Biogeosciences 

This special issue features a series of papers that were presented at the sixth iLEAPS–OzFlux Joint Conference in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, New Zealand, in January 2023. It includes local to global reports on trace gas emissions, soil microbial interactions, eddy covariance observations, and vegetation responses under global environmental change. The purpose is to give a broad overview of some of the latest research in land surface–atmosphere interactions on various temporal and spatial scales.

The Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR-II) is an official activity of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project (IGAC) (https://igacproject.org/activities/TOAR/TOAR-II). The goal of TOAR-II is to build on the success of TOAR-I (2014–2019) and produce an updated assessment of tropospheric ozone’s global distribution and trends from the surface to the tropopause. This effort will include an analysis of the impacts of ozone on human health, crop and ecosystem productivity, and climate. Original tropospheric ozone research conducted by the TOAR-II community may be submitted to one of six Copernicus journals (ACP/AMT/BG/GMD/ESSD/ASCMO), and the accepted papers will be linked through the TOAR-II Community Special Issue.

Drought is a complex phenomenon resulting from interactions between physical and social systems that impacts both societies and ecosystems around the world yearly. Drought risks are systemic and increasing (UNDRR, 2021). In 2019, scientists from African countries urged the world to end the drought in drought research and asked for more support to better identify and prepare for drought disasters (Padma, 2019). Preparing for future drought requires a thorough understanding of the complexities of systemic drought risk and adaptation feedbacks, effective drought risk management, and good communication of the risk and potential adaptation options. In the special issue on Drought, society, and ecosystems, we aim to showcase the diverse interdisciplinary research being done on the interactions between drought, ecosystems, and people (including human-induced climate change and management).

We solicit contributions (commentaries, review articles, original research articles) from different perspectives on this interdisciplinary topic from research scientists of different fields, students, practitioners, and stakeholders. It will be a unique opportunity to further our understanding of drought risk, adaptation, and feedbacks. The co-listing of this special issue under the Copernicus journals Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS), Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS), Geoscience Communication (GC), and Biogeosciences (BG) allows for more diversity in perspectives.

Abstracts that fall under one of the following (or related) themes will be considered:

• drought risk analysis
• drought impact attribution
• water security in diverse contexts
• drought risk management and communication
• co-creation of drought information services
• drought in (socio-)ecological systems
• drought and the food–water–energy–environment nexus
• influence of human activities on drought hazard
• socio-hydrology of human–drought interactions
• drought and vulnerability (in ecological and/or social systems)
• drought adaptation (in ecological and/or social systems)
• climate change impacts on drought/water security.

Manuscripts with diverse authorships and with case studies in different geographic regions are especially welcomed. The special issue arises from the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) Panta Rhei working group Drought in the Anthropocene and aims to showcase the research done on drought–society–ecosystem interactions during the IAHS Panta Rhei decade (2013–2023). However, unsolicited contributions are also highly encouraged. The guest editors aim for diversity and balance in contributions and authors, encouraging researchers from countries underrepresented in science, women, and minorities to contribute to this special issue.

References:

UNDRR: GAR Special Report on Drought 2021, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, ISBN 9789212320274, 2021.

Padma, T.V.: African nations push UN to improve drought research, Nature, 573, 319-320, https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02760-9, 2019.

Ocean alkalinity enhancement is one of several ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches that are currently under evaluation. By increasing alkalinity of the seawater, dissolved carbon dioxide is converted to bicarbonate and carbonate ions, thereby allowing alkalinity-enhanced seawater to absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

There are several different methods by which ocean alkalinity can be enhanced. These include the spreading of fine-grained natural or manufactured minerals in coastal or open-ocean settings, electrochemical production of alkaline compounds, electrochemical removal of hydrochloric acid, and a combination of the aforementioned, among others. Following the alkalinity enhancement, either carbon dioxide is absorbed passively from the atmosphere through natural air–sea gas exchange dynamics or carbon dioxide sourced from the atmosphere may be added directly to treated water prior to its release into the ocean. While ocean alkalinity enhancement could be an effective, durable, and scalable CDR strategy, the environmental impacts, both intended and unintended, are not well understood.

This special issue explores a range of biological and ecological impacts associated with alkalinity enhancement and approaches for monitoring strategies in order to safely scale scientific research in the field. The target audience of this special issue includes not only the ocean alkalinity enhancement research community but also those involved in making decisions about the funding, permitting, and monitoring of potential field trials and pilot-scale studies. In keeping with our mission to publish all valid research, we consider negative and null results.

Submission is open to research within, but is not limited to, the following scope:

• biological and ecological impacts of ocean alkalinity enhancement, including those related to secondary abiotic changes (changes in trace metal concentrations, turbidity, etc.) as documented through manipulative lab, mesocosm, and field experiments; natural analogues; and computer models;
• mitigation of harmful biological or ecological impacts associated with ocean acidification;
• reversibility of harmful biological or ecological impacts;
• spatial differences in biological or ecological impacts across ocean regions or habitats;
• discussion and/or modelling of environmental monitoring strategies for field trials, pilot studies, or large-scale applications;
• review papers or meta-analyses on any of the above.

The following related topics are out of scope:

• research focused solely on abiotic processes (e.g. dissolution kinetics, estimates of CO₂ removal potential),
• techno-economic and life-cycle analyses,
• social impact studies.

To accelerate high-quality submissions, the first 10 accepted manuscripts (limited to two publications per research grant) will be offered financial support of up to  1800 Euro to offset either publication fees or costs for conference travel.

Financial support is provided the Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) R&D Program, a multi-funder effort incubated by Additional Ventures and fiscally sponsored by the Windward Fund. The Program is partnering with CEA Consulting to support this Special Issue. Please direct all questions to Lydia Kapsenberg (lydia(at)ceaconsulting.com).

Due to a transitional zone between marine and terrestrial systems, coastal wetlands and seashores are dynamic and highly vulnerable ecosystems. The multi-scale and cross-scale spatio-temporal dynamicity of such systems in terms of various biophysical fluxes is currently poorly understood. A multi-sensor approach, including various active and passive remote-sensing and in situ sensor installations, can help in continuous monitoring and gaining a better understanding of these coastal ecosystems. A multi-sensor approach can account for long-term and cross-scale trends of the biophysical fluxes and their dynamics, providing a better understanding of how biotic and abiotic factors can influence such changes.

In this special issue, we encourage submissions that present innovative ways to implement multi-sensor approaches to monitor coastal wetlands and seashores, with particular interest in applications that integrate in situ with proximal and/or remote-sensing methods. Contributions including new modelling approaches for multi- and cross-scale data integration are also highly encouraged.