Phytoplankton is the base of the marine food chain, produces a large portion of atmospheric oxygen, and is thereby a key player in the uptake or release of carbon.ĭespite growing evidence that such dynamic events bear the potential for major and lasting environmental changes, the data required to investigate this potential are still sparse. Modeling studies indicate that even short-lived eddies a few kilometers in size are important drivers for phytoplankton production with a likely contribution of several tens of percent ( Mahadevan 2016 Lévy et al. Ocean eddies have a significant share in the marine carbon uptake or release. While abrupt permafrost thaw actively affects only small areas, it could play a major role in the rapid release of permafrost carbon to the atmosphere and thus contribute to a yet unknown extent to climate warming ( Nitzbon et al. Such distinct thaw events can potentially release greenhouse gases on short time scales and are triggered, for example, by heatwaves or intense rainfall in the Arctic. 2018).Ĭurrent modeling studies suggest that abrupt permafrost thaw accelerates Arctic greenhouse gas emissions ( Turetsky et al. In 20 a series of flash floods triggered by convective weather systems caused severe damage to buildings and infrastructure and led to geomorphological consequences such as debris flow ( Bronstert et al. In Central Europe, river floods in 20 have broken records, leading to widespread flood defense failures and disastrous damage ( Schröter et al. Globally, the frequency of heavy precipitation events increased in the past 30 years due to warming ( Fischer and Knutti 2015), and global projections of river floods mostly indicate increases by the end of the century ( Arnell and Gosling 2016). Such extremes are likely to occur more frequently in the future ( Samaniego et al. In rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, widespread algal blooms appeared, some dominated by toxic cyanobacteria ( Wentzky et al. Photochemically induced air pollution increased due to heatwaves, predominantly seen in ozone threshold exceedances ( Monks et al. 2020), and loss of agricultural production ( Beillouin et al. 2020), an unprecedented tree mortality ( Margalef-Marrase et al. 2020), including a strong decrease in primary productivity ( Fu et al. Their devastating impact on the functioning of land ecosystems led to an increased vulnerability well beyond the duration of single events ( Bastos et al. With MOSES’s regular operation starting in 2022, the observation system will then be ready for cross-compartment and cross-discipline research on the environmental impacts of dynamic events.ĭuring the summers of 20–20, record-breaking air temperatures, extensive droughts, and historically low river flows were recorded across Europe ( Herring et al. During the implementation period (2017–21), the measuring systems were put into operation and test campaigns were performed to establish event-driven campaign routines. Several German Helmholtz Association centers have developed this research facility as a mobile and modular “system of systems” to record energy, water, greenhouse gas, and nutrient cycles on the land surface, in coastal regions, in the ocean, in polar regions, and in the atmosphere-but especially the interactions between the Earth compartments. As such, the observation system extends and complements existing national and international observation networks, which are mostly designed for long-term monitoring. MOSES aims at capturing such events, from their formation to their end, with high spatial and temporal resolution. Although there is increasing evidence that such dynamic events bear the potential for major environmental impacts, our knowledge on the processes they trigger is still very limited. Short-lived ocean eddies seem to comprise a significant share of the marine carbon uptake or release. Modeling studies suggest that abrupt permafrost thaw events accelerate Arctic greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrometeorological extremes such as the recent European droughts or the floods of 2013 caused severe and lasting environmental damage. Modular Observation Solutions of Earth Systems (MOSES) is a novel observation system that is specifically designed to unravel the impact of distinct, dynamic events on the long-term development of environmental systems.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |