Pub Date : 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1038/s43017-026-00758-2
Alice J. Twomey, Hannah Hatcher
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment interviewed Alice Twomey about their project investigating how mangroves recover after tropical storms.
《自然评论:地球与环境》采访了Alice Twomey关于他们调查热带风暴后红树林如何恢复的项目。
{"title":"Coastal protection via sediment accretion in mangrove ecosystems","authors":"Alice J. Twomey, Hannah Hatcher","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00758-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00758-2","url":null,"abstract":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment interviewed Alice Twomey about their project investigating how mangroves recover after tropical storms.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 2","pages":"83-83"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146162906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1038/s43017-026-00759-1
Yanwei Cong
Yangwei Cong describes how drone docking stations can improve the coverage and efficacy of phenological monitoring in forests.
丛阳伟介绍了无人机对接站如何提高森林物候监测的覆盖率和效率。
{"title":"Drone docks for automated forest phenology monitoring","authors":"Yanwei Cong","doi":"10.1038/s43017-026-00759-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-026-00759-1","url":null,"abstract":"Yangwei Cong describes how drone docking stations can improve the coverage and efficacy of phenological monitoring in forests.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 2","pages":"85-85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146162907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-06DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00754-y
Saffron O’Neill, Clare Davis
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment interviewed Professor Saffron O’Neill about their project investigating the visual communication of heatwaves in the news media.
{"title":"Changing the heatwave visual discourse in the news media","authors":"Saffron O’Neill, Clare Davis","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00754-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00754-y","url":null,"abstract":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment interviewed Professor Saffron O’Neill about their project investigating the visual communication of heatwaves in the news media.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 1","pages":"4-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145958193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00742-2
Belén Rodríguez-Fonseca, Elena Calvo-Miguélez, Lucia Montoya-Carramolino, Regina R. Rodrigues, Irene Polo, Marta Martín-Rey, Teresa Losada, Jorge López-Parages, Iñigo Gómara, David Rivas, Filippa Fransner, Eleftheria Exarchou, Noel Keenlyside, Arnaud Bertrand, Lynne Shannon, Louise Gammage, Francisco Ramírez, Camila Artana, Jose Carlos Sánchez-Garrido, Emilia Sánchez-Gómez, Marie Pierre Moine, Raffaele Bernardello, Jeroen Steenbeek, Marta Coll, Verónica Martín-Gómez, Joke Lübbecke, Moacyr Araujo, Peter Brandt, Jörn O. Schmidt, Hans Sloterdijk, Ronaldo Angelini, Rodrigue Anicet Imbol Koungue, Khady Diouf, Shunya Koseki, Elaine McDonagh, Elsa Mohino, Jose Muelbert, Siny Ndoye, Hyacinth Nnamchi, Juliano Ramanantsoa, Mathieu Rouault, Ralf Schwamborn, Heino Fock, Marek Ostrowski, Amadou Thierno Gaye, Carlos R. Mechoso, Michael J. McPhaden, Wenju Cai
Tropical and South Atlantic marine ecosystems support fisheries that have vital environmental and socioeconomic importance. In this Review, we outline how the El Niño–Southern Oscillation — a Pacific mode of sea surface temperature variability — influences Atlantic fisheries via teleconnections and cascading linkages between physical, biogeochemical and ecological systems. Connections are driven by tropical pathways (involving changes in atmospheric stability associated with the Walker circulation and tropospheric warming) and extratropical pathways (involving the Pacific–South American and Pacific–North American teleconnection patterns). Depending on the location, these pathways modify rainfall and river discharge, winds and upwelling, or a combination of both, impacting salinity, nutrient availability, primary production and, thus, fish recruitment, biomass and catch. Fishery responses are strongly species dependent, reflecting variations in behaviour between species to environmental factors (such as temperature, oxygen, salinity, habitat and food availability). This regional variability and species dependency, coupled with strong non-stationarity, highlights the complexity of El Niño–Southern Oscillation impacts on Atlantic marine ecosystems. This historical signal is projected to weaken in the future. Enhanced observational systems and refined ecosystem models are urgently needed to enhance predictive capabilities, reduce societal impacts and improve sustainable management in these regions. The influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Atlantic marine systems and fisheries is complex. This Review outlines the mechanisms by which El Niño–Southern Oscillation impacts the tropical and South Atlantic, connecting physical climate perturbations to biogeochemical and ecological responses.
{"title":"ENSO impacts on marine ecosystems and fisheries in the tropical and South Atlantic","authors":"Belén Rodríguez-Fonseca, Elena Calvo-Miguélez, Lucia Montoya-Carramolino, Regina R. Rodrigues, Irene Polo, Marta Martín-Rey, Teresa Losada, Jorge López-Parages, Iñigo Gómara, David Rivas, Filippa Fransner, Eleftheria Exarchou, Noel Keenlyside, Arnaud Bertrand, Lynne Shannon, Louise Gammage, Francisco Ramírez, Camila Artana, Jose Carlos Sánchez-Garrido, Emilia Sánchez-Gómez, Marie Pierre Moine, Raffaele Bernardello, Jeroen Steenbeek, Marta Coll, Verónica Martín-Gómez, Joke Lübbecke, Moacyr Araujo, Peter Brandt, Jörn O. Schmidt, Hans Sloterdijk, Ronaldo Angelini, Rodrigue Anicet Imbol Koungue, Khady Diouf, Shunya Koseki, Elaine McDonagh, Elsa Mohino, Jose Muelbert, Siny Ndoye, Hyacinth Nnamchi, Juliano Ramanantsoa, Mathieu Rouault, Ralf Schwamborn, Heino Fock, Marek Ostrowski, Amadou Thierno Gaye, Carlos R. Mechoso, Michael J. McPhaden, Wenju Cai","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00742-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00742-2","url":null,"abstract":"Tropical and South Atlantic marine ecosystems support fisheries that have vital environmental and socioeconomic importance. In this Review, we outline how the El Niño–Southern Oscillation — a Pacific mode of sea surface temperature variability — influences Atlantic fisheries via teleconnections and cascading linkages between physical, biogeochemical and ecological systems. Connections are driven by tropical pathways (involving changes in atmospheric stability associated with the Walker circulation and tropospheric warming) and extratropical pathways (involving the Pacific–South American and Pacific–North American teleconnection patterns). Depending on the location, these pathways modify rainfall and river discharge, winds and upwelling, or a combination of both, impacting salinity, nutrient availability, primary production and, thus, fish recruitment, biomass and catch. Fishery responses are strongly species dependent, reflecting variations in behaviour between species to environmental factors (such as temperature, oxygen, salinity, habitat and food availability). This regional variability and species dependency, coupled with strong non-stationarity, highlights the complexity of El Niño–Southern Oscillation impacts on Atlantic marine ecosystems. This historical signal is projected to weaken in the future. Enhanced observational systems and refined ecosystem models are urgently needed to enhance predictive capabilities, reduce societal impacts and improve sustainable management in these regions. The influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Atlantic marine systems and fisheries is complex. This Review outlines the mechanisms by which El Niño–Southern Oscillation impacts the tropical and South Atlantic, connecting physical climate perturbations to biogeochemical and ecological responses.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 1","pages":"43-59"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145958188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-17DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00752-0
Samuel Winton, Antaya March
Although the latest round of Global Plastics Treaty negotiations ended without agreement, the process has mobilized research, funding, and public engagement. Rather than waiting for an agreement, governments and communities should sustain momentum and build readiness for a future treaty through coordinated national planning, ambitious policies, and local initiatives.
{"title":"Beyond the Global Plastics Treaty","authors":"Samuel Winton, Antaya March","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00752-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00752-0","url":null,"abstract":"Although the latest round of Global Plastics Treaty negotiations ended without agreement, the process has mobilized research, funding, and public engagement. Rather than waiting for an agreement, governments and communities should sustain momentum and build readiness for a future treaty through coordinated national planning, ambitious policies, and local initiatives.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 2","pages":"81-82"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146162910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00745-z
Lukas Gudmundsson, Manuela I. Brunner, Petra Döll, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Natalia Frolova, Simon N. Gosling, Yukiko Hirabayashi, Maria B. Kireeva, Xiaomang Liu, Hannes Müller Schmied, Dmitriy Magritskiy, Louise J. Slater, Lina Stein, Yves Tramblay, Kaiwen Wang, Conrad Wasko, Dai Yamazaki, Xudong Zhou
Rivers are a vital component of the global water cycle. However, human influence on climate and terrestrial systems is increasingly shaping river flow regimes. In this Review, we summarize the current understanding of past and projected changes in global river flow, focusing on annual volumes, seasonal dynamics and sudden changes. River flow observations reveal distinct regional trends, including increased flows in high-latitude regions and decreased flows in parts of the mid-latitudes and subtropics. Snow-dominated regions in particular show shifts in their seasonal cycle towards earlier flows. These patterns align broadly with historical climate model simulations, suggesting an anthropogenic climate change signal. However, attribution is complicated by the interplay of greenhouse gas emissions, CO2-driven vegetation response, land-use change and water management. Future projections indicate continued change, with certain regions experiencing wetter conditions and others intensified drying. Seasonal changes, particularly those due to altered snow dynamics, are also expected to intensify. Despite modelling and observational advances, uncertainties remain regarding the combined effects of anthropogenic climate change and direct human interventions in terrestrial systems. Closing these gaps requires improved monitoring, advances in modelling and robust attribution frameworks, in support of efficiently managing water resources, sustaining ecosystems and adapting to a changing climate. Human influence on the climate and terrestrial systems is increasingly altering global river flow. This Review discusses past and projected changes in global river flow, with an emphasis on annual volumes, seasonal dynamics and sudden changes in flow dynamics.
{"title":"Past and future change in global river flows","authors":"Lukas Gudmundsson, Manuela I. Brunner, Petra Döll, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Natalia Frolova, Simon N. Gosling, Yukiko Hirabayashi, Maria B. Kireeva, Xiaomang Liu, Hannes Müller Schmied, Dmitriy Magritskiy, Louise J. Slater, Lina Stein, Yves Tramblay, Kaiwen Wang, Conrad Wasko, Dai Yamazaki, Xudong Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00745-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00745-z","url":null,"abstract":"Rivers are a vital component of the global water cycle. However, human influence on climate and terrestrial systems is increasingly shaping river flow regimes. In this Review, we summarize the current understanding of past and projected changes in global river flow, focusing on annual volumes, seasonal dynamics and sudden changes. River flow observations reveal distinct regional trends, including increased flows in high-latitude regions and decreased flows in parts of the mid-latitudes and subtropics. Snow-dominated regions in particular show shifts in their seasonal cycle towards earlier flows. These patterns align broadly with historical climate model simulations, suggesting an anthropogenic climate change signal. However, attribution is complicated by the interplay of greenhouse gas emissions, CO2-driven vegetation response, land-use change and water management. Future projections indicate continued change, with certain regions experiencing wetter conditions and others intensified drying. Seasonal changes, particularly those due to altered snow dynamics, are also expected to intensify. Despite modelling and observational advances, uncertainties remain regarding the combined effects of anthropogenic climate change and direct human interventions in terrestrial systems. Closing these gaps requires improved monitoring, advances in modelling and robust attribution frameworks, in support of efficiently managing water resources, sustaining ecosystems and adapting to a changing climate. Human influence on the climate and terrestrial systems is increasingly altering global river flow. This Review discusses past and projected changes in global river flow, with an emphasis on annual volumes, seasonal dynamics and sudden changes in flow dynamics.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 1","pages":"7-23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145958190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-15DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00753-z
Qian Zhang, Robert M. Hirsch, Laura A. DeCicco, Jennifer C. Murphy
As water-quality challenges intensify, the widely used Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method offers an adaptable and practical framework for global water-quality science and management.
{"title":"Advancing an adaptable and practical framework to address water quality challenges in a changing world","authors":"Qian Zhang, Robert M. Hirsch, Laura A. DeCicco, Jennifer C. Murphy","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00753-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00753-z","url":null,"abstract":"As water-quality challenges intensify, the widely used Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method offers an adaptable and practical framework for global water-quality science and management.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 1","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145958191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-11DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00751-1
Jon. R. Hawkings, James A. Bradley, Eva L. Doting, Noor Hassan, Katharine R. Hendry, Amy D. Holt, Eran Hood, Robert G. M. Spencer, Marek Stibal, Martyn Tranter, Ryan A. Venturelli, Jemma L. Wadham, Maya P. Bhatia
Far from being frozen and sterile environments, glaciers are biogeochemical reactors and regulators. In this Review, we discuss the hydrology and biogeochemistry of glacierized environments and their impact on downstream ecosystems. Supraglacial meltwaters export labile organic carbon associated with active supraglacial microbial communities, as well as carbon and nutrients delivered via atmospheric deposition. Meltwaters funnelled to the glacier bed and exiting at the glacier snout transport large quantities of rock flour as well as supraglacial and subglacial-derived organic carbon and nutrients to downstream ecosystems. Subglacial water flow paths influence rock–water contact times and vary greatly, affecting weathering reactions. For instance, the hydrology of mountain glaciers and the Greenland Ice Sheet is typically dominated by seasonal melt with short (hours) to medium (weeks) water residence times, although extended biogeochemical isolation can exist in more isolated parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Conversely, the Antarctic Ice Sheet is dominated by basal ice melt and residence times that can exceed years and decades. As a result, the latter supports extended biogeochemical isolation and more advanced chemical weathering. Microbial processes and physical-chemical weathering can both sequester or emit greenhouse gases, but the net effect remains unknown. Meltwaters can potentially fuel biological processes in downstream ecosystems by priming glacier-fed streams, fjords, and oceans with rock flour and nutrients. The rapid reduction in glacier area projected for the next century mandates that future research provides a critical assessment of the effects of deglaciation on watershed biogeochemistry, ecology and global biogeochemical cycles. Far from frozen and sterile environments, glaciers are biogeochemical reactors and regulators. This Review outlines key biogeochemical and associated physical processes occurring in glacierized environments and the known impacts of glaciers on elemental cycling and the Earth system.
{"title":"Glacier biogeochemical cycling and downstream impacts","authors":"Jon. R. Hawkings, James A. Bradley, Eva L. Doting, Noor Hassan, Katharine R. Hendry, Amy D. Holt, Eran Hood, Robert G. M. Spencer, Marek Stibal, Martyn Tranter, Ryan A. Venturelli, Jemma L. Wadham, Maya P. Bhatia","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00751-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00751-1","url":null,"abstract":"Far from being frozen and sterile environments, glaciers are biogeochemical reactors and regulators. In this Review, we discuss the hydrology and biogeochemistry of glacierized environments and their impact on downstream ecosystems. Supraglacial meltwaters export labile organic carbon associated with active supraglacial microbial communities, as well as carbon and nutrients delivered via atmospheric deposition. Meltwaters funnelled to the glacier bed and exiting at the glacier snout transport large quantities of rock flour as well as supraglacial and subglacial-derived organic carbon and nutrients to downstream ecosystems. Subglacial water flow paths influence rock–water contact times and vary greatly, affecting weathering reactions. For instance, the hydrology of mountain glaciers and the Greenland Ice Sheet is typically dominated by seasonal melt with short (hours) to medium (weeks) water residence times, although extended biogeochemical isolation can exist in more isolated parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Conversely, the Antarctic Ice Sheet is dominated by basal ice melt and residence times that can exceed years and decades. As a result, the latter supports extended biogeochemical isolation and more advanced chemical weathering. Microbial processes and physical-chemical weathering can both sequester or emit greenhouse gases, but the net effect remains unknown. Meltwaters can potentially fuel biological processes in downstream ecosystems by priming glacier-fed streams, fjords, and oceans with rock flour and nutrients. The rapid reduction in glacier area projected for the next century mandates that future research provides a critical assessment of the effects of deglaciation on watershed biogeochemistry, ecology and global biogeochemical cycles. Far from frozen and sterile environments, glaciers are biogeochemical reactors and regulators. This Review outlines key biogeochemical and associated physical processes occurring in glacierized environments and the known impacts of glaciers on elemental cycling and the Earth system.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 2","pages":"124-143"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146162905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-09DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00750-2
Stephen R. Rintoul, Andrew L. Stewart, Gregory C. Johnson, Shenjie Zhou, Annie Foppert, Qian Li, Adele K. Morrison, Alessandro Silvano, Kathryn L. Gunn, Matthew H. England, Sohey Nihashi, Shigeru Aoki
Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is derived from dense water that sinks from the Antarctic continental shelf to the deep ocean. The sinking of AABW is balanced by a return flow of lighter water, and the resulting overturning circulation determines the density stratification of the deep ocean, regulates ocean storage of heat and carbon, and supplies oxygen to the deep sea. In this Review, we highlight progress in understanding how and why AABW is changing and the consequences for the deep overturning circulation. Since the mid-1980s, ocean heat content below 4,000 dbar has increased at a rate of 12.9 (±1.8) trillion watts, and the AABW has thinned by more than 50 dbar decade−1, with more rapid thinning observed closer to the sources of AABW. The abyssal overturning circulation has slowed in response to freshening of shelf waters by glacial melt and changes in sea ice formation. Numerical model simulations indicate that these trends will accelerate under projected increases in meltwater input. Future research priorities include sustained observations in the deep ocean and on the Antarctic continental shelf; exploration of feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, dense water formation and ice shelf melt; and improved representation of AABW in ocean and climate models. Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) sinks near Antarctica and fills the deep ocean. This Review discusses how AABW is formed, past changes to its properties and transport, and projects future changes in AABW and the deep overturning circulation.
{"title":"Antarctic Bottom Water in a changing climate","authors":"Stephen R. Rintoul, Andrew L. Stewart, Gregory C. Johnson, Shenjie Zhou, Annie Foppert, Qian Li, Adele K. Morrison, Alessandro Silvano, Kathryn L. Gunn, Matthew H. England, Sohey Nihashi, Shigeru Aoki","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00750-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00750-2","url":null,"abstract":"Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is derived from dense water that sinks from the Antarctic continental shelf to the deep ocean. The sinking of AABW is balanced by a return flow of lighter water, and the resulting overturning circulation determines the density stratification of the deep ocean, regulates ocean storage of heat and carbon, and supplies oxygen to the deep sea. In this Review, we highlight progress in understanding how and why AABW is changing and the consequences for the deep overturning circulation. Since the mid-1980s, ocean heat content below 4,000 dbar has increased at a rate of 12.9 (±1.8) trillion watts, and the AABW has thinned by more than 50 dbar decade−1, with more rapid thinning observed closer to the sources of AABW. The abyssal overturning circulation has slowed in response to freshening of shelf waters by glacial melt and changes in sea ice formation. Numerical model simulations indicate that these trends will accelerate under projected increases in meltwater input. Future research priorities include sustained observations in the deep ocean and on the Antarctic continental shelf; exploration of feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, dense water formation and ice shelf melt; and improved representation of AABW in ocean and climate models. Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) sinks near Antarctica and fills the deep ocean. This Review discusses how AABW is formed, past changes to its properties and transport, and projects future changes in AABW and the deep overturning circulation.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 2","pages":"86-102"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146162908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1038/s43017-025-00747-x
Andréa S. Taschetto, Shayne McGregor, Dietmar Dommenget, Zoe E. Gillett, Neville Nicholls, Sur Sharmila, Peter van Rensch, Danielle Verdon-Kidd, Ghyslaine Boschat, Christine Chung, Ruby Lieber, Nerilie Abram, Rob Allan, Kathryn Allen, Linden Ashcroft, Josephine R. Brown, Wenju Cai, Savin Chand, Tim Cowan, Thi Lan Dao, Catherine de Burgh-Day, Mandy B. Freund, Ailie Gallant, Joelle Gergis, Neil J. Holbrook, Hanna Heidemann, Chiara Holgate, Pandora Hope, Andrew King, Eun-Pa Lim, John L. McBride, Roseanna C. McKay, Hanh Nguyen, Acacia Pepler, Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, Scott Power, James S. Risbey, Agus Santoso, Caroline C. Ummenhofer, Guojian Wang, Xuebin Zhang
El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) profoundly affects Australian weather, climate, ecosystems and socio-economic sectors. In this Review, we summarize the advances in understanding the ENSO–Australian climate relationship, detailing the complexity beyond the traditional assumptions of El Niño-dry and La Niña-wet patterns, including mechanisms and impacts. The influence of ENSO is most coherent during austral spring, explaining about a quarter of rainfall variability over large parts of eastern Australia. La Niña typically exerts more robust rainfall changes than El Niño, and the Central Pacific El Niño has greater impacts than Eastern Pacific events. These effects are amplified by prolonged ENSO episodes and modulated by land–atmosphere feedback, surrounding sea surface temperatures, local processes and interactions with other climate modes, including multidecadal variability. El Niño-related drying generally worsens when co-occurring with positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and/or negative Southern Annular Mode (SAM), whereas La Niña rainfall intensifies with negative IOD and/or positive SAM. Although ENSO predictability has improved with advanced understanding of ocean processes and dynamical forecasting, predicting its impacts is challenging because of large internal atmospheric variability. Ongoing changes in ENSO underscore the need for strategic research, continuous in situ monitoring, reduced model biases and deeper understanding of the anthropogenically induced changes in Pacific temperatures to guide adaptation strategies. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) profoundly affects Australian weather, climate, ecosystems and socio-economic sectors. This Review presents the progress made in understanding ENSO teleconnections to Australian weather over the past 40 years, describing the atmospheric dynamics, complexities and impacts of this climate phenomenon.
{"title":"Climate impacts of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Australia","authors":"Andréa S. Taschetto, Shayne McGregor, Dietmar Dommenget, Zoe E. Gillett, Neville Nicholls, Sur Sharmila, Peter van Rensch, Danielle Verdon-Kidd, Ghyslaine Boschat, Christine Chung, Ruby Lieber, Nerilie Abram, Rob Allan, Kathryn Allen, Linden Ashcroft, Josephine R. Brown, Wenju Cai, Savin Chand, Tim Cowan, Thi Lan Dao, Catherine de Burgh-Day, Mandy B. Freund, Ailie Gallant, Joelle Gergis, Neil J. Holbrook, Hanna Heidemann, Chiara Holgate, Pandora Hope, Andrew King, Eun-Pa Lim, John L. McBride, Roseanna C. McKay, Hanh Nguyen, Acacia Pepler, Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, Scott Power, James S. Risbey, Agus Santoso, Caroline C. Ummenhofer, Guojian Wang, Xuebin Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s43017-025-00747-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s43017-025-00747-x","url":null,"abstract":"El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) profoundly affects Australian weather, climate, ecosystems and socio-economic sectors. In this Review, we summarize the advances in understanding the ENSO–Australian climate relationship, detailing the complexity beyond the traditional assumptions of El Niño-dry and La Niña-wet patterns, including mechanisms and impacts. The influence of ENSO is most coherent during austral spring, explaining about a quarter of rainfall variability over large parts of eastern Australia. La Niña typically exerts more robust rainfall changes than El Niño, and the Central Pacific El Niño has greater impacts than Eastern Pacific events. These effects are amplified by prolonged ENSO episodes and modulated by land–atmosphere feedback, surrounding sea surface temperatures, local processes and interactions with other climate modes, including multidecadal variability. El Niño-related drying generally worsens when co-occurring with positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and/or negative Southern Annular Mode (SAM), whereas La Niña rainfall intensifies with negative IOD and/or positive SAM. Although ENSO predictability has improved with advanced understanding of ocean processes and dynamical forecasting, predicting its impacts is challenging because of large internal atmospheric variability. Ongoing changes in ENSO underscore the need for strategic research, continuous in situ monitoring, reduced model biases and deeper understanding of the anthropogenically induced changes in Pacific temperatures to guide adaptation strategies. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) profoundly affects Australian weather, climate, ecosystems and socio-economic sectors. This Review presents the progress made in understanding ENSO teleconnections to Australian weather over the past 40 years, describing the atmospheric dynamics, complexities and impacts of this climate phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":18921,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Earth & Environment","volume":"7 2","pages":"103-123"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146162909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}