Changes in atmospheric aerosol loading retrieved from space based measurements during the past decade

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol, generated from natural and anthropogenic sources, plays a key role in regulating visibility, air quality, and acid deposition. It is directly linked to and impacts on human health. It also reflects and absorbs incoming solar radiation and thereby influences the climate change. The cooling by aerosols is now recognized to have partly masked the atmospheric warming from fossil fuel combustion emissions. The role and potential management of short-lived climate pollutants such as aerosol are currently a topic of much scientific and public debate. Our limited knowledge of atmospheric aerosol and its influence on the Earth's radiation balance has a significant impact on the accuracy and error of current predictions of the future global climate change. In the past decades, environmental legislation in industrialized countries has begun to limit the release of anthropogenic pollutants. In contrast, in Asia as a result of the recent rapid economic development, emissions from industry and traffic have increased dramatically. In this study, the temporal changes/trends of atmospheric aerosols, derived from the satellite instruments MODIS (on board Terra and Aqua), MISR (Terra), and SeaWiFS (OrbView-2) during the past decade, are investigated. Whilst the aerosol optical thickness, AOT, over Western Europe decreases (i.e. by up to about −40% from 2003 to 2008) and parts of North America, a statistically significant increase (about +34% in the same period) over East China is observed and attributed to both the increase in industrial output and the Asian desert dust.

Download Full-text

Sensitivity of atmospheric aerosol scavenging to precipitation intensity and frequency in the context of global climate change

10.5194/acp-2017-937 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Pei Hou ◽

Shiliang Wu ◽

Jessica L. McCarty

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Model Simulation ◽

Global Climate ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Precipitation Intensity ◽

The Past ◽

Precipitation Changes

Abstract. Wet deposition driven by precipitation is an important sink for atmospheric aerosols and soluble gases. We investigate the sensitivity of atmospheric aerosol lifetimes to precipitation intensity and frequency in the context of global climate change. Our study, based on the GEOS-Chem model simulation, shows that the removal efficiency and hence the atmospheric lifetime of aerosols have significantly higher sensitivities to precipitation frequencies than to precipitation intensities, indicating that the same amount of precipitation may lead to different removal efficiencies of atmospheric aerosols. Combining the long-term trends of precipitation patterns for various regions with the sensitivities of atmospheric aerosols lifetimes to various precipitation characteristics allows us to examine the potential impacts of precipitation changes on atmospheric aerosols. Analyses based on an observational dataset show that precipitation frequency in some regions have decreased in the past 14 years, which might increase the atmospheric aerosol lifetimes in those regions. Similar analyses based on multiple reanalysis meteorological datasets indicate that the precipitation changes over the past 30 years can lead to perturbations in the atmospheric aerosol lifetimes by 10 % or higher at the regional scale.

Download Full-text

Sensitivity of atmospheric aerosol scavenging to precipitation intensity and frequency in the context of global climate change

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-18-8173-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 8173-8182 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Pei Hou ◽

Shiliang Wu ◽

Jessica L. McCarty ◽

Yang Gao

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Global Climate ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Precipitation Intensity ◽

The Past ◽

Long Term Trends ◽

Precipitation Changes

Abstract. Wet deposition driven by precipitation is an important sink for atmospheric aerosols and soluble gases. We investigate the sensitivity of atmospheric aerosol lifetimes to precipitation intensity and frequency in the context of global climate change. Our sensitivity model simulations, through some simplified perturbations to precipitation in the GEOS-Chem model, show that the removal efficiency and hence the atmospheric lifetime of aerosols have significantly higher sensitivities to precipitation frequencies than to precipitation intensities, indicating that the same amount of precipitation may lead to different removal efficiencies of atmospheric aerosols. Combining the long-term trends of precipitation patterns for various regions with the sensitivities of atmospheric aerosol lifetimes to various precipitation characteristics allows us to examine the potential impacts of precipitation changes on atmospheric aerosols. Analyses based on an observational dataset show that precipitation frequencies in some regions have decreased in the past 14 years, which might increase the atmospheric aerosol lifetimes in those regions. Similar analyses based on multiple reanalysis meteorological datasets indicate that the changes of precipitation intensity and frequency over the past 30 years can lead to perturbations in the atmospheric aerosol lifetimes by 10 % or higher at the regional scale.

Download Full-text

Changes in atmospheric aerosol loading retrieved from space-based measurements during the past decade

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-14-6881-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (13) ◽

pp. 6881-6902 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

J. Yoon ◽

J. P. Burrows ◽

M. Vountas ◽

W. von Hoyningen-Huene ◽

D. Y. Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Aerosol ◽

Western Europe ◽

Weighted Least Squares ◽

Eastern China ◽

Atmospheric Pollutants ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Radiation Balance ◽

Least Squares Regression ◽

The Past ◽

Temporal Sampling

Abstract. The role and potential management of short-lived atmospheric pollutants such as aerosols are currently a topic of scientific and public debates. Our limited knowledge of atmospheric aerosol and its influence on the Earth's radiation balance has a significant impact on the accuracy and error of current predictions of future climate change. In the last few years, there have been several accounts of the changes in atmospheric aerosol derived from satellite observations, but no study considering the uncertainty caused by different/limited temporal sampling of polar-orbiting satellites and cloud disturbance in the trend estimates of cloud-free aerosol optical thickness (AOT). This study presents an approach to minimize the uncertainties by use of weighted least-squares regression and multiple satellite-derived AOTs from the space-born instruments, MODIS (onboard Terra from 2000 to 2009 and Aqua form 2003 to 2008), MISR (Terra from 2000 to 2010), and SeaWiFS (OrbView-2 from 1998 to 2007) and thereby provides more convincing trend estimates for atmospheric aerosols during the past decade. The AOT decreases over western Europe (i.e., by up to about −40% from 2003 to 2008). In contrast, a statistically significant increase (about +34% in the same period) over eastern China is observed and can be attributed to the increase in both industrial output and Asian desert dust.

Download Full-text

Ensemble models on palaeoclimate to predict India's groundwater challenge

Acque Sotterranee-Italian Journal of Groundwater ◽

10.7343/as-040-13-0065 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Partha Sarathi Datta

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Models ◽

Global Climate ◽

Global Climate Models ◽

Humid Climate ◽

Ensemble Models ◽

North West ◽

The Past ◽

The North ◽

14C Age

In many parts of the world, freshwater crisis is largely due to increasing water consumption and pollution by rapidly growing population and aspirations for economic development, but, ascribed usually to the climate. However, limited understanding and knowledge gaps in the factors controlling climate and uncertainties in the climate models are unable to assess the probable impacts on water availability in tropical regions. In this context, review of ensemble models on δ18O and δD in rainfall and groundwater, 3H- and 14C- ages of groundwater and 14C- age of lakes sediments helped to reconstruct palaeoclimate and long-term recharge in the North-west India; and predict future groundwater challenge. The annual mean temperature trend indicates both warming/cooling in different parts of India in the past and during 1901–2010. Neither the GCMs (Global Climate Models) nor the observational record indicates any significant change/increase in temperature and rainfall over the last century, and climate change during the last 1200 yrs BP. In much of the North-West region, deep groundwater renewal occurred from past humid climate, and shallow groundwater renewal from limited modern recharge over the past decades. To make water management to be more responsive to climate change, the gaps in the science of climate change need to be bridged.

Download Full-text

A coupled multi-proxy and process modelling approach for extraction of quantitative terrestrial ecosystem information from speleothems

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4761 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Franziska Lechleitner ◽

Christopher C. Day ◽

Oliver Kost ◽

Micah Wilhelm ◽

Negar Haghipour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Soil Respiration ◽

Western Europe ◽

Global Climate ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Clear Correlation ◽

Northern Spain ◽

Regional Temperature ◽

Global Carbon

Terrestrial ecosystems are intimately linked with the global climate system, but their response to ongoing and future anthropogenic climate change remains poorly understood. Reconstructing the response of terrestrial ecosystem processes over past periods of rapid and substantial climate change can serve as a tool to better constrain the sensitivity in the ecosystem-climate response.In this talk, we will present a new reconstruction of soil respiration in the temperate region of Western Europe based on speleothem carbon isotopes (&#948;13C). Soil respiration remains poorly constrained over past climatic transitions, but is critical for understanding the global carbon cycle and its response to ongoing anthropogenic warming. Our study builds upon two decades of speleothem research in Western Europe, which has shown clear correlation between &#948;13C and regional temperature reconstructions during the last glacial and the deglaciation, with exceptional regional coherency in timing, amplitude, and absolute &#948;13C variation. By combining innovative multi-proxy geochemical analysis (&#948;13C, Ca isotopes, and radiocarbon) on three speleothems from Northern Spain, and quantitative forward modelling of processes in soil, karst, and cave, we show how deglacial variability in speleothem &#948;13C is best explained by increasing soil respiration. Our study is the first to quantify and remove the effects of prior calcite precipitation (PCP, using Ca isotopes) and bedrock dissolution (open vs closed system, using the radiocarbon reservoir effect) from the speleothem &#948;13C signal to derive changes in respired &#948;13C over time. Our approach allows us to estimate the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10), which is higher than current measurements, suggesting that part of the speleothem signal may be related to a change in the composition of the soil respired &#948;13C. This is likely related to changing substrate through increasing contribution from vegetation biomass with the onset of the Holocene.These results highlight the exciting possibilities speleothems offer as a coupled archive for quantitative proxy-based reconstructions of climate and ecosystem conditions.

Download Full-text

GEOLOGICAL MEMORY OF STARUNJA – AS THE COURSE OF PROTECTION OF THE WORLD NATURAL HERITAGE IN CARPATHIAN REGION OF UKRAINE

Scientific Bulletin Series D : Mining, Mineral Processing, Non-Ferrous Metallurgy, Geology and Environmental Engineering ◽

10.37193/sbsd.2018.2.02 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 15-25

Author(s):

Oleg Adamenko ◽

Yaroslav Adamenko ◽

Kateryna Radlovska ◽

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Western Europe ◽

Global Climate ◽

Global Changes ◽

Upper Pleistocene ◽

Carpathian Region ◽

The World ◽

The Village ◽

World Natural Heritage

Paleontological location of the Pleistocene fauna of hairy rhinos and mammoths near the village. Starunya Bogorodchany district of Ivano-Frankivsk region (Prykarpathian, Ukraine) is considered as a paleoclimatic rapper of global changes and a stratigraphic "bridge" linking stratigraphic patterns of the Upper Pleistocene of Western Europe and the plain territory of Ukraine. This is important for the reconstruction of global climate change and the transformation of natural and man-made geosystems.

Download Full-text

Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics: Lessons from the Past for the Future

Humans and the Environment ◽

10.1093/oso/9780199590292.003.0025 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David G. Anderson ◽

Kirk A. Maasch

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Cultural Change ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Global Climate ◽

Modern World ◽

Important Lesson ◽

The Past ◽

Nation States ◽

Technological Civilization ◽

Nuclear Warfare

As the twenty-first century winds onward, it is becoming increasingly clear that understanding how climate affects human cultural systems is critically important. Indeed, it has been argued by many researchers that how we respond to changing global climate is one of the greatest scientific and political challenges facing our planetary technological civilization, comparable and closely intertwined with concerns about biological or nuclear warfare, famine, disease, overpopulation, or environmental degradation. By any reasonable evaluation of the evidence, this century, and likely the several centuries that follow it, will be characterized by dramatic climate change, perhaps as significant in terms of its impact on our species as any climatic episodes that have occurred in the past. What we don’t know with much certainty is how these environmental changes will play out across the planet, and how individuals as well as nation states will respond to them. Archaeology has a major role to play in helping us move through this period of crisis, however, by showing us how human cultures in the past responded to dramatic changes in climate. As the work of many archaeological scholars has shown, climate change has not invariably proven to be a bad thing: it is how people respond to it that is critical (e.g. Anderson et al. 2007b; Cooper and Sheets 2012; Crumley 2000, 2006, 2007; Hardesty 2007; McAnany and Yoffee 2010; McIntosh et al. 2000; Redman 2004a; Sandweiss and Quilter 2008; Sassaman and Anderson 1996; Tainter 2000). Archaeology working in tandem with a host of palaeoenvironmental and historical disciplines has lessons for our modern world and, as this volume demonstrates, we as a profession are making great strides in getting our message out. Perhaps the most important lesson from the past is that people, through their actions, are the drivers of cultural change, including response to climate change. Societies are not, however, monolithic entities that ‘chose’ to succeed or fail; people as individuals, groups, or factions through their actions generate outcomes, and often some demonstrate remarkable flexibility and resilience (Cooper and Sheets 2012; Diamond 2005; McAnany and Yoffee 2010).

Download Full-text

Assessment of Anthropogenic Impact versus Climate Change on the Succession of the Diatom Community in Lugu Lake (Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, China) Using the Sedimentary Record of Geochemical Elements

Water ◽

10.3390/w11040655 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 655 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yi Liu ◽

Chuanhong Chen ◽

Shao Yang

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Impact ◽

Human Activities ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Diatom Community ◽

The Third ◽

The Past ◽

Third Stage ◽

Lugu Lake ◽

Guizhou Plateau

The lake ecosystems on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in China have degraded in recent decades under the effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change. The human impact on the oligotrophic Lugu Lake aquatic ecosystem was evaluated using the sediment records of metals, nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) and magnetic susceptibility over the past 200 years. Three periods were identified based on the trace metal and δ15N records. During the first stage (1816–1976 AD), the concentrations of metals, δ15N and magnetic susceptibility were low with small variations. The anthropogenic contributions to the inputs were also small, except for Ni, reflecting minor human activities in the watershed, and no significant change was observed in the sediment record of the diatom assemblage. During the second stage (1976–2001 AD), the concentrations of Zn and δ15N increased, as well as the anthropogenic contribution of Zn. However, no significant change was detected in the anthropogenic sources of the other metals. These results reflect the low-level use of chemical fertilizers. The major shift in the sediment diatom assemblage during this stage was mainly attributed to regional climate change. During the third stage (2001–2010 AD), the concentrations of the sedimentary metals (Ni, Cr, Mn, Cu, Hg and Al) increased rapidly, with the exception of As and Zn, and a similar increasing trend was observed in the changes by anthropogenic sources of Ni, Cr, Mn and Cu. RDA (Redundancy Analysis) and variance partitioning analysis showed that the human impact and climate proxies independently explained 31.59% and 4.26% of the change of diatom community, respectively, and the interaction between climate change and human impact accounted for 18.61% of the change of diatom community. Tourism-dominated human activities, which were reflected in the metals profiles, facilitated the dominance of eutrophic species and reduced that of oligotrophic species. The development of tourism was likely the main driving force for the succession of diatom assemblages in the third stage. In summary, the anthropogenic input of trace metals in Lugu Lake is still at a low level. However, the significant growth trend in metals over the past decade is significantly related to the change in the lake ecosystem. Therefore, the effects of human activities, especially tourism, on the watershed should be controlled for the protection of the oligotrophic Lugu Lake.

Download Full-text

China’s Evolving Development Dilemma in the Context of the North-South Climate Governance Debate

Perspectives on Global Development and Technology ◽

10.1163/15691497-12341324 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 13 (5-6) ◽

pp. 699-727 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Joyeeta Gupta ◽

King Yip Wong

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Global Climate ◽

Political Process ◽

Green Economy ◽

Industrialized Countries ◽

Climate Governance ◽

Climate Change Negotiations ◽

The North ◽

Zero Sum

This paper examines China’s policy and position in relation to the evolving climate change negotiations in order to explain how China is dealing with the dilemma of meeting its growing development needs while reducing ghg emissions. It argues that global climate governance requires steering and leadership to deal with the interlocked political process; that the developing countries (dcs) right to develop is challenged by the need for ecosystemic standards especially as climate change is seen as a zero-sum game as the more one country emits the less another one can. This is especially problematic as Industrialized countries (ics) appear to be both unwilling and unable to increase growth without increasing emissions. This explains China’s policy of insisting on its right to develop, of demanding that ics reduce their emissions and that they fulfil their obligations under the fccc, while expressing its willingness to take on a voluntary target. The paper argues that China’s state-led transition has eight unique characteristics that may allow it to lead as it moves beyond a no-regrets policy to a circular and green economy, cooperating with other dcs and mobilizing conscious green values in citizens. The question remains—will the initial success and scale of state-led transition lead the global green transition to a sustainable world?

Download Full-text

Worldview Struggles under a New Climate Regime

Nordicom Review ◽

10.1515/nor-2015-0004 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 35-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jill Johannessen

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Climate ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Burden Sharing ◽

Industrialized Countries ◽

Climate Regime ◽

Clear Cut ◽

Problems And Solutions ◽

The Rich ◽

Common But Differentiated Responsibility

Abstract The UN summit on climate change in Durban constituted an important moment in the continuous discourse on how to understand climate change and the framing of the problems and solutions. A new emergent frame of understanding could be detected in the press, which the author calls the ‘out-dated worldview’ frame. This frame contains a critique of the clear-cut division between developing vs. developed countries from the 1992 Rio Convention, and may influence how we understand burden-sharing roles in a new global climate deal. In an eager attempt to include all major polluters within a new climate regime, there is a danger that the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibility’ will be ignored, which may be an attempt to excuse the rich industrialized countries from their responsibility after 150 years of benefitting from fossil-fuel-driven development.

Download Full-text