Gradual riparian wetland drying is increasingly sensitive to global warming and contributes to climate change. We analyzed the emissions of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O from riparian wetlands in the Xilin River basin to understand the role of these ecosystems in greenhouse gas emissions. Our study showed that anthropogenic activities have extensively changed the hydrological characteristics of the riparian wetlands and might accelerate carbon loss, which could further affect greenhouse gas emissions.

Bioaerosols in the atmosphere over the Amazon rain forest were analyzed by molecular biological staining and microscopy. Eukaryotic, bacterial, and archaeal aerosols were quantified in time series and altitude profiles which exhibited clear differences in number concentrations and vertical distributions. Our results provide insights into the sources and dispersion of different Amazonian bioaerosol types as a basis for a better understanding of biosphere–atmosphere interactions.

Based on profiling pCO₂ measurements from a field campaign, we quantify the biomass production of a cyanobacteria bloom in the Baltic Sea, the export of which would foster deep water deoxygenation. We further demonstrate how this biomass production can be accurately reconstructed from long-term surface measurements made on cargo vessels in combination with modelled temperature profiles. This approach enables a better understanding of a severe concern for the Baltic’s good environmental status.

In order to quantify riverine carbon (C) exchange with the atmosphere in permafrost regions, we report a first assessment of CO₂ and CH₄ concentration and fluxes of the largest permafrost-affected river, the Lena River, during the peak of spring flow. The results allowed identification of environmental factors controlling GHG concentrations and emission in the Lena River watershed; this new knowledge can be used for foreseeing future changes in C balance in permafrost-affected Arctic rivers.

Permafrost soils hold about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. As the Earth warms the organic matter in these soils will decay, releasing CO₂ and CH₄. It is expected that these soils will continue to release carbon to the atmosphere long after man-made emissions of greenhouse gases cease. Here we use a method employing hundreds of slightly varying model versions to estimate how much warming permafrost carbon will cause after human emissions of CO₂ end.

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is classically seen as an ocean region with low primary production, which has been predicted to decrease even further. Here, the importance of such a trend is used to explore what could happen to the BoB's low-oxygen core waters if primary production decreases. Lower biological production leads to less oxygen loss in deeper waters by respiration; thus it could be that oxygen will not further decrease and the BoB will not become anoxic, different to other low-oxygen areas.

Oxygen penetrates sediments not only from the ocean bottom waters but also from the basement. The impact of the latter is poorly understood. We show that this basement oxygen has a clear impact on the nitrogen cycle, the redox state, and the distribution of manganese, nickel cobalt and organic matter in the sediments. This is important for (1) global biogeochemical cycles, (2) understanding sedimentary life and (3) the interpretation of the sediment record to reconstruct the past.

Satellite observations since the early 1980s show that Earth's greening trend is slowing down and that browning clusters have been emerging, especially in the last 2 decades. A collection of model simulations in conjunction with causal theory points at climatic changes as a key driver of vegetation changes in natural ecosystems. Most models underestimate the observed vegetation browning, especially in tropical rainforests, which could be due to an excessive CO₂ fertilization effect in models.

This paper shows that the impacts of Saharan dust deposition in different Mediterranean basins are as strong as those observed in coastal waters but differed substantially between the three tested stations, differences attributed to variable initial metabolic states. A stronger impact of warming and acidification on mineralization suggests a decreased capacity of Mediterranean surface communities to sequester CO₂ following the deposition of atmospheric particles in the coming decades.