Urbanization promotes specific bacteria in freshwater microbiomes including potential pathogens.

Freshwater ecosystems are characterized by complex and highly dynamic microbial communities that are strongly structured by their local environment and biota. Accelerating urbanization and growing city populations detrimentally alter freshwater environments. To determine differences in freshwater microbial communities associated with urbanization, full-length 16S rRNA gene PacBio sequencing was performed in a case study from surface waters and sediments from a wastewater treatment plant, urban and rural lakes in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, Northeast Germany.

Expanding the phylogenetic distribution of cytochrome b-containing methanogenic archaea sheds light on the evolution of methanogenesis.

Methane produced by methanogenic archaea has an important influence on Earth's changing climate. Methanogenic archaea are phylogenetically diverse and widespread in anoxic environments. These microorganisms can be divided into two subgroups based on whether or not they use b-type cytochromes for energy conservation.

Diverse mantle components with invariant oxygen isotopes in the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption, Iceland.

The basalts of the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption were the first erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula in 781 years and offer a unique opportunity to determine the composition of the mantle underlying Iceland, in particular its oxygen isotope composition (δO values). The basalts show compositional variations in Zr/Y, Nb/Zr and Nb/Y values that span roughly half of the previously described range for Icelandic basaltic magmas and signal involvement of Icelandic plume (OIB) and Enriched Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt (EMORB) in magma genesis. Here we show that Fagradalsfjall δO values are invariable (mean δO = 5.

Seasonality of parasitic and saprotrophic zoosporic fungi: linking sequence data to ecological traits.

Zoosporic fungi of the phylum Chytridiomycota (chytrids) regularly dominate pelagic fungal communities in freshwater and marine environments. Their lifestyles range from obligate parasites to saprophytes. Yet, linking the scarce available sequence data to specific ecological traits or their host ranges constitutes currently a major challenge.

Greenland Ice Sheet Surfaces Colonized by Microbial Communities Emit Volatile Organic Compounds.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted by organisms for a range of physiological and ecological reasons. They play an important role in biosphere-atmosphere interactions and contribute to the formation of atmospheric secondary aerosols. The Greenland ice sheet is home to a variety of microbial communities, including highly abundant glacier ice algae, yet nothing is known about the VOCs emitted by glacial communities.

Microbiome assembly in thawing permafrost and its feedbacks to climate.

The physical and chemical changes that accompany permafrost thaw directly influence the microbial communities that mediate the decomposition of formerly frozen organic matter, leading to uncertainty in permafrost-climate feedbacks. Although changes to microbial metabolism and community structure are documented following thaw, the generality of post-thaw assembly patterns across permafrost soils of the world remains uncertain, limiting our ability to predict biogeochemistry and microbial community responses to climate change. Based on our review of the Arctic microbiome, permafrost microbiology, and community ecology, we propose that Assembly Theory provides a framework to better understand thaw-mediated microbiome changes and the implications for community function and climate feedbacks.

Large-scale sampling of the freshwater microbiome suggests pollution-driven ecosystem changes.

Freshwater microbes play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. Anthropogenic stressors that lead to changes in these microbial communities are likely to have profound consequences for freshwater ecosystems. Using field data from the coordinated sampling of 617 lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams by citizen scientists, we observed linkages between microbial community composition, light and chemical pollution, and greenhouse gas concentration.

Combined model of topside ionosphere and plasmasphere derived from radio-occultation and Van Allen Probes data.

In the last years, electron density profile functions characterized by a linear dependence on the scale height showed good results when approximating the topside ionosphere. The performance above 800 km, however, is not yet well investigated. This study investigates the capability of the semi-Epstein functions to represent electron density profiles from the peak height up to 20,000 km.

The Microbial Community and Functional Potential in the Midland Basin Reveal a Community Dominated by Both Thiosulfate and Sulfate-Reducing Microorganisms.

The Permian Basin is the highest producing oil and gas reservoir in the United States. Hydrocarbon resources in this region are often accessed by unconventional extraction methods, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Despite the importance of the Permian Basin, there is no publicly available microbiological data from this region.

DNA/RNA Preservation in Glacial Snow and Ice Samples.

The preservation of nucleic acids for high-throughput sequencing is an ongoing challenge for field scientists. In particular, samples that are low biomass, or that have to be collected and preserved in logistically challenging environments (such as remote sites or during long sampling campaigns) can pose exceptional difficulties. With this work, we compare and assess the effectiveness of three preservation methods for DNA and RNA extracted from microbial communities of glacial snow and ice samples.

Seasonality of Glacial Snow and Ice Microbial Communities.

Blooms of microalgae on glaciers and ice sheets are amplifying surface ice melting rates, which are already affected by climate change. Most studies on glacial microorganisms (including snow and glacier ice algae) have so far focused on the spring and summer melt season, leading to a temporal bias, and a knowledge gap in our understanding of the variations in microbial diversity, productivity, and physiology on glacier surfaces year-round. Here, we investigated the microbial communities from Icelandic glacier surface snow and bare ice habitats, with sampling spanning two consecutive years and carried out in both winter and two summer seasons.

Topography of mountain belts controlled by rheology and surface processes.

It is widely recognized that collisional mountain belt topography is generated by crustal thickening and lowered by river bedrock erosion, linking climate and tectonics. However, whether surface processes or lithospheric strength control mountain belt height, shape and longevity remains uncertain. Additionally, how to reconcile high erosion rates in some active orogens with long-term survival of mountain belts for hundreds of millions of years remains enigmatic.

Impact of Climate and Slope Aspects on the Composition of Soil Bacterial Communities Involved in Pedogenetic Processes along the Chilean Coastal Cordillera.

Soil bacteria play a fundamental role in pedogenesis. However, knowledge about both the impact of climate and slope aspects on microbial communities and the consequences of these items in pedogenesis is lacking. Therefore, soil-bacterial communities from four sites and two different aspects along the climate gradient of the Chilean Coastal Cordillera were investigated.

Monitoring microseismicity of the Hengill Geothermal Field in Iceland.

Induced seismicity is one of the main factors that reduces societal acceptance of deep geothermal energy exploitation activities, and felt earthquakes are the main reason for closure of geothermal projects. Implementing innovative tools for real-time monitoring and forecasting of induced seismicity was one of the aims of the recently completed COSEISMIQ project. Within this project, a temporary seismic network was deployed in the Hengill geothermal region in Iceland, the location of the nation's two largest geothermal power plants.

Whole genome sequencing of cyanobacterium sp. CCCryo 231-06 using microfluidic single cell technology.

The Nostoc sp. strain CCCryo 231-06 is a cyanobacterial strain capable of surviving under extreme conditions and thus is of great interest for the astrobiology community. The knowledge of its complete genome sequence would serve as a guide for further studies.

Addressing the need for interactive, efficient, and reproducible data processing in ecology with the datacleanr R package.

Ecological research, just as all Earth System Sciences, is becoming increasingly data-rich. Tools for processing of "big data" are continuously developed to meet corresponding technical and logistical challenges. However, even at smaller scales, data sets may be challenging when best practices in data exploration, quality control and reproducibility are to be met.

Applications and Challenges of GRACE and GRACE Follow-On Satellite Gravimetry.

Time-variable gravity measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) missions have opened up a new avenue of opportunities for studying large-scale mass redistribution and transport in the Earth system. Over the past 19 years, GRACE/GRACE-FO time-variable gravity measurements have been widely used to study mass variations in different components of the Earth system, including the hydrosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and solid Earth, and significantly improved our understanding of long-term variability of the climate system. We carry out a comprehensive review of GRACE/GRACE-FO satellite gravimetry, time-variable gravity fields, data processing methods, and major applications in several different fields, including terrestrial water storage change, global ocean mass variation, ice sheets and glaciers mass balance, and deformation of the solid Earth.

Estimating global economic well-being with unlit settlements.

It is well established that nighttime radiance, measured from satellites, correlates with economic prosperity across the globe. In developing countries, areas with low levels of detected radiance generally indicate limited development - with unlit areas typically being disregarded. Here we combine satellite nighttime lights and the world settlement footprint for the year 2015 to show that 19% of the total settlement footprint of the planet had no detectable artificial radiance associated with it.

sp. nov., a novel hexadecane-degrading species isolated from plastic waste.

Strain NGK65, a novel hexadecane degrading, non-motile, Gram-positive, rod-to-coccus shaped, aerobic bacterium, was isolated from plastic polluted soil sampled at a landfill. Strain NGK65 hydrolysed casein, gelatin, urea and was catalase-positive. It optimally grew at 28 °C, in 0-1% NaCl and at pH 7.

Phases of stability during major hydroclimate change ending the Last Glacial in the Levant.

In-depth understanding of the reorganization of the hydrological cycle in response to global climate change is crucial in highly sensitive regions like the eastern Mediterranean, where water availability is a major factor for socioeconomic and political development. The sediments of Lake Lisan provide a unique record of hydroclimatic change during the last glacial to Holocene transition (ca. 24-11 ka) with its tremendous water level drop of ~ 240 m that finally led to its transition into the present hypersaline water body-the Dead Sea.

sp. nov., a novel species of the family isolated from plastic waste.

Strain NGK35 is a motile, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped (1.0-2.1 µm long and 0.

Developing a large-scale dataset of flood fatalities for territories in the Euro-Mediterranean region, FFEM-DB.

This data paper describes the multinational Database of Flood Fatalities from the Euro-Mediterranean region FFEM-DB that hosts data of 2,875 flood fatalities from 12 territories (nine of which represent entire countries) in Europe and the broader Mediterranean region from 1980 to 2020. The FFEM-DB database provides data on fatalities' profiles, location, and contributing circumstances, allowing researchers and flood risk managers to explore demographic, behavioral, and situational factors, as well as environmental features of flood-related mortality. The standardized data collection and classification methodology enable comparison between regions beyond administrative boundaries.

Inter-Comparison of UT1-UTC from 24-Hour, Intensives, and VGOS Sessions during CONT17.

This work focuses on the assessment of UT1-UTC estimates from various types of sessions during the CONT17 campaign. We chose the CONT17 campaign as it provides 15 days of continuous, high-quality VLBI data from two legacy networks (S/X band), i.e.