Tropical-cyclone-driven erosion of the terrestrial biosphere from mountains

The transfer of organic carbon from the terrestrial biosphere to the oceans via erosion and riverine transport constitutes an important component of the global carbon cycle. More than one third of this organic carbon flux comes from sediment-laden rivers that drain the mountains in the western Pacific region. This region is prone to tropical cyclones, but their role in sourcing and transferring vegetation and soil is not well constrained. Here we measure particulate organic carbon load and composition in the LiWu River, Taiwan, during cyclone-triggered floods. We correct for fossil particulate organic carbon using radiocarbon, and find that the concentration of particulate organic carbon from vegetation and soils is positively correlated with water discharge. Floods have been shown to carry large amounts of clastic sediment. Non-fossil particulate organic carbon transported at the same time may be buried offshore under high rates of sediment accumulation. We estimate that on decadal timescales, 77–92% of non-fossil particulate organic carbon eroded from the LiWu catchment is transported during large, cyclone-induced floods. We suggest that tropical cyclones, which affect many forested mountains within the Intertropical Convergence Zone, may provide optimum conditions for the delivery and burial of non-fossil particulate organic carbon in the ocean. This carbon transfer is moderated by the frequency, intensity and duration of tropical cyclones

Fluvial sediment supply to a mega-delta reduced by shifting tropical-cyclone activity

© 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved. The world's rivers deliver 19 billion tonnes of sediment to the coastal zone annually, with a considerable fraction being sequestered in large deltas, home to over 500 million people. Most (more than 70 per cent) large deltas are under threat from a combination of rising sea levels, ground surface subsidence and anthropogenic sediment trapping, and a sustainable supply of fluvial sediment is therefore critical to prevent deltas being 'drowned' by rising relative sea levels. Here we combine suspended sediment load data from the Mekong River with hydrological model simulations to isolate the role of tropical cyclones in transmitting suspended sediment to one of the world's great deltas. We demonstrate that spatial variations in the Mekong's suspended sediment load are correlated (r = 0.765, P < 0.1) with observed variations in tropical-cyclone climatology, and that a substantial portion (32 per cent) of the suspended sediment load reaching the delta is delivered by runoff generated by rainfall associated with tropical cyclones. Furthermore, we estimate that the suspended load to the delta has declined by 52.6 ± 10.2 megatonnes over recent years (1981-2005), of which 33.0 ± 7.1 megatonnes is due to a shift in tropical-cyclone climatology. Consequently, tropical cyclones have a key role in controlling the magnitude of, and variability in, transmission of suspended sediment to the coast. It is likely that anthropogenic sediment trapping in upstream reservoirs is a dominant factor in explaining past, and anticipating future, declines in suspended sediment loads reaching the world's major deltas. However, our study shows that changes in tropical-cyclone climatology affect trends in fluvial suspended sediment loads and thus are also key to fully assessing the risk posed to vulnerable coastal systems

Geomorphology and earth system science

This chapter surveys the history of geomorphology and Earth system science from 1965 to 2000. With roots in Enlightenment thought from Hutton, Somerville, Humboldt and Darwin, we see a preoccupation with a holistic form of Earth system science develop through the reductionist, mechanistic ideas of the nineteenth and twentieth century to be reawoken in the 1960s and 1970s environmental movements and the space age, culminating in the major research programmes set by NASA and others subsequently. At the same time the chapter charts the evolution in geomorphology to consider plate tectonics and the origins of mountain ranges, geochemistry and its links between surfaces systems and the atmosphere, to later ideas emphasizing the interplay between landforms and life. This chapter surveys changing interconnected ideas within this field and draws parallels and contrasts between the holistic depictions of Earth system science in the early part of the subject's history and the fundamental challenges facing us today as we grapple to find science-led solutions to global environmental change

Evaluation of evaporation climatology for the Congo Basin wet seasons in 11 global climate models

Across the Congo, there is a wide spread in rainfall in the two wet seasons in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 global climate models (GCMs). As the Congo is believed to be a moisture recycling hot spot, the evaporation of excess water from the land surface in some models could be amplifying the model spread in rainfall. This study performs an exploratory process‐based evaluation of Congo Basin evaporation in 11 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 GCMs that took part in the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project. Our aims are to improve scientific understanding about Congo evaporation, and to determine whether there are opportunities to improve how models produce Congo evaporation. Climatologically, we find that models with “realistic” rainfall simulate higher rainfall in November, the peak of the second wet season, than March, the peak of the first. However, models with “realistic” evaporation simulate lower evaporation in November than March, because these models suppress the transpiration component of the evaporation in November relative to March. In both wet seasons, subgrid rainfall schemes make these models simulate a credible ratio of transpiration to canopy evaporation, and cause them to generate evaporation in a more realistic manner. We therefore trust how these models produce evaporation in the wet seasons, and argue that lower transpiration is likely to explain why evaporation is lower in November than March in reality. We also suggest that using subgrid rainfall schemes in all GCMs could improve how models produce Congo evaporation during the wet seasons. This might reduce the model spread in Congo rainfall

Seasonal and interannual changes in sediment transport identified through sediment rating curves

Sediment dynamics of lowland rivers are of importance in building resilient strategies to manage environmental change. Yet the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on sediment dynamics are poorly understood. Here a low-frequency suspended sediment sampling data set is used to assess the spatial and temporal variations of suspended sediment fluxes in the River Thames (United Kingdom). Sediment rating curves (SRCs) were used to analyze both the spatial and the temporal variation of catchment-suspended sediment transport. SRC exponents for the River Thames were found to be between 0.21 and 1.13. The 95% confidence interval was also determined through a bootstrapping technique. The seasonal and interannual variability of SRC parameters were analyzed to reveal seasonal and secular changes. The results are used to quantify the seasonal flushing effect, in which suspended sediment concentrations are typically substantially higher during the first floods after the summer dry period. The suspended sediment concentrations of the River Thames during the first floods after summer are estimated to be around 1.5–2 times those of other floods, for a given water discharge. A decrease in the flushing effect which began in the 1990s is observed (around 50% of its original magnitude), which may be attributable to changes in catchment and river channel management

Increased water risks to global hydropower at 1.5°C and 2.0°C warmer worlds

Hydropower plays an important role within the renewable energy sector and supports the achievement of international energy security targets. Yet this sector is also vulnerable to droughts which affect generation potential, and high flows which can cause structural and operational damage. Here we use river flows calculated using a multi-model ensemble to investigate the potential water risks which current and planned global hydropower generation capacities may face at 1.5°C and 2.0°C warmer worlds. We find that the global hydropower sector will have to face diverse, simultaneous, and compound water risks. We estimate that about 65% of current global hydropower installed capacity will be exposed to risk from recurrent high river flows (here understood as the change in the 1- in-100-years flow). Up to 75% of existing hydropower capacity in Europe, North America and MENA is located in areas where droughts are projected to become at least 10% longer when compared to historical conditions. Achieving a 1.5°C warming target would reduce these risks, compared to a 2.0°C scenario