Nature Climate Change Contents February 2014 Volume 4 Number 2 pp 75-147

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Advertisement Gravitactic orientation of Euglena gracilis - a sensitive endpoint for ecotoxicological assessment of water pollutants (OA) In this review, Aziz Ullah and colleagues clarify the use of Euglena gracilis, a freshwater motile flagellate of the phylum Euglenophyta, as a suitable organism in ecotoxicological studies with special emphasis on its gravitactic orientation as a sensitive end point in ecotoxicological assessment of water pollutants. Read many high-quality articles from Frontiers in Environmental Science TABLE OF CONTENTS February 2014 Volume 4, Issue 2 Editorials Commentaries Features News Feature Research Highlights News and Views Perspective Review Letters Article Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter       Editorials Top Climate and the ballot box p75 doi:10.1038/nclimate2130 That democracy will lead to effective action on climate should not be assumed. Icy times p75 doi:10.1038/nclimate2131 Weather events make the news but shouldn't be confused with climate change impacts. Commentaries Top Extreme temperatures and violence pp76 - 77 Clionadh Raleigh, Andrew Linke and John O'Loughlin doi:10.1038/nclimate2101 Ascribing violence to extreme weather and climate change risks anchoring a modern form of environmental determinism. Making the most of climate impacts ensembles pp77 - 80 Andy Challinor, Pierre Martre, Senthold Asseng, Philip Thornton and Frank Ewert doi:10.1038/nclimate2117 Increasing use of regionally and globally oriented impacts studies, coordinated across international modelling groups, promises to bring about a new era in climate impacts research. Coordinated cycles of model improvement and projection are needed to make the most of this potential. Features Top Seeking a fair and sustainable future pp81 - 83 Anna Petherick doi:10.1038/nclimate2107 A more democratic world, and a world that responds effectively to the challenges of climate change, are common aims of the international community. But are they mutually compatible? Americans' views p86 Monica Contestabile doi:10.1038/nclimate2109 News Feature Top Clear storeys pp83 - 85 Elisabeth Jeffries doi:10.1038/nclimate2116 Mandatory buildings disclosure in the United States opens the door to improved energy performance. Other countries could follow suit, explains Elisabeth Jeffries. Research Highlights Top Species resilience: Shelving old habits | Ecological transitions: Simulating ecosystem shifts | Energy: European biorefineries | Policy: Efficiency standards | Sea-level rise: Amplified cycle News and Views Top Psychology: Local weather and climate concern pp89 - 90 Patrick J. Egan and Megan Mullin doi:10.1038/nclimate2104 Americans are more likely to believe in global warming when it's hot outside. A study now provides insights on why this reasoning process is not easily changed. See also: Article by Lisa Zaval et al. Atmospheric Science: A boost in big El Niño pp90 - 91 Nathaniel C. Johnson doi:10.1038/nclimate2108 Computer models and theory do not offer a consensus on how El Niño will change under global warming. Despite this disagreement, a study indicates a robust increase in the frequency of extreme El Niño episodes. See also: Letter by Wenju Cai et al. REDD+ Policy: Corridors of carbon and biodiversity pp91 - 92 Oscar Venter doi:10.1038/nclimate2115 Reducing tropical deforestation has huge potential for mitigating climate change and saving the Earth's most biologically diverse biome. Corridors connecting existing protected areas represent an elegant means of attaining both goals. See also: Letter by Patrick Jantz et al. nclimate JOBS of the week Three PhD positions in climate change and extreme weather research Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Research Domain Earth System Analysis Ph.D. position in Climate Sciences UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Senior Research Fellow: Climate Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation University of Cape Town, African Climate and Development Initiative PhD student in coastal ocean modelling Baltic Sea Research Institute Warnemünde International research chair in Fine Scale Ocean Dynamics University of Brest - France nclimate EVENT Cafe Scientifique: How does the biodiversity of tropical forests affect our planet? 28.04.14 London, UK More science events from Perspective Top Detection limits of albedo changes induced by climate engineering pp93 - 98 Dian J. Seidel, Graham Feingold, Andrew R. Jacobson and Norman Loeb doi:10.1038/nclimate2076 Geoengineering the climate by increasing the Earth's reflectivity has been suggested. In this Perspective, the detectability of various methods is investigated. Although satellite observations can detect large changes in albedo, smaller increases caused by some methods of geoengineering are indistinguishable from natural variability. This raises the question of how such schemes would be managed if their impacts can not be quantified. Review Top Global bioenergy resources pp99 - 105 Raphael Slade, Ausilio Bauen and Robert Gross doi:10.1038/nclimate2097 The increased use of bioenergy is mired in a controversy over the environmental and social risks of escalating biomass production. Assessments of global biomass potential published over the past 20 years are reviewed, showing how different levels of deployment necessitate assumptions that could have far-reaching consequences for global agriculture, forestry and land use. Critical future challenges that can be addressed by the scientific community are also identified. Letters Top A quantitative evaluation of the public response to climate engineering pp106 - 110 Malcolm J. Wright, Damon A. H. Teagle and Pamela M. Feetham doi:10.1038/nclimate2087 Climate engineering could support conventional mitigation policies but is potentially a controversial approach; therefore, understanding the public’s concerns about its adoption before decisions are made is important. Now research that draws on methods used by corporations to evaluate brands shows that the overall public evaluation of climate engineering is negative. Increasing frequency of extreme El Niño events due to greenhouse warming pp111 - 116 Wenju Cai, Simon Borlace, Matthieu Lengaigne, Peter van Rensch, Mat Collins, Gabriel Vecchi, Axel Timmermann, Agus Santoso, Michael J. McPhaden, Lixin Wu, Matthew H. England, Guojian Wang, Eric Guilyardi and Fei-Fei Jin doi:10.1038/nclimate2100 Extreme El Niño events cause global disruption of weather patterns and affect ecosystems and agriculture through changes in rainfall. Model projections show that a doubling in the occurrence of such extreme episodes is caused by increased surface warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, which results in the atmospheric conditions required for these event to occur. See also: News and Views by Nathaniel C. Johnson Retreat of Pine Island Glacier controlled by marine ice-sheet instability pp117 - 121 L. Favier, G. Durand, S. L. Cornford, G. H. Gudmundsson, O. Gagliardini, F. Gillet-Chaulet, T. Zwinger, A. J. Payne and A. M. Le Brocq doi:10.1038/nclimate2094 At present the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is thinning and its grounding line has retreated. This work uses three ice-flow models to investigate the stability of the glacier and finds that the grounding line could retreat a further 40 km, which is equivalent to a rise in sea level of 3.5–10 mm over a 20 year period. El Niño–La Niña cycle and recent trends in continental evaporation pp122 - 126 Diego G. Miralles, Martinus J. van den Berg, John H. Gash, Robert M. Parinussa, Richard A. M. de Jeu, Hylke E. Beck, Thomas R. H. Holmes, Carlos Jiménez, Niko E. C. Verhoest, Wouter A. Dorigo, Adriaan J. Teuling and A. Johannes Dolman doi:10.1038/nclimate2068 Climate change is expected to strengthen the hydrological cycle but this is yet to be conclusively shown. Satellite observations are used to investigate changes in terrestrial evaporation, indicating increases at northern latitudes that are in line with expectations. However, global multidecadal variability is dominated by El Niño/Southern Oscillation cycles. Abundance changes and habitat availability drive species’ responses to climate change pp127 - 131 Louise Mair, Jane K. Hill, Richard Fox, Marc Botham, Tom Brereton and Chris D. Thomas doi:10.1038/nclimate2086 The rate at which species expand their geographic ranges in response to climate warming varies. Now research on British butterflies finds that stable or increasing abundance is a prerequisite for range expansion. This suggests that assessment of trends in abundance could help to improve predictions of the responses of species to climate change. Genetic diversity in caribou linked to past and future climate change pp132 - 137 Glenn Yannic, Loïc Pellissier, Joaquín Ortego, Nicolas Lecomte, Serge Couturier, Christine Cuyler, Christian Dussault, Kris J. Hundertmark, R. Justin Irvine, Deborah A. Jenkins, Leonid Kolpashikov, Karen Mager, Marco Musiani, Katherine L. Parker, Knut H. Røed, Taras Sipko, Skarphéðinn G. Þórisson, Byron V. Weckworth, Antoine Guisan, Louis Bernatchez and Steeve D. Côté doi:10.1038/nclimate2074 Caribou populations that have experienced a relatively stable climatic history have high genetic diversity and occur in regions where climate stability is expected to continue. These findings, based on analyses of molecular data, predicted species distributions and a diffusion model, provide insight into the role of past and future climate change in controlling species’ genetic structure and evolutionary potential. Carbon stock corridors to mitigate climate change and promote biodiversity in the tropics pp138 - 142 Patrick Jantz, Scott Goetz and Nadine Laporte doi:10.1038/nclimate2105 The prioritization of protected areas to maximize biodiversity conservation and land-use based climate change mitigation is an important policy and research issue. Now a study identifies corridors that would maintain habitat connectivity while also preserving the areas of highest biomass between protected areas in the tropics. See also: News and Views by Oscar Venter Article Top How warm days increase belief in global warming pp143 - 147 Lisa Zaval, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Eric J. Johnson and Elke U. Weber doi:10.1038/nclimate2093 Little is known about how temperature anomalies affect people’s views about climate change. Research now shows that available information about today’s temperature, even though less relevant than evidence of global patterns, is used to formulate opinions. With experience of abnormal temperatures, people overestimate the frequency of similar past events and belief in global warming increases. See also: News and Views by Patrick J. Egan and Megan Mullin   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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