Study area: Urumqi Glacier No.1 Catchment in central Asia. Study focus: Chemical weathering at the basin scale is important process for understanding the feedback mechanism of the carbon cycle and climate change. This study mainly used the actual sampling data in 2013, 2014, and 2016, and the first collection from the literature in same catchment to analyze the seasonal and interannual characteristics of meltwater runoff, as well as cation denudation rate (CDR). New hydrological insights for the study region: The dominant ions of meltwater runoff are Ca2 +, HCO3- , and SO42-, which are mainly derived from calcite dissolution, feldspar weathering and sulfide oxidation. Meltwater runoff at Urumqi Glacier No.1 has higher concentrations of Ca2+ and lower concentrations of HCO3- than that from glaciers in Asia. Compared to 2006 and 2007, cation concentrations increased in 2013 and 2014, while SO42- concentration decreased. The daily ion concentration has seasonality and exhibits a negative relationship with discharge. Daily CDR is positively related to discharge and temperature. Annual CDR values range from 12.34 to 19.04 t/ km2/yr in 2013, 2014, and 2016, which are 1-1.7 times higher than those in 2006 and 2007 and higher than some glaciers in Asia. These results indicate that chemical weathering rate in the Urumqi Glacier No.1 catchment has increased with climate warming, and it is stronger than that of some glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and surroundings.

Study area: Urumqi Glacier No.1 Catchment in central Asia. Study focus: Chemical weathering at the basin scale is important process for understanding the feedback mechanism of the carbon cycle and climate change. This study mainly used the actual sampling data in 2013, 2014, and 2016, and the first collection from the literature in same catchment to analyze the seasonal and interannual characteristics of meltwater runoff, as well as cation denudation rate (CDR). New hydrological insights for the study region: The dominant ions of meltwater runoff are Ca2 +, HCO3- , and SO42-, which are mainly derived from calcite dissolution, feldspar weathering and sulfide oxidation. Meltwater runoff at Urumqi Glacier No.1 has higher concentrations of Ca2+ and lower concentrations of HCO3- than that from glaciers in Asia. Compared to 2006 and 2007, cation concentrations increased in 2013 and 2014, while SO42- concentration decreased. The daily ion concentration has seasonality and exhibits a negative relationship with discharge. Daily CDR is positively related to discharge and temperature. Annual CDR values range from 12.34 to 19.04 t/ km2/yr in 2013, 2014, and 2016, which are 1-1.7 times higher than those in 2006 and 2007 and higher than some glaciers in Asia. These results indicate that chemical weathering rate in the Urumqi Glacier No.1 catchment has increased with climate warming, and it is stronger than that of some glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and surroundings.

Due to climate change the drop in spring-water discharge poses a serious issue in the Himalayan region, especially in the higher of Himachal Pradesh. This study used different climatic factors along with long-term rainfall data to understand the decreasing trend in spring-water discharge. It was determined which climate parameter was most closely correlated with spring discharge volumes using a general as well as partial correlation plot. Based on 40 years (1981-2021) of daily average rainfall data, a rainfall-runoff model was utilised to predict and assess trends in spring-water discharge using the MIKE 11 NAM hydrological model. The model's effectiveness was effectively proved by the validation results (NSE = 0.79, R2 = 0.944, RMSE = 0.23, PBIAS = 32%). Model calibration and simulation revealed that both observed and simulated spring-water runoff decreased by almost 29%, within the past 40 years. Consequently, reduced spring-water discharge is made sensitive to the hydrological (groundwater stress, base flow, and stream water flow) and environmental entities (drinking water, evaporation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration). This study will help researchers and policymakers to think and work on the spring disappearance and water security issues in the Himalayan region.

Background: The current focus is largely on whole course medical management of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and radiological features, while the mild cases are usually missed. Thus, combination of multiple diagnostic methods is urgent to understand COVID-19 fully and to monitor the progression of COVID-19. Methods: laboratory variables of 40 mild COVID-19 patients, 30 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and 32 healthy individuals were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA), Kruskal test, Procrustes test, the vegan package in R, CCA package and receiver operating characteristic to investigate the characteristics of the laboratory variables and their relationships in COVID-19. Results: The correlations between the laboratory variables presented a variety of intricate linkages in the COVID-19 group compared with the healthy group and CAP patient group. The prediction probability of the combination of lymphocyte count (LY), eosinophil (EO) and platelets (PLT) was 0.847, 0.854 for the combination of lactate (LDH), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), and C-reactive protein (CRP), 0.740 for the combination of EO, white blood cell count (WBC) and neutrophil count (NEUT) and 0.872 for the combination of CK-MB and P. Conclusions: The correlations between the laboratory variables in the COVID-19 group could be a unique characteristic showing promise as a method for COVID-19 prediction and monitoring progression of COVID-19 infection.

Winter baseflow (WB) can stabilize freshwater inputs and has important impacts on nutrient migration and the water cycle of a specific region and the oceans. This study systematically analyzed the WB variations in fourteen major Eurasian rivers and found they all had commonly increasing trends (except the Yellow River), with the mean increase ratio of 53.0% (+/- 34.8%, confidence interval 95%) over the past 100 years (the longest time series is 1879-2015). Relative to Northern Eurasia (60 degrees N-70 degrees N) and Southern Eurasia (30 degrees N-40 degrees N), the river WB in middle Eurasia (40 degrees N-60 degrees N) had the largest increase rate (0.60%/year). The increases of the WB in Northern Eurasia and Southern Eurasia have speeded up since the 1990s; on the contrary, they have slowed down or even turned to a decreasing trend after the 1990s in the middle Eurasian rivers. Using multiple linear regression analysis, the quantitative relationship between WB and winter surface air temperature (max, mean and min), snowfall, soil temperature, antecedent precipitation, as well as the river-ice dynamic were determined. We found that the winter air temperature, especially the minimum air temperature was one major factor accounting for WB variation in Eurasia over the past century. When the winter air temperature rises, this leads a reduction in the thickness and volume of river ice, and thus decreases water storage in river ice and leads to an increase in the WB. About 19.6% (6.7%-41.5%) of the winter WB increase in rivers of Siberia was caused by the decreased river ice during the past 100 years. Although groundwater recharge was the dominant reason for WB change, the role of river ice should not be ignored in hydrological study of cold regions.

A comprehensive global investigation on the impact of reduction (changes) in aerosol emissions due to Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns on aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) utilizing satellite observations and model simulations is conducted for the first time. The absolute change in Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) retrieved, and two highly-spatially resolved models (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications-2 (MERRA-2) and Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)) simulated SSA is <4% (<0.04-0.05) globally during COVID (2020) compared to normal (2015-2019) period. Change in SSA during COVID is not significantly different from long-term and year-to-year variability in SSA. A small change in SSA indicates that significant reduction in anthropogenic aerosol emissions during COVID-19 induced lockdowns has a negligible effect in changing the net contribution of aerosol scattering and/or absorption to total aerosol extinction. The changes in species-wise aerosol optical depth (AOD) are examined in detail to explain the observed changes in SSA. Model simulations show that total AOD decreased during COVID-19 lockdowns, consistent with satellite observations. The respective contributions of sulfate and black carbon (BC) to total AOD increased, which resulted in a negligible change in SSA during the spring and summer seasons of COVID over South Asia. Europe and North America experience a small increase in SSA (<2%) during the summer season of COVID due to a decrease in BC contribution. The change in SSA (2%) is the same for a small change in BC AOD contribution (3%), and for a significant change in sulfate AOD contribution (20%) to total AOD. Since, BC SSA is 5-times lower (higher absorption) than that of sulfate SSA, the change in SSA remains the same. For a significant change in SSA to occur, the BC AOD contribution needs to be changed significantly (4-5 times) compared to other aerosol species. A sensitivity analysis reveals that change in aerosol radiative forcing during COVID is primarily dependent on change in AOD rather than SSA. These quantitative findings can be useful to devise more suitable future global and regional mitigation strategies aimed at regulating aerosol emissions to reduce environmental impacts, air pollution, and public health risks.

The active layer is the portion of soil overlaying the permafrost that freezes and thaws seasonally. It is a harsh habitat in which a varied and vigorous microbial population thrives. The high-altitude active layer soil in northern India is a unique and important cryo-ecosystem. However, its microbiology remains largely unexplored. It represents a unique reservoir for microbial communities with adaptability to harsh environmental conditions. In the Changthang region of Ladakh, the Tsokar area is a high-altitude permafrost-affected area situated in the southern part of Ladakh, at a height of 4530 m above sea level. Results of the comparison study with the QTP, Himalayan, Alaskan, Russian, Canadian and Polar active layers showed that the alpha diversity was significantly higher in the Ladakh and QTP active layers as the environmental condition of both the sites were similar. Moreover, the sampling site in the Ladakh region was in a thawing condition at the time of sampling which possibly provided nutrients and access to alternative nitrogen and carbon sources to the microorganisms thriving in it. Analysis of the samples suggested that the geochemical parameters and environmental conditions shape the microbial alpha diversity and community composition. Further analysis revealed that the cold-adapted methanogens were present in the Ladakh, Himalayan, Polar and Alaskan samples and absent in QTP, Russian and Canadian active layer samples. These methanogens could produce methane at slow rates in the active layer soils that could increase the atmospheric temperature owing to climate change.

Carbonaceous particles are an important radiative forcing agent in the atmosphere, with large temporal and spatial variations in their concentrations and compositions, especially in remote regions. This study reported the delta C-14 and delta C-13 of total carbon (TC) and water-insoluble particulate carbon (IPC) of the total suspended particles (TSP) and PM2.5 at a remote site of the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP), a region that is influenced by heavy air pollution from Southwest China. The average organic carbon and elemental carbon concentrations of TSP samples in this study were 3.20 +/- 2.38 mu g m(-3) and 0.68 +/- 0.67 mu g m(-3), respectively, with low and high values in summer and winter, respectively. The fossil fuel contributions of TC in TSP and PM2.5 samples were 18.91 +/- 7.22% and 23.13 +/- 12.52%, respectively, both of which were far lower than that in Southwest China, indicating the importance of non-fossil contributions from local sources. The delta C-13 of TC in TSP samples of the study site was -27.06 +/- 0.96 parts per thousand, which is between the values of long-range transported sources (e.g., Southwest China) and local biomass combustion emissions. Therefore, despite the contribution from the long-range transport of particles, aerosols emitted from local biomass combustion also have an important influence on carbonaceous particles at the study site. The findings of this work can be applied to other remote sites on the eastern TP and should be considered in related research in the future.

Climate warming can lead to permafrost degradation, potentially resulting in slope failures such as retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs). The formation of and changes in RTSs could exacerbate the degradation of permafrost and the environment in general. The mechanisms of RTS progression and the potential consequences on the analogous freeze-thaw cycle are not well understood, owing partly to necessitating field work under harsh conditions and with high costs. Here, we used multi-source remote sensing and field surveys to quantify the changes in an RTS on Eboling Mountain in the Qilian Mountain Range in west-central China. Based on optical remote sensing and SBAS-InSAR measurements, we analyzed the RTS evolution and the underlying drivers, combined with meteorological observations. The RTS expanded from 56 m2 in 2015 to 4294 m2 in 2022, growing at a rate of 1300 m2/a to its maximum in 2018 and then decreasing. Changes in temperature and precipitation play a dominant role in the evolution of the RTS, and the extreme weather in 2016 may also be a primary contributor to the accelerated growth, with an average deformation of -8.3 mm during the thawing period, which decreased slope stability. The RTS evolved more actively during the thawing and early freezing process, with earthquakes having potentially contributed further to RTS evolution. We anticipate that the rate of RTS evolution is likely to increase in the coming years.

As the regulator of water and nutrient changes in the active layer after permafrost degradation, root signaling substances affect the plant-soil carbon allocation mechanism under climate warming, which is a key issue in the carbon source/sink balance in permafrost regions. To explore how plant root signaling substances regulate carbon allocation in plants and soils under permafrost degradation, the changes in carbon allocation and root signaling substances in the plants and soils of peatland in different permafrost regions at the time of labeling were studied by in situ C-13 labeling experiments. The results showed that the fixed C-13 of Larix gemlini, Carex schumidtii, and Sphagnum leaves after photosynthesis was affected by permafrost degradation. In regions with more continuous permafrost, the trend of the L. gemlini distribution to underground C-13 is more stable. Environmental stress had little effect on the C-13 accumulation of Vaccinium uliginosum. Nonstructural carbohydrates, osmotic regulatory substances, hormones, and anaerobic metabolites were the main root signaling substances that regulate plant growth in the peatlands of the three permafrost regions. The allocation of carbon to the soil is more susceptible to the indirect and direct effects of climate and environmental changes, and tree roots are more susceptible to environmental changes than other plants in isolated patches of permafrost regions. The physical properties of the soil are affected by climate change, and the allocation of carbon is regulated by hormones and osmotic regulators while resisting anoxia in the sporadic regions of permafrost. Carbon allocation in discontinuous permafrost areas is mainly regulated by root substances, which are easily affected by the physical and chemical properties of the soil. In general, the community composition of peatlands in permafrost areas is highly susceptible to environmental changes in the soil, and the allocation of carbon from the plant to the soil is affected by the degradation of the permafrost.