Article
Environmental Sciences
Warren D. Devine, E. Ashley Steel, Alex D. Foster, Teodora V. Minkova, Kyle D. Martens
Summary: This study investigated the influences of watershed physical characteristics on winter stream temperatures using four years of monitoring data from 54 streams on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA. The results showed that stream size, elevation, solar exposure, and presence of glacial materials overlying bedrock all had significant impacts on stream temperature during winter. Interestingly, during the warm 2015 winter, the influences of watershed characteristics on temperature tended to be weaker compared with the other years.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
J. Ryan Bellmore, Jason B. Fellman, Eran Hood, Matthew R. Dunkle, Richard T. Edwards
Summary: Mountain watersheds with glacier-, snow-, and rain-fed streams have distinct hydrologic, temperature, and biogeochemical characteristics. However, as glaciers diminish and precipitation changes, these characteristics will fade. This could lead to the loss of unique food webs and impact the ability of watersheds to sustain aquatic consumers.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
J. E. Overland, T. J. Ballinger, J. Cohen, J. A. Francis, E. Hanna, R. Jaiser, B. -M Kim, S. -J Kim, J. Ukita, T. Vihma, M. Wang, X. Zhang
Summary: Pronounced changes in the Arctic environment contribute to anomalous weather patterns in midlatitudes, but uncertainties in the atmosphere's chaotic nature and internal atmospheric dynamics obscure direct causes and effects. Reduced sea ice coverage in different Arctic regions can lead to various downstream weather impacts in different seasons.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. M. Chavarry, K. L. Law, A. D. Barton, N. M. Bowlin, M. D. Ohman, C. A. Choy
Summary: This study assessed the potential for trophic transfer of microplastics through forage fishes and found that the exposure of Northern Anchovy to microplastics was relatively low compared to their zooplankton prey. However, microplastic exposure varied with habitat, season, and time of day. The study suggests that microplastic exposure is likely to increase for forage fishes in the global ocean due to declines in primary productivity, water column stratification, and microplastic pollution.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Oceanography
Manfredi Manizza, Dustin Carroll, Dimitris Menemenlis, Hong Zhang, Charles E. Miller
Summary: In recent decades, changes in sea-ice seasonality in the Arctic Ocean (AO) have had significant impacts on the phenology of phytoplankton blooms. Early sea-ice melt triggers earlier blooms, while delayed formation of sea ice leads to second fall blooms. These changes could have important consequences for Arctic marine ecosystems in a warmer and changing climate.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marcos D. Robles, John C. Hammond, Stephanie K. Kampf, Joel A. Biederman, Eleonora M. C. Demaria
Summary: Recent research in the Upper Colorado River Basin suggests that despite warming temperatures and reduced snowfall, consistent streamflow declines have not been observed due to increased winter runoff. A study on nine gaged basins of the Salt River and its tributaries found that annual and seasonal streamflow patterns remained stable despite significant temperature increases from 1968-2011, with winter inputs playing a crucial role in streamflow production. Atmospheric rivers were identified as a key contributor to large winter streamflow peaks.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Russell Blackport, James A. Screen
Summary: The study uses regression analysis to quantify the relationship between Arctic sea ice and midlatitude winter climate, with coupled models showing better simulation of observed links between Arctic sea ice and midlatitude temperatures. However, connections are either absent or substantially weaker in models prescribed with only observed sea ice variability.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Robert Ricker, Frank Kauker, Axel Schweiger, Stefan Hendricks, Jinlun Zhang, Stephan Paul
Summary: The study found that the growth of Arctic sea ice is influenced by the decline of sea ice in summer and warmer ocean and surface temperatures in winter. There is increasing thermodynamic ice growth during winter in the Arctic marginal seas eastward from the Laptev Sea to the Beaufort Sea due to a negative feedback driven by sea ice retreat in summer. However, in the Barents and Kara Seas, increasing oceanic heat flux and air temperatures have resulted in negative trends in thermodynamic ice growth.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Campbell D. Watson, Guillaume Auger, Mukul Tewari, Lloyd A. Treinish, Kenneth E. Johnston
Summary: The phenomenon of incomplete ice coverage at Lake George in recent years is similar to other dimictic freshwater lakes, showing the impact of climate change. Local meteorological data and machine learning classifiers are used to predict complete ice coverage, with projections suggesting it will become a thing of the past. This poses a challenge for ecological and economic system managers in the future.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matthew B. Osman, Sloan Coats, Sarah B. Das, Joseph R. McConnell, Nathan Chellman
Summary: The reconstruction of the North Atlantic jet stream using last-millennium climate model simulations and Greenland ice core records shows that late 20th- and early 21st-century variations were likely not unique compared to natural variability. Insights from the 1,250 year reconstruction highlight the significant role of natural variability in masking the response of midlatitude atmospheric dynamics to anthropogenic forcing. Under high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, the model projected annual mean position of the jet stream is expected to emerge as distinct from natural variability by as early as 2060 AD.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Soeren Brandt, Paul Wassmann, Dieter Piepenburg
Summary: This study assesses the changes in climate-driven impacts on Arctic marine ecosystems from 2011 to 2021. The majority of impacts reported in 2011 have been confirmed as continuing trends, and new footprints such as behavioral changes and altered competition have been described. The observed footprints suggest that Arctic seas will likely experience increasing species richness in the future, but also a decline in Arctic-endemic species due to ocean warming and acidification.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Emily Cavaliere, Helen M. Baulch
Summary: This study found that chemical and biotic changes in lakes during winter are highly time-dependent, with distinct differences between early and late winter phases. Late winter, often unstudied due to unsafe ice conditions, is when the spring bloom commonly occurs in ice-covered lakes.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hridaya Bastola, Panayiotis Diplas
Summary: Regression models have identified discharge as a suitable variable for capturing channel geometry trends. However, using discharge alone does not reflect the fundamental dependence of channel geometry on watershed properties and precipitation characteristics.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Daniel C. White, Ryan R. Morrison, Ellen Wohl
Summary: We observed a low-discharge flooding phenomenon on Little Beaver Creek in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA. Ice in the channel caused flows to exceed its banks. Warm weather and snowmelt resulted in two flow events occurring in late winter, 60 days before peak runoff. These events happened six months after a wildfire had burned a large portion of the watershed. Ash and organic materials were mobilized during the flood events, with evidence of recent ash deposition in the floodplain and high concentrations of ash in the channel. Meanwhile, camera footage captured the formation and collapse of a large accumulation of ice and snow at a log jam. Winter flooding associated with ice may become more common due to climate change, with potential impacts on fluvial processes, local biotic community, property damage, and drinking water sources.
Article
Biology
Ross Crates, David M. Watson, Gregory F. Albery, Timothee Bonnet, Liam Murphy, Laura Rayner, Dejan Stojanovic, Chris Timewell, Beau Meney, Mick Roderick, Dean Ingwersen, Robert Heinsohn
Summary: Mistletoes, as hemiparasitic plants, play a crucial role in moderating drought impacts on community structure. Their survival depends on host vascular flows and they are susceptible to mortality during drought. A study conducted in southeastern Australia found that mistletoe abundance is influenced by tree species composition, land use, and the presence of mistletoe birds. Mistletoe mortality is associated with high temperatures, low rainfall, and the interaction between temperature and rainfall. Interestingly, mistletoes can moderate drought impacts on woodland birds, particularly during the peak drought breeding seasons.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)