Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Environmental Sciences
Global deep learning model for delineation of optically shallow and optically deep water in Sentinel-2 imagery
Published: 2025-10-14
Subjects: Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
In aquatic remote sensing, algorithms commonly used to map environmental variables rely on assumptions regarding the optical environment. Specifically, some algorithms assume that the water is optically deep, i.e., that the influence of bottom reflectance on the measured signal is negligible. Other algorithms assume the opposite and are based on an estimation of the bottom-reflected part of the [...]
Vector Graphics-Based Geospatial Contour Maps: A Web-Native Interactive Approach for Modern Geospatial Data Science Applications
Published: 2025-10-13
Subjects: Computer Engineering, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces
Visualizing scalar fields (e.g., temperature, precipitation etc.) on the web is often done via pre‑rendered raster tiles. While simple to serve and fast to access, rasters limit interactivity (feature picking, dynamic styling) and typically require heavy pre‑generation pipelines. Raster tiles remain the dominant method for web-based scalar field visualization, but they are storage-heavy and [...]
Dense neural network outperforms other machine learning models for scaling-up lichen cover maps in Eastern Canada
Published: 2025-10-12
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability
Lichen mapping is vital for caribou management plans and sustainable land conservation. Previous studies have used random forest, dense neural network, and convolutional neural network models for mapping lichen coverage. However, to date, it is not clear how these models rank in this task. In this study, these machine learning models were evaluated on their ability to predict lichen percent [...]
A Field Study on Background Radiation Variability with Elevation in Eastern Nepal
Published: 2025-10-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics
This research investigates how environmental radioactivity varies with altitude in the diverse landscapes of Eastern Nepal. Employing two calibrated Geiger–Müller (GM) counters, background radiation was recorded as counts per minute (cpm) across selected sites in the districts of Dhankuta, Panchthar, Taplejung, and Ilam. Data were geo- referenced using GPS to correlate radiation levels with [...]
Accessible Climate and Impact Model Output for Studying the Human and Environmental Impacts of Nuclear Conflict
Published: 2025-10-03
Subjects: Agriculture, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
Nuclear winter refers to the suite of physical and biological consequences that may follow nuclear conflict, particularly the cooling and darkening of Earth’s surface due to black carbon soot in the upper atmosphere. While the associated changes in temperature, precipitation, and food system productivity have been the subject of climate modeling for decades, the outputs of models used to project [...]
Rapid increase of climate extremes across northern Amazonia
Published: 2025-10-02
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Amazonia’s exceptional biodiversity, cultural significance, and ecosystem services make it pivotal to global and regional sustainability. However, the region is increasingly threatened by climate extremes, which exacerbate the effects of land use change (Barlow et al., 2018) and bring about abrupt changes in social and ecological condition (Bennett et al., 2023; Berenguer et al., 2021; Campanharo [...]
Detection of Point-Source Methane Enhancements from MethaneSAT Observations with Target-Driven Spectral Matching Algorithm
Published: 2025-09-29
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with large emissions often arising from localized point sources in industrial facilities. MethaneSAT, launched in 2024, observes the 1598-1683 nm band with sub-nanometer resolution and 100 m × 400 m footprints, enabling sensitive detection of methane absorption. We introduce an updated matched filter (BCMF) with covariance exclusion and a statistical correction [...]
Satellite-Derived Approaches for Coal Mine Methane Estimation: A Re-view
Published: 2025-09-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Methane emissions from coal mines, especially surface operations, are spatially diffuse, presenting signif-icant challenges for accurate quantification. Satellites such as TROPOMI, GHGSat, PRISMA, Gaofen-5, and GOSAT have been extensively used for detecting methane emissions at various scales, from individual point sources to regional and global assessments. Despite various advancements, methane [...]
Paleoecology indicates wave climate as key factor in coral reef development
Published: 2025-09-24
Subjects: Climate, Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Stratigraphy
The Last Interglacial (∼125,000 years ago) experienced global temperatures warmer than today, making it a natural analog for future climate scenarios. Contemporary coral reefs preserve ecological signals that offer valuable insights into past climate dynamics. Here, we examine the fossil reefs of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao to reconstruct wind and wave conditions during this period. While modern [...]
The implications of overshooting 1.5°C on Earth system tipping elements - a review
Published: 2025-09-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Other Earth Sciences, Other Planetary Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Sciences, Sustainability
Due to insufficient emission reductions in recent years, it is increasingly likely that global warming will exceed the 1.5 °C temperature limit in the coming decades. As a result, several Earth system tipping elements could, at least temporarily, have their tipping points surpassed, posing risks of large-scale and profound structural change. Tipping does not always occur immediately upon crossing [...]
Stream acidification and metal mobilization linked to permafrost degradation
Published: 2025-09-11
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
We document rapid, climate-driven intensification of sulfide-mineral oxidation in permafrost-underlain headwater catchments of the Yukon and Mackenzie river basins—the two largest (sub)Arctic rivers in North America. Over the past decade, acidic (pH ~3) seepages have appeared in these headwaters that mobilize metals at acutely toxic concentrations and degrade water quality and chemistry in [...]
Strategic crop relocation could substantially mitigate nuclear winter yield losses
Published: 2025-09-11
Subjects: Agriculture, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Food Science
Nuclear war could inject millions of tonnes of soot into the stratosphere, cooling the Earth and devastating crop yields. We assess crop relocation—switching which crops are grown where—as an adaptation strategy. Using the Mink crop model, we simulate six major crops under three nuclear winter scenarios (16, 47, and 150 Tg of soot). Without adaptation, global caloric production falls 23%, 53%, [...]
The Largest Crop Production Shocks: Magnitude, Causes and Frequency
Published: 2025-09-04
Subjects: Agricultural Science, Agriculture, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Food Science, Risk Analysis
Food is the foundation of our society. We often take it for granted, but stocks are rarely available for longer than a year, and food production can be disrupted by catastrophic events, both locally and globally. To highlight such major risks to the food system, we analyzed FAO crop production data from 1961 to 2023 to find the largest crop production shock for every country and identify its [...]
A Quantitative Analysis of Light Pollution in Gurgaon and a Deepened Understanding of its Impacts
Published: 2025-09-03
Subjects: Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences
Light pollution is an emerging environmental and health challenge in rapidly urbanizing Indian cities. This study quantifies night-sky brightness across Gurgaon using a low-cost, Arduino-based Sky Quality Meter (SQM) and integrates these measurements with perception surveys from 91 residents. A total of 62 ground-based data points were collected, revealing distinct spatial variations: highly [...]
Some new Models of Earth’s Temperature Anomaly across various Epochs Predicting Present Warming with Ice Age Validity Testing and a Data set Bias examination.
Published: 2025-08-31
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The need for methods to assess earth’s temperature anomaly are briefly discussed together with shortcomings of existing climate models. The geomagnetic or Pole shift method of climate sensitivity is briefly reviewed. The hypothesis that the previous two warm periods shared a common driver is tested and proven. Granger causality tests have been made and indicate that Pole Shift is the driver of [...]