Nature Geoscience

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 21 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02078-y Uncertain internal variability in Arctic warming

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 21 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02077-z Reply to: Uncertain internal variability in Arctic warming

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 21 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02038-6 During renewable energy droughts, emissions from fossil-fuel power plants may increase; combined with the stagnant weather typical of such periods, the result is an increased risk of extreme air pollution — as is shown to be the case in China by 2050. However, strategically over-deploying clean energy can cost-eff…

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 17 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02074-2 Reforestation on previously forested areas after disturbances exhibits higher post-disturbance carbon sequestration than afforestation on previously unforested land, and has dominated China’s forest carbon sink over the past three decades, according to above- and below-ground biomass estimates.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 17 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02057-3 The Labrador Sea plays a crucial role in transporting oxygen into the deep limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, despite its limited contribution to density transformation, according to an analysis of 2 years of mooring data.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02080-4 Reply to: Antarctic greening is constrained by biology and requires field validation

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02072-4 High-resolution simulations project that the seasonal cycle of precipitation from mesoscale convective systems will intensify by 38–45% and be delayed by 10–15 days under high emissions, driving future changes in tropical rainfall seasonality.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 14 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02076-0 Antarctic greening is constrained by biology and requires field validation

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 11 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02039-5 Integrated model simulations suggest that air quality across China could be substantially degraded by emissions from fossil fuel power plants during renewable energy droughts in the 2050s, underscoring the need for a deeper clean energy transition.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 10 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02056-4 Long-term soil biogeochemical measurements in a cold desert in China suggest that moss biocrusts can substantially extend snow cover duration and increase snow depth during snow events, thereby sustaining soil biological activity and ecosystem function under a warming climate.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 10 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02070-6 Variations in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation strength through abrupt Dansgaard–Oeschger events during Pleistocene glacial periods controlled ocean heat content, and heat uptake by the planet as a whole, according to a synthesis of simulations.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02073-3 Opinions grounded in evidence and expertise play an important role in scientific discourse. The most effective opinion pieces do not simply express a viewpoint — they acknowledge limitations, nuance, and diversity of perspectives, and help move the conversations forwards.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 06 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02052-8 Humble hydromagnesite is a hydrated carbonate with outsized importance. Yongjie Lin and Ian Power explore its potential for both carbon sequestration and unlocking the secrets of potential past microbial life on Mars.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02037-7 The European Union’s climate goals rely on forests as carbon sinks. Remote sensing data reveal accelerating biomass loss and distinguish the contributions of harvesting and natural disturbances, helping to better inform forest policy and climate actions.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02062-6 Frequent Arctic nucleation events arise from coupled iodine and sulfur chemistry, with organics driving rapid growth. Ship-based observations show that this process can increase cloud condensation nuclei by up to 50-fold near marginal sea ice.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 05 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02032-y Satellite observations reveal accelerating aboveground biomass loss across Europe’s forests since 2018, increasingly driven by natural disturbances. These trends weaken the forest carbon sink and challenge climate mitigation efforts through forest policy.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 03 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02055-5 Northward movement of the Southern Ocean subtropical front diminished salt transport by Agulhas Leakage in the late Pliocene, although this had no apparent influence on the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, according to proxy records from marine sediment cores.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 03 August 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02054-6 Eukaryotic microorganisms within a subglacial brine-fed system in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are largely of marine origin, a legacy of past incursions of seawater into the area, according to RNA sequencing and metatranscriptomic analyses.

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 31 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02059-1 Himalayan rivers reflect rainfall patterns, not river piracy

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 31 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-02060-8 Only 10% of organic carbon from thawing Pleistocene permafrost in the Arctic that is buried in marine sediments ends up re-entering the active carbon cycle, according to a carbon isotope analysis of sediments from off Qikiqtaruk (Herschel Island) in Canada.