Arctic glaciers are leaking significant amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Gacial melt rivers and groundwater springs are transporting large volumes of methane from beneath the ice to the atmosphere. This previously unrecognised process could contribute to Arctic climate feedbacks, accelerating global warming.

In a paper published in National Science Review, an international team of scientists found a significant decline of downward surface solar radiation (DSSR) from 1959 to 2014. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) and anthropogenic aerosols contributed equally to the weakening of the DSSR and the role of GHGs was more significant after 1979. Whether DSSR would continue to decrease in the future is highly dependent on emission policies. The implementation of relatively lower aerosols and CO₂ emissions will help to curb the weakening of DSSR and provide a key guarantee for a smooth transition from traditional fossil energy sources to a cleaner one.

In a paper published in National Science Review, an international team of scientists discovered a universal N₂O emission baseline that could guide the sustainable management of riverine N₂O. The discovery of EF-lines emphasized the importance of targeting hotspots and managing baseline emissions sustainably to balance social and environmental benefits. The priority control of organic and NH₄⁺ pollution could rapidly eliminate global riverine N₂O hotspots and reduce emissions by half. However, the further restoration of baseline emissions on nitrate removal is a long-term challenge.

In the race to combat global climate change, much attention has been given to natural “carbon sinks:” those primarily terrestrial areas of the globe that absorb and sequester more carbon than they release. While scientists have long known that coastal salt marshes are just such a sink for “blue carbon,” or carbon stored in the ocean and coastal ecosystems, it has been difficult to get an accurate estimate of just how much they store, and so most of the focus has been on terrestrial sinks such as forests and grasslands. Now, a team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently debuted a new, highly accurate method for quantifying carbon capture in the Northeast’s salt marshes — and it’s a lot.