Latest EGU highlight articles

Conditions for instability in the climate–carbon cycle system

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

An increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere warms the climate through the greenhouse effect, but also leads to uptake of CO₂ by the land and ocean. However, the warming is also expected to suppress carbon uptake. If this suppression were strong enough, it could overwhelm the uptake of carbon, leading to a runaway feedback loop causing severe global warming. We find it is possible that this runaway could be relevant in complex climate models and even at the end of the last ice age.

Applications of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Tropospheric Ozone Research

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Machine learning is being more widely used across environmental and climate science. This work reviews the use of machine learning in tropospheric ozone research, focusing on three main application areas in which significant progress has been made. Common challenges in using machine learning across the three areas are highlighted, and future directions for the field are indicated.

Uncovering the deep structure of the Koillismaa Layered Intrusion Complex, Finland using a novel 3D seismic survey

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

We acquired and processed novel 3D seismic data to reveal the hidden structure of a deep rock formation in northeastern Finland. This study uncovered a complex, layered system rather than a simple magma channel, and identified a major fault that may influence mineral deposits. Our findings offer new tools and insights for exploring valuable underground resources in hard rock environments.

Conflict-induced ship traffic disruptions constrain cloud sensitivity to stricter marine pollution regulations

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Militia attacks on ships in the Red Sea disrupted container ship traffic in 2024. We use these traffic changes to quantify how the cloud-altering properties of ship pollution decreased following sulfur regulations in 2020 with measurements of two types of ship pollution, one of which is sensitive to fuel composition and another which is not. Near Africa, cloud changes in 2024 were nearly as large as before the regulations, but only one-third as strong after accounting for increased traffic.

Novel oxalate-carbonate pathways identified in the tropical dry evergreen forest of Tamil Nadu, India

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

The oxalate-carbonate pathway, where trees and microbes store inorganic carbon as minerals, was studied on four tree species of the threatened tropical dry evergreen forest Indian forest. We used high-throughput sequencing of a gene to detect oxalate-degrading microbes. For all tree species, produced oxalate led to carbonate formation in soils and on wood. This carbon may be leached into water, suggesting a hidden source of inorganic carbon with implications for climate and conservation.

The frosty frontier: redefining the mid-latitude tropopause using the relative humidity over ice

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

We present a new technique to determine the tropopause based on the gradient of relative humidity over ice. This approach captures the character of the tropopause remarkably well, both in individual vertical profiles and in long-term averages, providing a consistent and physically meaningful representation of the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

Recent history and future demise of Jostedalsbreen, the largest ice cap in mainland Europe

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

We model the historical and future evolution of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap in Norway, projecting substantial and largely irreversible mass loss for the 21st century, and that the ice cap will split into three parts. Further mass loss is in the pipeline, with a disappearance during the 22nd century under high emissions. Our study demonstrates an approach to model complex ice masses, highlights uncertainties due to precipitation, and calls for further research on long-term future glacier change.

An adaptable DTS-based parametric method to probe near-surface vertical temperature profiles at millimeter resolution

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

We present the the Fine Resolution Adaptable Distributed Temperature Sensing (FRADTS) method, which allows for mm-resolution probing of vertical temperature profiles, using coil-based distributed temperature sensing. The method is fully open source and parametric, such that unique field setups can be generated and reproduced. The method is extensively tested within a ~10cm grass canopy in a field campaign.

The TropoPause Composition TOwed Sensor Shuttle (TPC-TOSS): a new airborne dual platform approach for atmospheric composition measurements at the tropopause

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Deployed on a Learjet as a tandem measurement platform during the TPEx I (TropoPause composition gradients and mixing Experiment) campaign in June 2024, the new TPC-TOSS (TropoPause Composition Towed Sensor Shuttle) system delivers high-resolution in situ data on ozone, aerosol, and key meteorological parameters. Laboratory and in-flight tests confirmed its precision and stability. Observed gradients near the tropopause reveal active mixing and transport processes in the tropopause region.

A statistical study of the O₂ atmospheric band aurora observed by the Swedish satellite MATS

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This study uses images taken by the Swedish satellite MATS (Mesospheric Airglow Tomography and Spectroscopy) to conduct a statistical analysis of the molecular oxygen atmospheric band emissions in the aurora. This auroral emission can not be observed from the ground, making it one of the least understood auroral emissions. Our results provide a new dataset with information on the peak altitude, geomagnetic location, and auroral intensity of 378 events detected between February and April 2023.