Evolving Earth最新文献

{"title":"Flood vulnerability and load capacity assessment of historic masonry arch bridges in Ireland under changing climates","authors":"Luke Kinsella,&nbsp;Saleema Panda,&nbsp;Upaka Rathnayake","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Masonry bridges, predominantly constructed from stone or brick, were a common feature of bridge engineering during the 18th and 19th centuries. However, these historic bridges are still in use today, but they are at risk due to various extreme climate conditions. Thus, these bridges are vulnerable to damage and needy for investigation. This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the projected impacts of fluvial flooding stemming from climate change on a number of masonry arch bridge structures located in county Offaly, Ireland. It evaluates bridge resilience by examining estimated flood levels alongside the overall condition of the structures. These assessments play a crucial role in determining the load-bearing capacity of the bridges and whether adjustment factors should be implemented. Particularly for bridges situated on primary and secondary roads with consistent heavy goods vehicle (HGV) traffic, the potential decrease in load-bearing capabilities warrants significant consideration. This study highlights concerns regarding the resilience of these historic structures and presents a valid argument regarding their suitability for contemporary environmental conditions and present-day activities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100153"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148523396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unveiling early to Middle devonian biotic crises in Eastern Gondwana's Paraná Basin, Brazil: Inorganic geochemistry and clay mineral insights","authors":"Luiza Rodrigues Rocha ,&nbsp;Eliane Soares de Souza ,&nbsp;Luiz Carlos Bertolino ,&nbsp;Kátia de Cassia Barbosa Alexandre ,&nbsp;Hélio Jorge Portugal Severiano Ribeiro","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100134","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100134","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Devonian period was marked by significant biological and climatic shifts, including widespread biotic crises that affected marine ecosystems. The Ponta Grossa Formation (Lochkovian to Frasnian) of the Paraná Basin in Eastern Gondwana records critical paleoenvironmental transitions that impacted the Malvinokaffric fauna, a low-diversity marine assemblage adapted to cold-water conditions. This study integrates mineralogical and geochemical analyses, employing techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), to reconstruct the depositional environment during the Early to Middle Devonian, emphasizing the Daleje and Kačák biotic events. The Daleje event is not recorded in the basin, due to sea-level fall, but associated levels (pre-Daleje) are characterized by water-column stratification and increased input of terrigenous material of organic and inorganic origin, creating chemically unstable conditions. The interval interpreted as related to Kačák-type conditions shows evidence of sea-level rise and REE enrichment, suggesting enhanced connectivity between the Paraná and Parnaíba Basins. These changes altered salinity and promoted anoxic conditions, as indicated by the V/Ni and Pristane/Phytane diagnostic ratios and by increased illite concentration. The correlation between the biomarker gammacerane and makatite, alongside sulfur and the biomarker C₃₀ αβHopane, supports evidence of microbial activity influencing paleoenvironmental shifts. The geochemical data also reveal the presence of potentially toxic compounds, such as perylene—a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon—and gadolinium, indicating environmental stress within the depositional setting. These signals may reflect early stressors analogous to those that later contributed to the development of patterns such as the Lilliput Effect in younger intervals<strong><em>.</em></strong> These findings highlight the role of inorganic and organic geochemical proxies in understanding ancient marine crises and their long-term ecological impacts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100134"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147802695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative assessment of IMD and CHIRPS rainfall products over Southern Peninsular India: A multi-scale validation study (2001-2020)","authors":"Vijaya Markandeya Tanakanti ,&nbsp;Kandula Bharghavi ,&nbsp;Thotli Lokeswara Reddy ,&nbsp;Krishnareddigari Krishna Reddy","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100125","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100125","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate precipitation estimation over topographically complex, monsoon-dominated regions remains a persistent challenge for satellite-based products. This study presents a comprehensive multi-scale evaluation of the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) against India Meteorological Department (IMD) gridded rainfall observations (0.25° × 0.25°) over Southern Peninsular India for the period 2001–2020. By integrating spatial bias diagnostics, pixel-level correlation analysis, seasonal stratification, anomaly-based stress testing, interannual variability assessment, and time–frequency analysis using continuous wavelet power spectra, the study moves beyond conventional validation to interrogate the physical consistency and scale-dependent reliability of CHIRPS under distinct monsoon regimes. CHIRPS exhibits strong temporal coherence with IMD at the regional scale (r = 0.888; RMSE = 180 mm), accurately reproducing the seasonal progression of the southwest (June, July, August and September) and northeast (October and November) monsoons, the characteristic west–east rainfall gradient, and interannual variability across the 20-year record. Time–frequency diagnostics reveal statistically significant co-dominant periodicities in the 4– 8-year band in both datasets, consistent with ENSO-scale modulation of monsoon rainfall, indicating that CHIRPS captures externally forced climate signals rather than dataset-specific retrieval artifacts. A key contribution of this study is the demonstration that CHIRPS performance is not spatially or seasonally uniform. Pixel-level bias analysis reveals a pronounced and physically organized positive bias along the windward slopes of the Western Ghats, dynamically linked to orographically enhanced deep convection during the southwest monsoon, while interior semi-arid and eastern coastal regions exhibit near-zero bias and high spatial agreement (r &gt; 0.8). Despite discrepancies in absolute magnitude, CHIRPS consistently captures the sign, timing, and relative ranking of extreme drought (2002, 2004, 2009, 2015) and surplus (2005, 2010, 2020) years, confirming its reliability for anomaly-based monitoring applications. By synthesizing these diagnostics, the study establishes a physiographically grounded reliability zonation for CHIRPS over Southern Peninsular India, clearly delineating regions where the product can be applied without correction and zones where spatially adaptive bias correction is scientifically mandatory. These findings provide process-oriented guidance for the informed use of CHIRPS in climate variability assessment, drought monitoring, and hydroclimatic applications in monsoon-dominated tropical regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100125"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147709508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effectiveness and scalability of coastal nature-based solutions under climate impact drivers: A systematic review","authors":"Pradeep Marula Siddappanavara ,&nbsp;Anushiya Jeganathan ,&nbsp;P Jayashree","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100108","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100108","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly promoted to enhance coastal resilience to climate change, yet most evaluations focus on biophysical outcomes while overlooking the project-level processes that influence long-term effectiveness and scalability. This study applies an implementation-based analytical framework to assess how coastal NbS implementation processes engaged with multiple Climate Impact Drivers (CIDs), including sea-level rise, ocean warming, storm intensity, precipitation variability, and ocean acidification.</div><div>A structured qualitative review of 117 coastal NbS studies was conducted, of which 35 were CID-relevant and only 14 contained sufficient process-level information for detailed analysis. Eight key Implementation Components (ICs)—baseline assessment, stakeholder engagement, comparative analysis, economic analysis, performance indicators, monitoring, adaptive management, scalability and replicability—were identified and analysed using Jaccard similarity indices to quantify their co-occurrence. These ICs are related to implementation planning, governance, monitoring, learning, and scalability. The ICs were further mapped to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Standard for NbS to evaluate their conceptual alignment with recognised quality criteria.</div><div>Results show that foundational and measurement ICs such as baseline assessment, monitoring, and performance indicators dominate current NbS practice, whereas learning-orientated and enabling processes—particularly comparative analysis, adaptive management, stakeholder engagement, and economic assessment—are weakly integrated. This structural imbalance limits cross-site learning, adaptive capacity, and scalability under interacting climate pressures. NbS interventions exhibiting more complete process architectures demonstrate greater alignment with IUCN criteria related to governance, feasibility, and long-term sustainability.</div><div>The study demonstrates that scalability is an emergent property of implementation-process completeness rather than a function of ecosystem type or intervention outcomes. This study establishes a quantitative-conceptual framework that integrates CIDs, ICs, and NbS Standard, offering a transferable methodology for identifying implementation deficiencies and enhancing the design of resilient, policy-relevant coastal NbS.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100108"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deep current variability from a carbonate contourite system in the Agulhas Region from late Miocene to early Pliocene (IODP Site U1475)","authors":"Allana Q. Azevedo ,&nbsp;Francisco J. Jiménez-Espejo ,&nbsp;Laura Martín-García ,&nbsp;Francisco J. Sierro ,&nbsp;Gerald Auer ,&nbsp;Jens Gruetzner ,&nbsp;Luigi Jovane ,&nbsp;Yasuhiro Takashimizu ,&nbsp;Nambiyathodi Lathika ,&nbsp;Ana Luiza S. Albuquerque ,&nbsp;Ian R. Hall ,&nbsp;Sidney Hemming","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100149","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100149","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent studies have demonstrated that contourites from the Agulhas Plateau (AP) are unique archives for reconstructing the global thermohaline circulation. Nonetheless, the strength of the current regime influencing the AP and a significant proportion of reworked sediments may influence the interpretation of proxies and sedimentation rates, among other factors. Recently, many studies have focused on shallow contouritic systems, emphasising shallow carbonate drifts, for which the bulk composition of detrital components has been well characterized. In contrast, research on deep contourites is less frequent and particularly sparse in the context of deep carbonate contouritic deposits. To identify potential proxies for current intensity in deep carbonate contourites, we conducted a high-resolution study based on bulk elemental geochemical and grain size data, as well as cyclostratigraphy and statistical analysis. Here, we present an age model for the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1475 (Indian Ocean - South Atlantic Ocean) on a precessional time scale spanning the Miocene-Pliocene transition and identify the potential use of the ln (Ca/Sr) ratio for reconstructing changes in the vigor of near-bottom current at this site. The potential application of this geochemical ratio is based on the unusual opposing trend between calcium and strontium, despite both being associated with carbonates. Intense bottom currents likely enhance the winnowing of fine carbonates (Sr-enriched calcareous nannofossils), concentrating relatively coarser carbonates (Ca-enriched foraminifera) in sediments. Spectral analyses reveal that obliquity (41 kyr), with a prominent ∼173 kyr amplitude modulation, is the primary orbital forcing driving deep circulation from 6.1 to ∼5.6 Myr, whereas short eccentricity (100 kyr) and modulation of obliquity (∼173 kyr) show stronger influence it from ∼5.6 Myr. At 5.45 Myr, the influence of short eccentricity is strong enough to favor high flow speeds at Site U1475, which is coeval with the earliest Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Moreover, these high current intensity occur in phase with maximum obliquity during the cold periods (e.g., TG14, TG12), while low current intensity occur concurrently with minimum obliquity. Based on the integrated data utilized, we propose that ln (Ca/Sr) serves as a reliable proxy for reconstructing near-bottom current speed variability at specific depths within carbonate systems, such as the Agulhas Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100149"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148241070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cambrian paleosols and paleoenvironments of Ireland","authors":"Gregory J. Retallack","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100163","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100163","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Early Cambrian rocks of Ireland have been recognized by the cosmopolitan trace fossil <em>Oldhamia</em>. Early Cambrian age has been confirmed by discovery of other trace fossils (<em>Manykodes pedum</em>, <em>Arenicolites didymus</em>, <em>A. sparsus</em>, <em>Histioderma hibernicum</em>) and acritarch palynology (<em>Skiagia orbicularis</em>) near Bray, County Wicklow. This study found these fossils in paleosols at its type locality near Bray, along with microbial traces of “old elephant skin” (<em>Rivularites repertus</em>) and drab-haloed filament traces (<em>Prasinema gracile</em>). These red paleosols have distinctive gypsum desert roses forming a subsurface (By) horizon, as evidence of hyperarid precipitation (MAP 130−152 mm), comparable with paleosols associated with vendobiont fossils in Ediacaran rocks of South Australia and Nevada. Cambrian land surfaces were not barren wastes, but supported microbial earth communities with diverse animal burrows, fed in part by aerobic photosynthetic organisms, revealed by organic δ¹³C of −18.2 to −25.4 ‰. Measured rates of chemical weathering in molar depletion per year and per mm of precipitation of 0.3−0.6 μmol/yr/mm cationic bases and of 0.07−0.2 μmol/yr/mm phosphorus, were comparable with Ediacaran paleosols, and with Phanerozoic soils and paleosols. Ediacaran-Early Cambrian biotic enhancement of weathering on land was a prelude to provision of nutrients for the spectacular Cambrian evolutionary explosion of life in the sea.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148935094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of historical and future land use land cover change and its impacts in the upper Bagmati River Basin using remote sensing and GIS","authors":"Sushil Subedi,&nbsp;Ramesh Rana,&nbsp;Srijan Thapa,&nbsp;Pradeep Gyawali,&nbsp;Subash Ghimire,&nbsp;Kutubuddin Ansari","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100167","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100167","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Evaluating land use and land cover (LULC) change impacts on river flow is essential for developing sustainable watershed management strategies, mainly in data scarce Himalayan regions. This study examines the influence of historical and projected LULC changes on river flow in the Upper Bagmati River Basin (UBRB), Nepal, by integrating remote sensing, the Modules for Land Use Change Evaluation (MOLUSCE) plugin in QGIS, and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The comparison between simulated LULC map using MOLUSCE plugin for 2018 and observed LULC map for that year reveals a strong agreement, further supported by Kappa coefficient of 0.87 for simulated result. Therefore, MOLUSCE plugin was used to generate future LULC scenarios for 2027, 2050, and 2100<strong>,</strong> which were included into the calibrated SWAT model to evaluate future hydrological responses. The SWAT model revealed satisfactory performance, with monthly Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) values of 0.88 in the calibration (2002-2005) period and 0.80 in validation (2006-2009) periods and R² values of 0.89 in both times. Historical LULC analysis showed that built-up areas expanded from 83.78 km² (13.72%) in 2000 to 147.65 km² (24.18%) in 2018, while agricultural land declined from 293.20 km² (48.0%) to 227.21 km² (37.21%) over the same period. Future projections indicate continued urban expansion and declining agricultural and forest land, leading to increased surface runoff and altered streamflow characteristics over time. These findings can help water resource managers and policymakers plan sustainable watershed management, urban development, and climate resilient land use strategies in Himalayan River basins that are urbanizing quickly. They also show that combining remote sensing, MOLUSCE, and SWAT works well for assessing the long term hydrological effects of projected LULC change in areas with limited data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100167"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148935096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multiscale analysis of a rare subtropical thundersnow event over South Africa: Synoptic forcing, cold-pool dynamics, and aerosol–cloud interactions","authors":"Farahnaz Fazel-Rastgar,&nbsp;S.H. Mthembu,&nbsp;Masoud Rostami","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thundersnow is a rare atmospheric phenomenon in which lightning and thunder occur during snowfall, typically associated with convective processes in cold environments. This study investigates a rare thundersnow event observed on 20 September 2024 at Bethlehem Airfield (FABM), South Africa, an unusual occurrence in a subtropical, high-altitude region. ERA5 and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, EUMETSAT satellite observations, METAR observations, and MERRA-2 Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 550 nm were combined to characterize the synoptic, thermodynamic, and cloud environment. METAR observations documented a transition from rain and hail to snow showers and light thundersnow (−TSSN) at 13:41 UTC, with a temperature and dew point of 2 °C and strong easterly winds. Available lightning observations were also checked, but no independently detected lightning strike was identified near FABM at approximately 13:45 UTC; therefore, the METAR report provides the primary direct observational evidence of thundersnow. The event developed in association with a cold-core cut-off low, strong synoptic-scale ascent, an active upper-level circulation, and anomalously cold air. The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis profile near Bethlehem at 1200 UTC indicated near-saturated conditions around 700 hPa, CAPE of approximately 1558 J kg⁻¹, and a Showalter Index of approximately 1, supporting elevated instability above the cold near-surface layer. Surface temperatures were approximately 10 K below normal, while enhanced low- and mid-level moisture favoured snowfall and elevated convection. EUMETSAT imagery showed deep cloud development, with cloud-top brightness temperatures of approximately −60 °C. ERA5 snow-depth fields indicated approximately 2–4 cm near FABM, although these values provide regional model-based context rather than direct observations of snowfall accumulation. MERRA-2 AOD showed only a modest increase from 19 to 20 September. Because AOD is a column-integrated optical quantity and does not directly measure aerosol concentration, composition, particle size, vertical distribution, CCN, INP, or cloud microphysical properties, no causal aerosol–cloud or aerosol–electrification relationship is inferred. Overall, the event resulted from the interaction of strong synoptic-scale dynamical forcing with an anomalously cold, moist, and elevated-unstable environment, demonstrating that thundersnow can occur in subtropical, high-altitude regions when favourable dynamical and thermodynamic conditions coincide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100160"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148769994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"South Asian protected areas insufficiently reduce extinction risk in terrestrial vertebrates","authors":"Aditya Srinivasulu","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100119","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100119","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biodiversity loss, accelerated by anthropogenic climate and land-use change, poses a major threat to humanity and is especially acute in global biodiversity hotspots. South Asia (SA), a region of exceptional biological, geographic, and cultural diversity undergoing rapid economic and population growth, is one such hotspot of change and extinction risk. Through protection, monitoring, and legislative designation, Protected Areas (PAs) can buffer against extinction risk by safeguarding habitats and threatened species, but their effectiveness is constrained by limited resources, fragmented management, and sometimes taxonomically biased designation. A thorough appraisal of species richness, distribution, and extinction risk inside and outside PAs is therefore essential to assess how well a region's PAs mitigate extinction risk. This study evaluates the efficacy of SA's PAs by identifying the region's most threatened terrestrial vertebrate classes, quantifying the relationship between extinction risk and ecogeographic factors, examining associations of PA occupancy and extinction risk, and mapping the distribution of extinction risk in SA. Results show that PAs in SA represent threatened mammals best and are 33% more likely to host threatened species overall. However, high extinction risk aligns with biodiversity hotspots where overlap with PAs may be limited. SA's PAs are small, fragmented, and unevenly distributed, underrepresenting many threatened species. Despite these limitations, they remain crucial for conserving key habitats and species. Improved design, spatial placement, and representativeness are needed to mitigate terrestrial vertebrate extinction risk effectively in this megadiverse region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100119"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147396953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil trace metal contamination and ecological risk in differently urbanized environments: Insights from Kochi, Kerala","authors":"A.R. Sabitha ,&nbsp;C.D. Aju ,&nbsp;A.L. Achu ,&nbsp;C.T. Muhamed Fasil ,&nbsp;Girish Gopinath ,&nbsp;Reji Srinivas","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100141","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2026.100141","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study examines two contrasting settings in Kochi, Kerala, comprising urban and peri-urban clusters that experience different levels of anthropogenic pressure. Surface soil samples were analysed for trace metals to quantify concentrations, map spatial patterns, evaluate ecological risk, and identify potential sources. Pollution indices, including the single-factor pollution index (<em>P</em>_<em>i</em>), enrichment factor (<em>EF</em>), geo-accumulation index (<em>I</em>_<em>geo</em>), Nemerow Integrated Pollution Index (<em>NIPI</em>), and ecological risk index (<em>NIRI</em>), were used to assess contamination status. Urban soils showed elevated concentrations of Zn (mean: 132.19 mg/kg), Cu (59.42 mg/kg), and Ni (53.62 mg/kg) relative to peri-urban areas. <em>P</em>_<em>i</em> highlighted Cr (max: 3.07), Cu (2.87), and Ni (2.38) as dominant contributors, with <em>EF</em> and <em>I</em>_<em>geo</em> indicating localized enrichment of Cu, Cr, Sr, V, and Ni. <em>NIPI</em> values ranged from 0.75 to 5.49 (mean: 2.32), indicating overall moderate contamination with localized severe pollution in southern and central urban sectors, while mild contamination dominated peri-urban zones. <em>NIRI</em> values ranged from &lt;40 to 160, classifying ecological risk as low in agricultural and peripheral areas, moderate in peri-urban regions, and considerable in densely urbanized zones. Multivariate statistical approaches (PCA and APCS-MLR) indicated mixed geogenic and anthropogenic sources. V, Ni, and Cr were mainly lithogenic but amplified by industrial emissions and fossil-fuel combustion. Zn, Rb, and Y were associated with mixed anthropogenic inputs, including agriculture, traffic emissions, and urban activities, while Zr, Ga, Ba, and Cu reflected both lithogenic materials and localized human activities. These results underscore the influence of rapid urbanization, industrialization, and traffic on soil contamination and provide useful insights for pollution control, land-use planning, and sustainable urban development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100141"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147995612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}