📄 earth_science

Global distribution and metal endowment of seafloor polymetallic nodules

By leveraging machine learning and decades of scientific data to overcome confidentiality barriers, this study estimates that the global seafloor contains vast reserves of strategic metals (nickel, copper, and cobalt) concentrated in a small fraction of the ocean floor, primarily outside ecologically sensitive habitats, thereby providing critical evidence to guide the governance of these common heritage resources and the protection of deep-sea ecosystems.

Daniel Babin, Maureen Raymo2026-07-14
📄 earth_science

Characteristics of Summer Precipitation Recycling Ratio and Moisture Sources over Eastern China: Comparing Two RCMs with ERA5

This study utilizes WAM2layers driven by ERA5 and two regional climate models to characterize the summer precipitation recycling ratio over eastern China, revealing a southwest-to-northeast decreasing spatial pattern, systematic model differences, and a strong dependence on local evaporation efficiency modulated by large-scale moisture advection and monsoon transport.

Wenchao Wang, Jianping Tang, Miao Yu2026-07-14
📄 earth_science

Building Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Synergistic Urban Heat Island Mitigation through Cool Pavements, Green Roofs, and Biodiversity

This study demonstrates that integrating cool pavements, green roofs, and urban biodiversity in Douala, Cameroon, can reduce near-surface air temperatures by up to 2.42°C, while emphasizing the critical need to address socio-economic feasibility and governance challenges for equitable climate resilience in Sub-Saharan African cities.

Marc Njonko Esdras, Xia Bo, Gama Rivas Daru2026-07-13✓ Author reviewed
📄 earth_science

Quantifying the long-term evolution of glacial lakes and the impact of the 2024 Thame, Nepal outburst flood event using remote sensing

This study utilizes remote sensing to analyze the 2024 Thame, Nepal GLOF event, revealing a rare cascading breach between two glacial lakes that caused significant downstream destruction and arguing for a shift in hazard assessment frameworks from size-based prioritization to consequence-based, catchment-scale evaluations that include smaller, high-risk water bodies.

Ngima Chhiri Sherpa2026-07-13
📄 earth_science

A Shift from Ignition-Limited to Climate-Amplified Fires in the World's Largest Tropical Wetland

This study reveals that the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, is undergoing a critical shift from ignition-limited to climate-amplified fire dynamics, where megafires are increasingly driven by extreme hydroclimatic conditions that amplify the spread of fewer ignition sources rather than by an increase in fire frequency alone.

Tianjiao Pu, Robinson Negron-Juarez, Cynthia Gerlein-Safdi2026-07-13
📄 earth_science

Spatially-explicit modeling of multi-hazard exposure in mountain ecosystems: Unraveling the role of canopy structure in forest vulnerability

This study develops and validates a spatially explicit multi-hazard exposure framework for Iran's Zagros mountain forests, revealing that declining canopy structure significantly amplifies vulnerability to interacting climatic and socio-ecological stressors, thereby offering a critical decision-support tool for forest conservation and climate adaptation.

Davood Mafi-Gholami, Abolfazl Jaafari, Binh Thai Pham2026-07-13
📄 earth_science

Hydrography-constrained AMOC reconstruction shows freshwater-driven decline and fading thermal compensation

By constraining a high-resolution ocean model with historical hydrographic data from 1955 to 2022, this study reveals that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has experienced an overall freshwater-driven decline, which was temporarily buffered by thermal compensation in the late 20th century but has accelerated in recent years due to the loss of this thermal buffering and intensified salinity anomalies from Arctic export and Greenland melt.

Sang-Ki Lee, Fabian Gomez, Dongmin Kim, Hosmay Lopez, Shenfu Dong, Rick Lumpkin2026-07-13
📄 earth_science

Assessment of Spatial Distribution of Ambient Particulate Matter Pollutants and Potential Health Risk Surrounding a Cement Plant in North-Central Nigeria

This study characterizes the spatial distribution of ambient particulate matter (PM1–PM10) around a cement plant in North-Central Nigeria, revealing that pollutant concentrations are highest near the source and in the eastern direction, significantly exceed WHO standards, and pose substantial short-term, long-term, and occupational health risks to nearby residents.

Mzaga K. Saater, Olaniran J. Matthew, Dave E. Ekpa2026-07-13