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38858-4_3 Stern, N. (2006). Stern Review executive summary. London.

By injecting SO2 into the stratosphere at four latitudes (30°, 15° N/S), it might be possible not only to reduce global mean surface temperature but also to minimize changes in the equator-to-pole and inter-hemispheric gradients of temperature, further reducing some of the impacts arising from climate change relative to equatorial injection. This can happen only if the aerosols are transported to higher latitudes by the stratospheric circulation, ensuring that a greater part of the solar radiation is reflected back to space at higher latitudes, compensating for the reduced sunlight. However, the stratospheric heating produced by these aerosols modifies the circulation and strengthens the stratospheric polar vortex which acts as a barrier to the transport of air toward the poles. We show how the heating results in a feedback where increasing injection rates lead to stronger high-latitudinal transport barriers. This implies a potential limitation in the high-latitude aerosol burden and subsequent cooling.

Pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) are fire-triggered or fire-augmented thunderstorms and can by transporting a large amount of smoke particles into the lower stratosphere. With satellite remote sensing measurements, the plumes from pyroCb events over British Columbia in 2017 were observed in the lower stratosphere for about 8-10 months after the smoke injections. Several previous studies used global climate models to investigate the physical parameters for the 2017 pyroCb events, but the conclusions show strong model dependency. In this study, we use Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) atmosphere model version 1 (EAMv1) and complete an ensemble of runs exploring three injection parameters: smoke amount, the ratio of black carbon to smoke, and injection height. Additionally, we consider the heterogeneous reaction of ozone and primary organic matter. According to the satellite daily observed aerosol optical depth, we find that the best ensemble member is the simulation with 0.4 Tg of smoke, 3% of which is black carbon, a 13.5 km smoke injection height, and a 10-5 probability factor of the heterogeneous reaction of ozone and primary organic matter. We use the Random Forest machine learning technique to quantify the relative importance of each parameter in accurately simulating the 2017 pyroCb events and find that the injection height is the most critical feature. Due to the long lifetime and wide transport of stratospheric aerosols, the estimated e-folding time of smoke aerosols in the stratosphere is about 188 days, and the global averaged shortwave surface cooling is -0.292 W m-2 for about 10 months.

This paper analyzes the effects of pore pressure rate for a spring - block system that is a simple model of a laboratory experiment. Pore pressure is increased at a constant rate in a remote reservoir and slip is governed by rate and state friction. The frequency of rapid slip events increases with the increase of a nondimensional pressure rate that is the ratio of the time scale of frictional sliding to that for pressure increase. As the pressure rate increases, the more rapid increase of pore pressure on the slip surface quickly stabilizes slip events due to rate and state friction. Rate and state and pressure rate effects interact in a limited range of pressure rate and diffusivity. This range includes pressure rates and diffusivities representative of recent laboratory experiments.

Coastal wetlands store significant amounts of carbon through sequestration. Salt marshes are also known to harbour high densities of crabs, which increase the sediment-atmosphere exchange interface through their burrowing behaviour. We hypothesized that this additional and reactive interface area could mediate gas exchange and, ultimately, could influence carbon sequestration. CO fluxes were measured over patches characterized by different densities of fiddler crab, , burrows within a natural salt marsh located on the coast of Massachusetts (USA). Even accounting for the importance of ecological factors such as differences in organic matter content of the soil and presence of , we demonstrated that CO release increased if local crab burrow density is considered. The increase in vertical CO fluxes linked to burrow density was higher for the non-vegetated areas with respect to patches. By means of burrow casting and morphological analyses of the burrows, we could relate this difference in COfluxes to structural differences of the burrows themselves, which were larger and deeper in the non-vegetated areas. Our results strongly emphasize the importance of including the faunal component, and specifically the dominant burrowing species, in carbon budget assessments for vegetated coastal habitats. This study also emphasizes the critical role of community-scale factors within the salt marsh, which are often overlooked, for large scale carbon budget assessments.

Ganymede is the only Solar System moon known to generate a permanent magnetic field. Jovian plasma motions around Ganymede create an upstream magnetopause, where energy flows are thought to be driven by magnetic reconnection. Simulations indicate Ganymedean reconnection events may be transient, but the nature of magnetopause reconnection at Ganymede remains poorly understood, requiring an assessment of reconnection onset theory. We present an analytical model of steady-state conditions at Ganymede’s magnetopause, from which the first Ganymedean reconnection onset assessment is conducted. We find that reconnection may occur wherever Ganymede’s closed magnetic field encounters Jupiter’s ambient magnetic field, regardless of variations in magnetopause conditions. Unrestricted reconnection onset highlights possibilities for multiple X-lines or widespread transient reconnection at Ganymede. The reconnection rate is controlled by the ambient Jovian field orientation and hence driven by Jupiter’s rotation. Future progress on this topic is highly relevant for the JUpiter ICy moon Explorer (JUICE) mission.

Distributed-style volcanism is an end member of terrestrial volcanism that produces clusters of small volcanoes when isolated magma bodies ascend from broad magma source regions. Volcano clusters can develop over millions of years, one volcano at a time, and can be used to infer unobserved geologic phenomena, including subsurface stresses and cracks during eruption periods. The Tharsis Volcanic Province covers approximately one-quarter of the martian surface and hosts a large concentration of small volcanoes that formed from distributed volcanism. We present a catalog of 1106 small volcanic vents identified within Tharsis Volcanic Province. This catalog includes morphologic measurements for each cataloged vent. Vent lengths range from 71 m to 51 km, widths range from 40 m to 3.1 km, and 90% of vents have lengths at least 1.5 times their widths. Additionally, 90% of edifices associated with vents have topographic prominences <100 m. Vents are found throughout Tharsis, though they generally form clusters near large volcanoes or among large graben sets. Older regions with volcanic eruption ages of >1 Ga are found at the Tharsis periphery in the Tempe-Mareotis region and Syria Planum. Vents in the Tharsis interior have reported ages <500 Ma. Regional trends in vent orientation and intervent alignment are dependent on nearby central volcanoes and fossae. We use these findings to hypothesize that within the most recent 500 Ma, magma was present under and to the east of the Tharsis Montes and that some of this magma erupted and built hundreds of small volcanoes in this region.

Declaration (Stauning, 2022) on “invalid PCS index” is based on the following arguments: PCS index is calculated with use of incorrect “unified” PC derivation method; PCS index used in analyses is a preliminary index, which was not approved by IAGA and, therefore, it cannot be regarded as a correct index; PCN and PCS indices demonstrate, intermittently, large difference in value, which should be treated as evidence of the PCS index invalidity. The paper presents comments to these arguments. Conclusion is made that criticism of the PCS index, presented in Stauning (2022), is based on groundless arguments.