Vertical Crustal Movement along the Coast of South Africa

Coastal cities face growing flood risk from rising seas and storms. Scientists estimate dangerous water levels using satellite measurements of sea level and computer models of ocean behaviour, but the two are often combined inconsistently. We reviewed this research and found the real challenge is not merging the data, but making sure both methods measure the same thing, the same way. Solving this could lead to more reliable, consistent flood-risk estimates for coastal communities worldwide.

We examined how winter rain falling on snow may change across northwestern Eurasia as the climate warms. Using projections from nine climate models, we found more winter precipitation and a larger portion falling as rain. Rain-on-snow events become less concentrated in spring and occur over more of the winter, while some southern areas lose spring events as snow cover becomes less persistent. These changes could affect snow conditions, reindeer herding, ecosystems, transport and infrastructure.