Preprints
There are 5932 Preprints listed.
Arctic soil patterns analogous to fluid instabilities
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Slow-moving arctic soils commonly organize into striking large-scale spatial patterns called solifluction terraces and lobes. Though these features impact hillslope stability, carbon storage and release, and landscape response to climate change, no mechanistic explanation exists for their formation. Everyday fluids—such as paint dripping down walls—produce markedly similar fingering patterns [...]
High precision estimation of modeled aerosol direct radiative forcing
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Aerosol radiative forcing can be difficult to quantify both accurately and precisely in global climate models. Long climate model integrations are often required and levels of statistical uncertainty can be substantial for some of the diagnostic methods and diagnosed forcings. Instantaneous estimates of sulfate aerosol direct radiative forcings in the present-day climate are compared to forcings [...]
Carbon dioxide removal through enhanced weathering of basalt on agricultural land –Assessing the potential in Austria
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Enhanced weathering through basalt application on agricultural land represents a proposed strategy for the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It has been shown that enhanced weathering is principally feasible on a global scale, but it remains unclear whether it can be implemented on a local level. This information is however vital, to evaluate, if enhanced weathering should be further [...]
New Technologies can Cost-effectively Reduce Oil and Gas Methane Emissions, but Policies will Require Careful Design to Establish Mitigation Equivalence
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Oil, Gas, and Energy
Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas systems is a central component of US and international climate policy. Leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs using optical gas imaging (OGI) based surveys are routinely used to mitigate fugitive emissions or leaks. Recently, new technologies and platforms such as planes, drones, and satellites promise more cost-effective methane mitigation than [...]
Cosmic Relationships: Comets, Human Behavior and New Discoveries on Easter Island
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Other Astrophysics and Astronomy, Other Earth Sciences
Humans have recorded celestial events for as long as we have been able to draw and write. Pictographs, petroglyphs and even standing stones mark moments in time on the landscape to remember changing seasons and repeating cycles. Some merge together to form cosmic relationships where great civilization collapse is ushered in by a supernova and stamped onto a rock with a hand print. This historical [...]
An idealized 1.5-layer isentropic model with convection and precipitation for satellite data assimilation research. Part II: model derivation
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
In this part II paper we present the analytical derivation of the isentropic 1.5-layer shallow water model described and used in part I of this study. The mathematical derivation presented here is based on a combined asymptotic and slaved Hamiltonian analysis. The scaling assumptions throughout the paper are supported by real observations based on radiosonde data. Eventually, a fully consistent [...]
An idealized 1.5-layer isentropic model with convection and precipitationfor satellite data assimilation research. Part I: model dynamics
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
An isentropic 1.5-layer model based on modified shallow water equations is presented, including terms mimicking convection and precipitation. This model is an updated version of the isopycnal single-layer modified shallow water model presented in Kent et al. (2017). The clearer link between fluid temperature and model variables together with a double-layer structure make this revised, isentropic [...]
Evidence confirms an anthropic origin of Amazonian Dark Earths
Published: 2021-01-22
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Soil Science
First described over 120 years ago in Brazil, Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are expanses of dark soil that are exceptionally fertile and contain large quantities of archaeological artefacts. The elevated fertility of the dark and often deep A horizon of ADEs is widely regarded as an outcome of pre-Columbian human influence. Controversially, in their recent paper Silva et al.2argue that the higher [...]
Further improvement of warming-equivalent emissions calculation
Published: 2021-01-21
Subjects: Climate
GWP* was recently proposed1 as a simple metric for calculating warming-equivalent emissions by equating a change in the rate of emission of a short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) to a pulse emission of carbon-dioxide. Other metrics aiming to account for the time-dependent impact of SLCP emissions, such as CGWP, have also been proposed2. In 2019 an improvement to GWP* was proposed by Cain et al3, [...]
Decrease in air-sea CO2 fluxes caused by persistent marine heatwaves
Published: 2021-01-21
Subjects: Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
Regional processes play a key role in the global carbon budget. Major ocean carbon uptake at mid-latitudes counteracts carbon release in the tropics, which is modulated by episodes of marine heatwaves (MHWs). Yet, we lack essential knowledge on persistent MHWs (PMHWs), and their effect on the carbon sensitive areas. Here, based on a 1985-2017 joint analysis of reconstructions, ocean reanalysis, [...]
Analysis of off-site economic costs induced by runoff and soil erosion: example of two areas in the northwestern European loess belt for the last two decades (Normandy, France)
Published: 2021-01-21
Subjects: Physical and Environmental Geography
While soil erosion and runoff physical aspects are widely addressed in the literature, few studies have focused on the economical dimension. However, it is essential to consider this dimension to conduct appropriate land use management policies. Erosion and runoff are known to result into on-site and off-site impacts. A fully exhaustive analysis of erosion and runoff economic costs may be [...]
Regional disparities and seasonal differences in climate risk to rice labour
Published: 2021-01-21
Subjects: Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment
The 880 million agricultural workers of the world are especially vulnerable to increasing heat stress due to climate change, affecting the health of individuals and reducing labour productivity. In this study, we focus on rice harvests across Asia and estimate the future impact on labour productivity by considering changes in climate at the time of the annual harvest. During these specific times [...]
Data-Driven Inference of the Mechanics of Slip Along Glacier Beds Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks: Case study on Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctica
Published: 2021-01-19
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Reliable projections of sea-level rise depend on accurate representations of how fast-flowing glaciers slip along their beds. The mechanics of slip are often parameterized as a constitutive relation (or `sliding law') whose proper form remains uncertain. Here, we present a novel deep learning-based framework for learning the time evolution of drag at glacier beds from time-dependent ice velocity [...]
The building blocks of igneous sheet intrusions: insights from 3D seismic reflection data
Published: 2021-01-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
The propagating margins of igneous sills (and other sheet intrusions) may divide into laterally and/or vertically separated sections, which later inflate and coalesce. These components elongate parallel to and thus record the magma flow direction, and can form either due to fracture segmentation (i.e., ‘segments’) or brittle and/or non-brittle deformation of the host rock (i.e., ‘magma fingers’). [...]
Earthquake-triggered landslide susceptibility in Italy by means of Artificial Neural Network
Published: 2021-01-18
Subjects: Geomorphology
The use of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approaches has gained a significant role over the last decade in the field of predicting the distribution of effects triggered by natural forcing, this being particularly relevant for the development of adequate risk mitigation strategies. Among the most critical features of these approaches, there are the accurate geolocation of the available data as [...]