New research reveals that heavy precipitation sourced from the Atlantic Ocean, are the primary drivers of present-day lake filling in the northwestern Sahara. The study finds that only the most intense and prolonged precipitation events trigger lake-filling episodes, challenging long-standing assumptions about past climate conditions in the region. These findings suggest that projections of enhanced rainfall intensity and frequency in the Sahara could potentially reshape water availability in the desert.

A team from the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, studied the sediments that Hurricanes Fabian (2003) and Igor (2010) transported from the Bermuda carbonate platform -- a shallow-water reef refuge for marine life – and deposited to the deep ocean. They found significant effects on the deep ocean environment that lasted for weeks. Hurricane Fabian delivered as much sediment to the deep ocean in just two weeks as would normally take a full year to accumulate. These sediments -- carbonate-rich material that forms in the thriving ecosystem on reef platforms -- have major effects on the ocean environment. If they get buried in deep sediments, they can sequester carbon for millennia or more. They can also provide a buffering effect to help offset ocean acidification, a consequence of rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. The scientists, from the MBL's Oceanic Flux Program, published their data in Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans.

This work exemplifies the transformative potential of integrating numerical simulations with field data. The findings not only resolve regional tectonic controversies but also establish a methodology applicable to analogous systems worldwide, reinforcing the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in decoding Earth’s complex architectures.

The Arctic is one of the regions most strongly affected by climate change. In recent decades, the temperature there has risen four times as fast as the global average. The ASCCI measurement campaign coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Goethe University Frankfurt is investigating why the Arctic is warming so much faster than the rest of Earth’s surface and what effects that will have. With measurement flights taking place in the region through early April, the researchers are working to gain a better understanding of the causes and effects of Arctic climate change.