Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Benjamin O. Johnson, Homas L. Delworth
Summary: This study uses a global climate model to investigate the role of the Gulf of California in the North American monsoon. The results show that the Gulf of California significantly impacts circulation and increases moisture fluxes, leading to higher precipitation in the monsoon region. This highlights the importance of considering the Gulf of California in climate simulations and future projections.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2023)
Article
Water Resources
Baolin Xue, David Helman, Guoqiang Wang, Chong-Yu Xu, Jingfeng Xiao, Tingxi Liu, Lei Wang, Xiuping Li, Limin Duan, Huimin Lei
Summary: This study proposes a method based on the Budyko framework to evaluate the hydrologic resilience of 16 basins in the Tibetan Plateau. Results show that most basins lack the ability to withstand drought and climatic warming, with only Taohe and Datonghe basins exhibiting hydrologic resilience.
ADVANCES IN WATER RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Teresa Fish, Nathan Wolf, Timothy Scott Smeltz, Bradley P. Harris, Josep V. Planas
Summary: Developing a robust understanding of Pacific halibut reproductive biology is essential for effective management and conservation strategies in the face of environmental changes. This study fills the gaps in knowledge by conducting a detailed histological examination of ovarian development in Pacific halibut, providing a foundation for future studies on maturity estimation and the use of biological indicators.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Jesse Norris, Alex Hall, Chad W. Thackeray, Di Chen, Gavin D. Madakumbura
Summary: This study demonstrates the correlation between the strength of hydrologic sensitivity (HS) under El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and HS in the context of climate change. The findings suggest that central Pacific ENSO events are a better predictor of HS under future warming. GCMs with greater HS exhibit a weakening of the atmospheric circulation and expansion under ENSO.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Yu Ren, Haipeng Yu, Chenxi Liu, Yongli He, Jianping Huang, Lixia Zhang, Huancui Hu, Qiang Zhang, Siyu Chen, Xiaoyue Liu, Meng Zhang, Yun Wei, Yaoxian Yan, Weiwei Fan, Jie Zhou
Summary: Central Asia has been experiencing significant warming and intensified hydrological changes. The wet season has become wetter and the dry season has become drier. Precipitation and vapor pressure deficit are the primary factors for the wet season, while precipitation, net radiation, and vapor pressure deficit are dominant factors for the dry season. Enhanced moisture flux from midwestern Eurasia contributes to increased wet season precipitation, while decreased moisture flux and enhanced local evapotranspiration explain the drying trend in the dry season.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Kerttu Kouki, Petri Raisanen, Kari Luojus, Anna Luomaranta, Aku Riihela
Summary: Seasonal snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere is an important variable in climate models, but previous estimates of snow water equivalent (SWE) have had substantial uncertainties. A recent bias correction method has significantly reduced this uncertainty, allowing for a more reliable analysis of snow cover in climate models. The comparison between CMIP6 models and observation-based SWE data shows that the models tend to overestimate SWE, with precipitation being the dominant factor in winter and temperature contributing to biases in regions close to freezing. In spring, temperature becomes increasingly important in explaining discrepancies in snowmelt rate. However, biases in temperature and precipitation alone cannot fully explain all model biases, suggesting other factors also play a role.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lisa Broeder, Kirsi Keskitalo, Scott Zolkos, Sarah Shakil, Suzanne E. Tank, Steve Kokelj, Tommaso Tesi, Bart E. van Dongen, Negar Haghipour, Timothy Eglinton, Jorien E. Vonk
Summary: Enhanced warming in the Northern high latitudes has intensified thermokarst processes, particularly evident in retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) in the permafrost zone. Analysis of sediment properties and organic matter composition in different soil layers and mobilized materials from RTS features in the Peel Plateau, Canada indicated that organic matter degradation and hydrodynamic sorting play key roles in influencing the mobilized material. Organic constituents and grain sizes varied between active layer, debris, and runoff deposits, suggesting the need for further research on the impact of intensifying RTS activity on CO2 release and ecosystem carbon fluxes.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Benjamin Weitzman, Brenda Konar, Katrin Iken, Heather Coletti, Daniel Monson, Robert Suryan, Thomas Dean, Dominic Hondolero, Mandy Lindeberg
Summary: Research showed that the Pacific Marine Heatwave had impacts on rocky intertidal community structures across four regions in Alaska. Before the heatwave, there were significant differences in community structures among regions; however, during and after the heatwave, similarities in community structures increased, leading to greater homogenization of these communities.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Laura G. Perry, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Patrick B. Shafroth
Summary: Combining different background datasets in species distribution models can improve predictions of riparian plant distributions, capturing the effects of both hydrologic and climatic predictors. This approach provides more accurate information to guide management decisions and can be applied to species from various specialized habitats.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Cerennaz Bozyigit, Kursad Kadir Eris, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Memet Namik Cagatay, Gulsen Ucarkus, Vincent Klein, Luca Gasperini
Summary: The sediment core from the Gulf of Saros was analyzed using multiple proxies to identify and characterize climate and hydrological changes during the middle-to-late Holocene. The formation of two discrete Holocene sapropel layers in the Gulf of Saros sediments was documented based on total organic carbon analysis. Climate variations during the middle to late Holocene were deciphered using biomarker and mu-XRF data, with sea-surface temperature records indicating the influence of the Black Sea inflow.
Article
Engineering, Civil
Peng Bai, Xiaomang Liu, Jiaxin Xie
Summary: This study compares the robustness of LSTM network and two conceptual hydrologic models in runoff prediction under changing climatic conditions. The study finds that LSTM network shows good robustness in changing climatic conditions, while the two hydrologic models perform better in wet periods. The length of the calibration period is an important factor affecting the relative performance of the models, with LSTM network showing enhanced performance with longer calibration periods.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2021)
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
C. M. Stephens, U. Lall, F. M. Johnson, L. A. Marshall
Summary: Human activities and natural processes constantly change the Earth's surface, impacting the water cycle and requiring robust models. Literature synthesis focuses on the impacts of processes at different spatial and temporal scales and feedbacks between various environmental and anthropogenic shifts.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
James W. Jawitz, Harald Klammler, Nathan G. F. Reaver
Summary: This study developed a simple analytical model to explain the asynchrony between water supply and demand globally. The research demonstrated that this asynchrony can explain the spatio-temporal variability of water availability, and water budgets are widely responsive to changes in climate asynchrony.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Carolyn B. Voter, Steven P. Loheide
Summary: Understanding how climate factors affect the effectiveness of low impact development (LID) practices is crucial for stormwater management. The study found that the effects of LID practices on long-term surface runoff, deep drainage, and evapotranspiration are controlled by the balance and timing of water and energy availability, as well as precipitation intermittency. This offers a new approach for predicting LID performance across different climates and evaluating strategies under current and future climate conditions.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Alisha M. Ellis, Christopher G. Smith
Summary: The study analyzed sediment samples from Grand Bay estuary and found that the species Paratrochammina simplissima gradually became dominant in the 20th century, indicating increased salinity and decreased marsh organic matter in the sediments.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
E. F. Eidam, D. A. Sutherland, D. Duncan, C. Kienholz, J. M. Amundson, R. J. Motyka
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-EARTH SURFACE
(2020)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
A. Patton, S. L. Rathburn, D. M. Capps, D. McGrath, R. A. Brown
Summary: Research on three shallow-angle landslides under different permafrost conditions indicates that thawing permafrost accelerates landslide development, and the absence of permafrost within the landslides leads to faster thawing of the permafrost.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yara Mohajerani, David Shean, Anthony Arendt, Tyler C. Sutterley
Summary: Common mascon solutions provided by processing centers lack user control over placement and inversion assumptions. This study presents an automated approach to non-uniform global mascon solutions focused on user-specified regions, with few global degrees of freedom to minimize noise and leakage. Custom mascon solutions show improved regional trends and different seasonal variations compared to regularized solutions, allowing for optimized global solutions anywhere on Earth.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Randall Bonnell, Daniel McGrath, Keith Williams, Ryan Webb, Steven R. Fassnacht, Hans-Peter Marshall
Summary: Radar instruments are widely used for measuring snow water equivalent (SWE), with Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar being a promising method from spaceborne platforms. Velocity estimates are a significant source of uncertainty in radar SWE retrievals, especially in wet snow where velocity is influenced by snow density and liquid water content (LWC). Utilizing ground-penetrating radar, researchers measured snow depths, density, and estimated SWE and LWC values, showing that LWC variability is key in accurately measuring SWE for future radar missions.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Anton M. Hengst, William Armstrong, Brianna Rick, Daniel McGrath
Summary: Ice-marginal lakes in south-central Alaska exhibit physically-meaningful short-term area variability, with short-term fluctuations responsible for approximately 33% of observed area change in the median ice-marginal lake. The cause of these variations is not of glacial origin, as the magnitude of short-term area variability is similar for ice-marginal and non-glacial lakes. Attention to sub-annual behavior of ice-marginal lakes is encouraged even in long-term studies for a better understanding of their dynamics.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ryan W. Webb, Adrian Marziliano, Daniel McGrath, Randall Bonnell, Tate G. Meehan, Carrie Vuyovich, Hans-Peter Marshall
Summary: Traditional equations for estimating snow water equivalent (SWE) and liquid water content (LWC) can lead to significant errors under different snowpack conditions. Further in situ validation is needed for the dielectric constant study of seasonal snow to accurately observe changes in SWE.
Article
Geography, Physical
Lucas Zeller, Daniel McGrath, Louis Sass, Shad O'Neel, Christopher McNeil, Emily Baker
Summary: We present the spatial distribution of seasonal and annual surface mass balances of Wolverine Glacier in Alaska from 2016 to 2020. Our study accounts for the effects of ice emergence and firn compaction and utilizes three methods for estimating emergence velocities. We find good agreement between distributed mass balances and ground-based measurements. The study also highlights the variability in seasonal balances and skewness in winter and summer balances.
JOURNAL OF GLACIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephanie K. Kampf, Daniel McGrath, Megan G. Sears, Steven R. Fassnacht, Leonie Kiewiet, John C. Hammond
Summary: Wildfire area has been increasing in most ecoregions across the western United States, especially in the late snow zones, with 70% of ecoregions experiencing significant increases since 1984. The reduction of snow due to burning can have impacts on water resources and streamflow.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephanie K. Kampf, Daniel McGrath, Steven R. Fassnacht, John C. Hammond, Megan G. Sears
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
John C. C. Hammond, Graham A. A. Sexstone, Annie L. L. Putman, Theodore B. B. Barnhart, David M. M. Rey, Jessica M. M. Driscoll, Glen E. E. Liston, Kristen L. L. Rasmussen, Daniel McGrath, Steven R. R. Fassnacht, Stephanie K. K. Kampf
Summary: Continued climate warming is reducing seasonal snowpacks in the western United States, affecting streamflow generation and water availability. Understanding the current and future spatiotemporal distributions of snowpack and surface water input is crucial for adapting to future conditions in snow-dominated regions.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Daniel McGrath, Lucas Zeller, Randall Bonnell, Wyatt Reis, Stephanie Kampf, Keith Williams, Marianne Okal, Alex Olsen-Mikitowicz, Ella Bump, Megan Sears, Karl Rittger
Summary: Wildfires are increasingly affecting high-elevation forests in the western United States, impacting critical water reservoirs that accumulate seasonal snowpacks. The 2020 Cameron Peak wildfire in Colorado resulted in a significant decrease in peak snow water equivalent in a high burn severity forest during the subsequent winter. The loss of forest canopy and lower surface albedo led to higher melt rates and earlier snow disappearance in the burned area.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Nicole Abib, David A. Sutherland, Jason M. Amundson, Dan Duncan, Emily F. Eidam, Rebecca H. Jackson, Christian Kienholz, Mathieu Morlighem, Roman J. Motyka, Jonathan D. Nash, Bridget Ovall, Erin C. Pettit
Summary: Frontal ablation, the combination of submarine melting and iceberg calving, affects the geometry of a glacier's terminus and the distribution of meltwater input. Observing frontal ablation and terminus morphology below the waterline is difficult, limiting our understanding of these ice-ocean processes. Using 3-D multibeam point clouds of the subsurface ice face at LeConte Glacier, Alaska, and concurrent environmental observations, we find that the terminus was predominantly overcut, challenging the assumption that tidewater glacier termini are largely undercut during periods of high submarine melting.
ANNALS OF GLACIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
B. Rick, D. Mcgrath, S. W. Mccoy, W. H. Armstrong
Summary: A study focusing on the Alaska region reveals that the frequency of glacial lake outburst floods did not significantly increase over the past 35 years. However, the total lake volume decreased, leading to a reduction in regional flood hazard. The study also suggests that outburst floods have been historically underreported and calls for systematic research in other areas.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Remote Sensing
Daniel Mcgrath, Randall Bonnell, Lucas Zeller, Alex Olsen-Mikitowicz, Ella Bump, Ryan Webb, Hans-Peter Marshall
Summary: This study combines GPR and UAV-based SfM-MVS surveys to estimate snow depth, density, and SWE. The integration of these measurements provides an accurate and efficient method for snow characterization. The results were validated against independent manual probing and snowpit measurements, demonstrating the reliability of the method. Further developments in snow depth retrieval technologies can expand the spatial extent of this approach.
FRONTIERS IN REMOTE SENSING
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Brianna Rick, Daniel McGrath, William Armstrong, Scott W. McCoy
Summary: Ice-marginal lakes have significant impacts on glacier mass balance, water resources, and ecosystem dynamics. By conducting a multitemporal inventory of ice-marginal lakes, this study identifies the drivers of lake changes and provides predictions for future lake evolution and assessments of glacial lake outburst flood hazards. Using satellite imagery and supervised classification, the study demonstrates that ice-marginal lakes in Alaska and northwest Canada have increased in number and area over the past few decades, with variations depending on dam type and topological position. The findings highlight the importance of considering lake characteristics in order to understand ice-marginal lake evolution.
