Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Environmental Sciences
Nutrient concentrations and nitrogen speciation in tropical watersheds of central Panama
Published: 2023-07-13
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
We present chemical analyses from rivers and streams in five partly to near-fully forested watersheds in the humid tropics of central Panama. Contrary to the situation observed for temperate watersheds in the Northern Hemisphere, the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the Panamanian watersheds is low (mostly <2.6 µmol L-1), whereas concentrations of organic nitrogen are several [...]
Data Cubes for Earth System Research: Challenges Ahead
Published: 2023-07-11
Subjects: Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Progress in Earth system science is accelerating rapidly, due to the increasing availability of multivariate datasets, often global, with moderate to high spatio-temporal resolutions. Turning these data into knowledge presents interoperability, technical, analytical, and other challenges. Earth System Data Cubes (ESDCs) have surfaced as essential tools, offering analysis-ready, cloud-optimised [...]
Spatio–temporal trends of air quality, Kampala City, Uganda, 2020–2022
Published: 2023-07-05
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is among the health damaging air pollutants that pose health risks to humans, with levels >15 µg/m3 being associated with adverse health effects. PM2.5 has been recommended as the best measure of air quality. Cities are more prone to poor air quality compared to non–urban areas. We assessed the spatio–temporal trends in air quality in Kampala City during January [...]
Mountains of plastic: Mismanaged plastic waste along the Carpathian watercourses
Published: 2023-07-05
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Plastic waste poses numerous risks to mountain river ecosystems due to their high biodiversity and specific physical characteristics. Here, we provide a baseline assessment for future evaluation of such risks in the Carpathians, one of the most biodiverse mountain ranges in East-Central Europe. We used high-resolution river network and mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) databases to map MPW along the [...]
OpenStreetMap for Multi-Faceted Climate Risk Assessments
Published: 2023-06-29
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Geographic Information Sciences, Risk Analysis
Natural hazards pose significant risks to human lives, infrastructure, and ecosystems, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of climate risks for effective adaptation planning and risk management. However, climate risk assessments mostly focus on economic asset values and infrastructures such as roads and buildings, because publicly available data on more diverse exposures are scarce. The [...]
Global protection from tropical cyclones by coastal ecosystems - past, present, and under climate change
Published: 2023-06-27
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Nature and Society Relations, Risk Analysis
Coastal ecosystems have the potential to contribute to disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change. While previous studies have estimated the value of current coastal ecosystems for reducing coastal risk, there have been relatively few studies that look at changes in ecosystem service provision, in the past and under climate change. We employ the probabilistic, event-based CLIMADA [...]
Decoding the Dynamics of Climate Change Impact: Temporal Patterns of Surface Warming and Melting on the Nivlisen Ice Shelf, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Surface melting in Antarctica can result in the formation of meltwater ponds and streams, which can encourage glacier basal sliding and ice flow; long-term severe surface melting can result in the formation of melt ponds and, eventually, supraglacial lakes (SGLs), raising the prospect of hydrofracturing. Measurements of these surface melting characteristics are useful for studying glacier and ice [...]
GIS-Based Modelling of Soil Erosion Risk categories County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Published: 2023-06-08
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Soil erosion is one of the major global concerns. Such a process can occur naturally, at different rates. However, under extreme conditions, soil erosion can accelerate and present a risk to ecosystems, loss of food supply (loss of agricultural lands), and lead to episodic landslides. The present study employs Geographic Information Systems and functions to predict possible risks connected to [...]
Is Snow Drought a Messenger for the Upcoming Severe Drought Period? A Case Study in the Upper Mississippi River Basin
Published: 2023-06-04
Subjects: Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Water Resource Management
The exacerbation of floods and the extension of droughts, attributed to climate change and other human-induced factors, are posing a substantial risk to communities by causing water scarcity and insecurity. The significance of safeguarding water resources and managing them is increasingly gaining prominence. Snow is an efficient source of water for recharging groundwater compared to rainfall. [...]
A city-wide emissions inventory of plastic pollution
Published: 2023-06-03
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
A global agreement on plastic should have quantitative reduction targets for emissions of plastic pollution and regular measurements to track success. Here, we present a framework for measuring plastic emissions, akin to greenhouse gas emissions, and demonstrate its utility by calculating a baseline measurement for the city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. We identify relevant sources of plastic [...]
California margin temperatures modulate regional circulation and extreme summer precipitation in the desert Southwest
Published: 2023-06-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
In August 2022, Death Valley, the driest place in North America, experienced record flooding from summertime rainfall associated with the North American monsoon (NAM). Given the socioeconomic cost of these type of events, there is a dire need to understand their drivers and future statistics. Existing theory predicts that increases in the intensity of precipitation is a robust response to [...]
Listening to Manchester: Using citizen science Raspberry Shake seismometers to quantify road traffic
Published: 2023-05-31
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Environmental Public Health, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Human Geography
Road traffic is a major contributor to greenhouse gases in our cities. This study has been designed to test whether low-cost citizen science seismometers (Raspberry Shakes) can be used to quantify temporal and spatial variations in road traffic. I used a network of seismometers installed around Greater Manchester to record signals in the frequency range 1-50 Hz. Data were processed using the open [...]
Impacts of Carbonate Buffering on Atmospheric Equilibration of CO2, δ13CDIC, and Δ14CDIC in Rivers and Streams
Published: 2023-05-28
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology
Rivers and streams play an important role within the global carbon cycle, in part through emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere. However, the sources of this CO2 and their spatiotemporal variability are difficult to constrain. Recent work has highlighted the role of carbonate buffering reactions that may serve as a source of CO2 in high alkalinity systems. In this study, we seek to develop a [...]
Maxar’s WorldView-3 Enables Low-Concentration Methane Detection from Space
Published: 2023-05-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
Methane is large contributor to climate change; for this reason, detecting and eliminating sources of methane emissions is a key element to minimizing the effects of on-going climate change. While there are a variety of methods currently used to detect methane emissions, ranging from ground-based sensors to aerial sensors like drones and aircraft, satellite detections provide a broad-area [...]
GOES-R land surface products at Western Hemisphere eddy covariance tower locations
Published: 2023-05-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
The terrestrial carbon cycle varies dynamically over short periods that can be difficult to observe. Geostationary (“weather”) satellites like the Geostationary Environmental Operational Satellite - R Series (GOES-R) deliver near-hemispheric imagery at a ten-minute cadence, and its Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) measures visible and near-infrared spectral bands that can be used to estimate land [...]