Nature Climate Change Contents September 2015 Volume 5 Number 9 pp 787-897

If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view.

TABLE OF CONTENTS September 2015 Volume 5, Issue 9 Editorials Correspondence Commentaries Correction Feature Research Highlights News and Views Perspectives Reviews Letters Article Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   Editorials Top The little boy and his changing faces p787 doi:10.1038/nclimate2790 After a false start in 2014, this year is shaping up to host a strong El Niño event. The question is why were last year's predictions of the natural phenomenon wrong? And what is the state of knowledge on the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)? Climate change and Africa p811 Alastair Brown doi:10.1038/nclimate2789 Correspondence Top Sources of uncertainties in cod distribution models pp788 - 789 Randi B. Ingvaldsen, Bjarte Bogstad, Andrey V. Dolgov, Kari E. Ellingsen, Harald Gjøsæter, Rolf Gradinger, Edda Johannesen, Torkild Tveraa and Nigel G. Yoccoz doi:10.1038/nclimate2761 See also: Correspondence by M. S. Wisz et al. Reply to 'Sources of uncertainties in cod distribution models' pp790 - 791 M. S. Wisz, O. Broennimann, P. Grønkjær, P. D. R. Møller, S. M. Olsen, D. Swingedouw, R. B. Hedeholm, E. E. Nielsen, A. Guisan and L. Pellissier doi:10.1038/nclimate2762 See also: Correspondence by Randi B. Ingvaldsen et al. Commentaries Top Playing hide and seek with El Niño pp791 - 795 M. J. McPhaden doi:10.1038/nclimate2775 A much-anticipated 'monster' El Niño failed to materialize in 2014, whereas an unforeseen strong El Niño is developing in 2015. El Niño continues to surprise us, despite decades of research into its causes. Natural variations most probably account for recent events, but climate change may also have played a role. Soot and short-lived pollutants provide political opportunity pp796 - 798 David G. Victor, Durwood Zaelke and Veerabhadran Ramanathan doi:10.1038/nclimate2703 Cutting levels of soot and other short-lived pollutants delivers tangible benefits and helps governments to build confidence that collective action on climate change is feasible. After the Paris climate meeting this December, actually reducing these pollutants will be essential to the credibility of the diplomatic process. Honouring indigenous treaty rights for climate justice pp798 - 801 C. S. Mantyka-Pringle, C. N. Westman, A. P. Kythreotis and D. W. Schindler doi:10.1038/nclimate2714 Expansion of the oil sands industry in Canada has caused land destruction and social friction. Canada could become a leader in climate governance by honouring treaty commitments made with indigenous peoples. Ensuring climate information guides long-term development pp812 - 814 Lindsey Jones, Andrew Dougill, Richard G. Jones, Anna Steynor, Paul Watkiss, Cheikh Kane, Bettina Koelle, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia, Jon Padgham, Nicola Ranger, Jean-Pierre Roux, Pablo Suarez, Thomas Tanner and Katharine Vincent doi:10.1038/nclimate2701 Many sub-Saharan countries are failing to include climate information in long-term development planning. Ensuring climate-resilient development requires a step change in how medium- to long-term climate information is produced, communicated and utilized in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Correction Top Correction: Development incentives for fossil fuel subsidy reform p801 doi:10.1038/nclimate2779 Feature Top Snapshot: Academics speak up p802 Bronwyn Wake doi:10.1038/nclimate2778 Research Highlights Top Water resources: Costs and benefits | Climate policy: Joined-up thinking | Biogeochemistry: Soil carbon trends | Climate connections: Heatwave forcings News and Views Top Transport emissions: All hail robocabs pp804 - 805 Austin Brown doi:10.1038/nclimate2700 Connected and automated vehicles enable new business models, such as self-driving taxis, that could transform transportation. These models have the potential to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions, but only if they are developed with energy use in mind. See also: Letter by Jeffery B. Greenblatt and Samveg Saxena International negotiations: Towards minilateralism pp805 - 806 Robert Falkner doi:10.1038/nclimate2767 The UN's climate negotiation process is no longer the 'only show in town', but there is little agreement among particpants on alternatives to replace it. See also: Letter by Mattias Hjerpe and Naghmeh Nasiritousi Carbon pledges: Alliances and ambitions pp806 - 807 Andrew Kythreotis doi:10.1038/nclimate2764 Some countries have pledged to become carbon neutral, while others' emissions continue to rise. Differences in their political attributes could explain the discrepancy in ambitions. Warming trends: Saharan desert warming pp807 - 808 Christophe Lavaysse doi:10.1038/nclimate2773 A key element of the West African monsoon is changing faster than in the surrounding areas but the reason is unknown. Now research assesses the specific behaviour of the temperature over the Saharan desert. nclimate JOBS of the week Macroalgal Cultivation Technician Queen's University Belfast Marine Research Technician Queen's University Belfast Full Professor (W3) of Meteorology Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie (KIT) Postdoctoral Research Fellow The University of Queensland - Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science Research Professor / Research Associate Professor in Plant Molecular Biology / Genomics / Plant Biotechnology United Arab Emirates University More Science jobs from nclimate EVENT 11th Annual International Symposium on Environment 23.05.16 Athens, Greece More science events from Perspectives Top The possible role of local air pollution in climate change in West Africa pp815 - 822 Peter Knippertz, Mat J. Evans, Paul R. Field, Andreas H. Fink, Catherine Liousse and John H. Marsham doi:10.1038/nclimate2727 Here it is argued that air pollution over West African cities needs greater consideration. The effects of aerosol pollution on clouds and solar and thermal radiation can be expected to alter regional climate and impact human health and food security. Future of African terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems under anthropogenic climate change pp823 - 829 Guy F. Midgley and William J. Bond doi:10.1038/nclimate2753 Projections of African ecological responses to climate change diverge widely. This Perspective unpicks some of the reasons for this uncertainty and reveals the importance of accounting for the influences of disturbances and climate on vegetation. Adapting to climate change in the mixed crop and livestock farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa pp830 - 836 Philip K. Thornton and Mario Herrero doi:10.1038/nclimate2754 Mixed crop and livestock farms are the backbone of African agriculture, yet there is little information on how these systems may be affected by changes in climate. Addressing this knowledge gap could help smallholders adapt to climate change. Reviews Top Climate and southern Africa's water–energy–food nexus pp837 - 846 Declan Conway, Emma Archer van Garderen, Delphine Deryng, Steve Dorling, Tobias Krueger, Willem Landman, Bruce Lankford, Karen Lebek, Tim Osborn, Claudia Ringler, James Thurlow, Tingju Zhu and Carole Dalin doi:10.1038/nclimate2735 Water, energy and food security in southern Africa are interdependent and exposed to the climate. This Review considers the extent to which spatial and sectoral interdependencies can be, and are being, considered. ENSO and greenhouse warming pp849 - 859 Wenju Cai, Agus Santoso, Guojian Wang, Sang-Wook Yeh, Soon-Il An, Kim M. Cobb, Mat Collins, Eric Guilyardi, Fei-Fei Jin, Jong-Seong Kug, Matthieu Lengaigne, Michael J. McPhaden, Ken Takahashi, Axel Timmermann, Gabriel Vecchi, Masahiro Watanabe and Lixin Wu doi:10.1038/nclimate2743 This Review looks at the state of knowledge on the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a natural climate phenomenon. It discusses recent advances and insights into how climate change will affect this natural climate varibility cycle. Letters Top Autonomous taxis could greatly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions of US light-duty vehicles pp860 - 863 Jeffery B. Greenblatt and Samveg Saxena doi:10.1038/nclimate2685 Autonomous vehicles move passengers without human intervention. Modelling suggests that autonomous taxis could reduce transport emissions by 87–94% per mile in 2030 and save approximately 7 billion barrels of oil. See also: News and Views by Austin Brown Views on alternative forums for effectively tackling climate change pp864 - 867 Mattias Hjerpe and Naghmeh Nasiritousi doi:10.1038/nclimate2684 Survey data shows that policymakers are starting to seriously consider alternative climate governance forums to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. See also: News and Views by Robert Falkner Domestic uptake of green energy promoted by opt-out tariffs pp868 - 871 Felix Ebeling and Sebastian Lotz doi:10.1038/nclimate2681 Consumers in Germany are much more likely to purchase expensive ‘green’ energy produced from renewable resources if they have to actively opt out if they do not want it. In absence of such a ‘nudge’, behaviour depends more on political allegiance. Changes in adaptive capacity of Kenyan fishing communities pp872 - 876 Joshua E. Cinner, Cindy Huchery, Christina C. Hicks, Tim M. Daw, Nadine Marshall, Andrew Wamukota and Edward H. Allison doi:10.1038/nclimate2690 An analysis of quantitative sociological data reveals that adaptive capacity has increased in coastal fishing communities in Kenya, but that underprivileged segments of society remain vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Decreasing intensity of open-ocean convection in the Greenland and Iceland seas pp877 - 882 G. W. K. Moore, K. Våge, R. S. Pickart and I. A. Renfrew doi:10.1038/nclimate2688 A combination of retreating sea ice and different rates of warming in the Greenland and Iceland seas is reducing winter air–sea heat fluxes. These fluxes drive ocean convection and are projected to decrease further. Climate-induced range overlap among closely related species pp883 - 886 Meade Krosby, Chad B. Wilsey, Jenny L. McGuire, Jennifer M. Duggan, Theresa M. Nogeire, Julie A. Heinrichs, Joshua J. Tewksbury and Joshua J. Lawler doi:10.1038/nclimate2699 Bioclimatic modelling suggests that as species distributions shift in response to climate change, few currently isolated but closely related species are likely to come into contact, implying that hybridization and competition risks will remain small. Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome pp887 - 891 Isla H. Myers-Smith, Sarah C. Elmendorf, Pieter S. A. Beck, Martin Wilmking, Martin Hallinger, Daan Blok, Ken D. Tape, Shelly A. Rayback, Marc Macias-Fauria, Bruce C. Forbes, James D. M. Speed, Noémie Boulanger-Lapointe, Christian Rixen, Esther Lévesque, Niels Martin Schmidt, Claudia Baittinger, Andrew J. Trant, Luise Hermanutz, Laura Siegwart Collier, Melissa A. Dawes, Trevor C. Lantz, Stef Weijers, Rasmus Halfdan Jørgensen, Agata Buchwal, Allan Buras, Adam T. Naito, Virve Ravolainen, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Julia A. Wheeler, Sonja Wipf, Kevin C. Guay, David S. Hik and Mark Vellend doi:10.1038/nclimate2697 Rapid climate warming has been linked to increasing shrub dominance in the Arctic tundra. Research now shows that climate–shrub growth relationships vary spatially and according to site characteristics such as soil moisture and shrub height. Article Top Growth responses of a green alga to multiple environmental drivers pp892 - 897 Georgina Brennan and Sinéad Collins doi:10.1038/nclimate2682 Shifts in the growth rate of a model green alga cultured in the presence of one or a combination of up to eight environmental drivers can generally be explained by the response to a single dominant driver, such as pH or temperature. Advertisement Nature Energy: Call for Papers Launching in January 2016, Nature Energy is now open for submissions and inviting high-quality research from across the natural and social sciences. The journal will be dedicated to exploring all aspects of the on-going discussion of energy provision; from the generation and storage of energy, to its distribution and management, the needs and demands of the different actors, and the impacts that energy technologies and policies have on societies. Submit your next research paper to the journal.     Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. The digital version is available here. Find the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia on natureevents.com. For event advertising opportunities across the Nature Publishing Group portfolio please contact natureevents@nature.com More Nature Events

You have been sent this Table of Contents Alert because you have opted in to receive it. You can change or discontinue your e-mail alerts at any time, by modifying your preferences on your nature.com account at: www.nature.com/myaccount (You will need to log in to be recognised as a nature.com registrant) For further technical assistance, please contact our registration department For print subscription enquiries, please contact our subscription department For other enquiries, please contact our customer feedback department Nature Publishing Group | One New York Plaza, Suite 4500 | New York | NY 10004-1562 | USA Nature Publishing Group's worldwide offices: London - Paris - Munich - New Delhi - Tokyo - Melbourne San Diego - San Francisco - Washington - New York - Boston Macmillan Publishers Limited is a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 785998 and whose registered office is located at Brunel Road, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. © 2012 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.