Atmospheric Measurements and the Indirect Climatic Effects of Aerosols

Abstract The blackcap Sylvia atricapilla shows a complex migratory pattern and is a suitable species for the studies of morphological migratory syndrome, including adaptations of wing shape to different migratory performance. Obligate migrants of this species that breed in northern, central, and Eastern Europe differ by migration distance and some cover shorter distance to the wintering grounds in the southern part of Europe/North Africa or the British Isles, although others migrate to sub-Saharan Africa. Based on ˃40 years of ringing data on blackcaps captured during autumn migration in the Southern Baltic region, we studied age- and sex-related correlations in wing pointedness and wing length of obligate blackcap migrants to understand the differences in migratory behavior of this species. Even though the recoveries of blackcaps were scarce, we reported some evidence that individuals which differ in migration distance differed also in wing length. We found that wing pointedness significantly increased with an increasing wing length of migrating birds, and adults had longer and more pointed wings than juvenile birds. This indicates stronger antipredator adaptation in juvenile blackcaps than selection on flight efficiency, which is particularly important during migration. Moreover, we documented more pronounced differences in wing length between adult and juvenile males and females. Such differences in wing length may enhance a faster speed of adult male blackcaps along the spring migration route and may be adaptive when taking into account climatic effects, which favor earlier arrival from migration to the breeding grounds.

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Climatic effects of biomass burning

Environmental Software ◽

10.1016/s0266-9838(96)00039-1 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 11 (1-3) ◽

pp. 53-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Susan Marshall ◽

John A. Taylor ◽

Robert J. Oglesby ◽

Jay W. Larson ◽

David J. Erickson

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Climatic Effects

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Impact of climatic effects on the environment and the economy of the Russian Arctic

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/539/1/012033 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 539 ◽

pp. 012033

Author(s):

T Sorokina ◽

A Trofimova ◽

N Kondratov ◽

Yu Shumilova

Keyword(s):

Russian Arctic ◽

Climatic Effects

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Decadal increase in Arctic dimethylsulfide emission

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1904378116 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 116 (39) ◽

pp. 19311-19317 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Martí Galí ◽

Emmanuel Devred ◽

Marcel Babin ◽

Maurice Levasseur

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Radiative Forcing ◽

Positive Trend ◽

Aerosol Formation ◽

Atmospheric Measurements ◽

Sea Ice Extent ◽

Phytoplankton Productivity ◽

Physical Forcing ◽

Ice Retreat ◽

Aerosol Cloud Interactions

Dimethylsulfide (DMS), a gas produced by marine microbial food webs, promotes aerosol formation in pristine atmospheres, altering cloud radiative forcing and precipitation. Recent studies suggest that DMS controls aerosol formation in the summertime Arctic atmosphere and call for an assessment of pan-Arctic DMS emission (EDMS) in a context of dramatic ecosystem changes. Using a remote sensing algorithm, we show that summertime EDMS from ice-free waters increased at a mean rate of 13.3 ± 6.7 Gg S decade−1 (∼33% decade−1) north of 70°N between 1998 and 2016. This trend, mostly explained by the reduction in sea-ice extent, is consistent with independent atmospheric measurements showing an increasing trend of methane sulfonic acid, a DMS oxidation product. Extrapolation to an ice-free Arctic summer could imply a 2.4-fold (±1.2) increase in EDMS compared to present emission. However, unexpected regime shifts in Arctic geo- and ecosystems could result in future EDMS departure from the predicted range. Superimposed on the positive trend, EDMS shows substantial interannual changes and nonmonotonic multiyear trends, reflecting the interplay between physical forcing, ice retreat patterns, and phytoplankton productivity. Our results provide key constraints to determine whether increasing marine sulfur emissions, and resulting aerosol–cloud interactions, will moderate or accelerate Arctic warming in the context of sea-ice retreat and increasing low-level cloud cover.

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