{"title":"How can we automate future gridded Antarctic ice-sheet and bed mapping?","authors":"Hamish D Pritchard","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2025.0150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2025.0150","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As new airborne surveys of the Antarctic ice sheet are completed, the ever-enlarging survey dataset provides an opportunity for generating new 'Bedmaps' of ice thickness, surface and bed topography. These surveys are fundamental to improving our ability to predict the future of Antarctica, but other data-analysis challenges emerge because surveys often do not agree, large data gaps remain, the ice thickness changes or interpolation works well for one landscape but not another. Similar problems afflict other key Bedmap components: the coastline, the grounding line, rock outcrops, the ice shelves and the bathymetry. The process of merging the interpolated ice sheets and shelves and the grounded bed with the sea floor can also inject spurious cliffs and bumps in the grounding zone-exactly where ice-sheet models are most sensitive to flaws in their boundary conditions. In each case, unintended errors and artefacts that arise in the Bedmap grids require careful checking, correction and sometimes bespoke, local approaches to interpolation, slowing the process further. Here, I highlight the key challenges to overcome and address the question of how future Bedmaps can be automated to speed up the supply of new datasets demanded by the ice-sheet modelling community. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Next generation ice-sheet bed measurements'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2319","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147777660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicholas Holschuh, Olaf Eisen, Charlotte Carter, Steven Franke, Veit Helm, Andrew O Hoffman, John Paden, Knut Christianson
{"title":"Radar swath imaging of glaciers and ice sheets.","authors":"Nicholas Holschuh, Olaf Eisen, Charlotte Carter, Steven Franke, Veit Helm, Andrew O Hoffman, John Paden, Knut Christianson","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0549","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multichannel ice-penetrating radar systems can be used to generate radar volumes: three-dimensional data structures that capture variability in backscattering intensity as a function of along-track position, two-way travel time and elevation angle. By digitizing surfaces within these data volumes, the production of wide-area, fine-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) of the ice-bottom interface (measured through kilometres of ice) is now possible. This paper reviews this technique ('radar swath imaging'), explores its methodological principles, describes its operational requirements and highlights recent scientific advances enabled by radar swath imaging. Observations of glacier and substrate morphology and physical properties inferred from swath data have already been used to improve our understanding of ice-shelf melt, basal sliding and subglacial sediment and water transport. Lessons learned from these initial surveys should inform future data collection strategies, so that radar swath imaging can be deployed in the most productive way possible during upcoming major field campaigns, including the Fifth International Polar Year and beyond. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Next generation ice-sheet bed measurements'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2319","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147777805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The achievability of low-emission IPCC sea-level rise scenarios.","authors":"Helen Millman, Martin J Siegert, Richard B Alley","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0565","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 report (2021) provides a range of projections on greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, and the consequential impact on global sea level through thermal expansion of sea water and by glacier and ice-sheet mass loss. This paper assesses the likelihood of lower IPCC sea-level rise scenarios (SSP1-1.9 and SSP1-2.6) in light of current ice-sheet observations and model limitations, alongside today's emissions trends and current shortfall of climate commitments. We conclude that 'low-end' projections may underestimate the true pace and magnitude of future sea-level rise and, if we continue on today's mid-higher emissions pathway (SSP3-7.0), sea-level outcomes of more than 1 m by 2100 should be planned for. The worst can still be avoided through rapid deep emissions reductions, but it is essential that the IPCC continues to reflect these true risks for decision-makers, with rises of more than 2 m this century and several metres thereafter a real possibility. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Next generation ice-sheet bed measurements'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2319","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147778053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Uncertain ground: impact of bed topography on Antarctic Ice Sheet projections.","authors":"Justine Caillet, Helene Seroussi, Sophie Nowicki","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0543","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite decades of effort to map bed elevation under the Antarctic Ice Sheet, significant gaps remain in this geometric boundary, controlling ice sheet flow and grounding line dynamics. The impact of such uncertainties on ice flow simulations of the Antarctic evolution, however, has received little attention. Here, we investigate their impact on the Antarctic evolution at the continental scale as well as the regional scale for the Bellingshausen and Aurora basins and compare them to the impact of climate forcing scenarios. Using error estimates reported in BedMachine Antarctica, our simulations show that bed topography affects the Antarctic contribution to sea level by more than 40 cm in 2150 and 1 m by 2300, comparable to changes caused by different emission scenarios. Variations in grounding line retreat and mass loss are especially important in the Amundsen Sea, Ross and Filchner-Ronne basins. The impact of bedrock uncertainties is even larger on regional- and glacier-scale simulations with a higher spatial resolution, resulting in more variations in grounding line positions and mass change. Overall, these results suggest that errors in bedrock elevation under the Antarctic Ice Sheet are a critical but underexplored source of uncertainty. Additional observations in critical regions are needed to help reduce these systemic uncertainties. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Next generation ice-sheet bed measurements'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2319","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147778081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Antarctic grounding zone and bedrock: the interplay shaping Antarctic sea-level contribution.","authors":"Sophie Nowicki, Helene Seroussi","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0544","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Grounding zones have long been recognized as critical for understanding the past, present and future evolution of ice sheets. The ice mass flux through the grounding line contributes to global sea-level rise, and the freshwater flux impacts ocean salinity. This narrow zone-where the grounded ice sheet transitions into a floating shelf-is challenging to observe and model because of the remoteness of ice sheet beds and ice shelf cavities and is thus poorly understood. However, our understanding of grounding zones has changed as we collect new observations, which are revealing a far more complex system than previously thought. These observations serve as the foundation for mathematical and numerical models of ice sheets. Models have progressed from simply representing the grounding line as hydrostatic equilibrium and treating ice flow as a viscous fluid to solving visco-elastic problems, including coupled ice sheet-subglacial hydrological models and complex grounding zones. What all these models, however, have in common is the need to know the shape of the bedrock and basal conditions beneath the grounded ice, making a targeted observational campaign of bedrock in current and future possible grounding zones key to fully understanding the Antarctic ice sheet. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Next generation ice-sheet bed measurements'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2319","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147778306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Heterojunction engineering in metal-organic frameworks for electrolytic water splitting: advances and perspectives.","authors":"Anqi Cao, Sharel P E, Lingcong Meng","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0469","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0469","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The electrocatalysis of water is a promising means of producing hydrogen energy currently and has a profoundly important impact on energy storage and regeneration. In recent years, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely studied and used in the field of electrolysed water. Due to their large specific surface area, flexible and adjustable structure, abundant pores and uniform distribution of active sites, MOFs have shown a good electrocatalytic performance. One of the important ways to enhance the electrocatalytic kinetics is to build rich heterostructures to enhance the electrical conductivity, the number and stability of active sites and improve the adsorption/desorption of intermediate substances. In this review, we examine recent advances in the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction performance of MOFs modified through synthetic heterostructures and interface engineering. Moreover, the synthesis method, modification mechanism and influence on the activity of MOFs are described. Finally, we highlight current challenges and offer perspectives of MOFs with heterogeneous structures as electrocatalysts in practical applications. This article is part of the theme issue 'Surfaces, interfaces and heterogeneous catalysis'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2318","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147691454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cellulose-supported PdNi bimetal catalyst for selective nitriles hydrogenation.","authors":"Chuanchuan Zhao, Jingyi Zhu, Huilin Zou, Qing Ma, Zejiang Li, Yongjun Gao","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0466","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A kind of bimetallic catalyst, 1% Pd-5% Ni/Cellulose, was successfully fabricated using natural cellulose as support, achieving highly selective catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles to secondary amines. The abundant hydroxyl groups in cellulose facilitated enhanced dispersion of loaded metals during reduction. Moreover, the presence of Pd further promoted Ni dispersion, and their mutual interaction led to the formation of an alloy structure during the reduction process. This synergistic effect significantly enhanced both reaction activity and selectivity for the conversion of nitriles to secondary amines. More than 95% conversion for nitriles and 95% selectivity to secondary amines was achieved in the hydrogenation of nitriles. This work provides an effective strategy for nitrile hydrogenation reactions while aligning perfectly with national development strategies of green and low-carbon initiatives. This article is part of the theme issue 'Surfaces, interfaces and heterogeneous catalysis'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2318","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147691480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effect of the OH functionalization on the catalytic activity of a single-atom catalyst.","authors":"Azim Fitri Zainul Abidin, Adhitya Gandaryus Saputro, Lorna Jeffery Minggu, Rozan Mohamad Yunus, Ikutaro Hamada","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0475","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0475","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The existence of the hydroxyl ligand on a single-atom catalyst embedded in graphene, especially Fe(OH)-N4-C, is suggested to improve the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) from the pristine Fe-N4-C. However, the theoretical electrocatalytic activity of the ORR process is shown to be highly dependent on the electrolyte solution and the applied electrode potential. Herein, we performed the constant-potential simulation and microkinetic modelling to investigate the mechanism of ORR on well-studied Fe(OH)-N4-C and Co(OH)-N4-C catalysts and compared them with the pristine ones, using density functional theory calculation combined with the effective screening medium method and the reference interaction site model. It was found that the Fe(OH)-N4-C and Co(OH)-N4-C have comparable ORR activities to Fe-N4-C and Co-N4-C, and the calculated limiting potentials and half-wave potentials agree with the experimental values, in contrast to the results obtained using the constant-charge method (i.e. under the neutral condition) regardless of consideration of the solvation effect. This article is part of the theme issue 'Surfaces, interfaces and heterogeneous catalysis'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2318","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147691465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wanyu Zhang, Hao Lu, Danhong Shang, Xinwei Zhou, Qian Wang, Zengjing Guo, Yangping Zhang, Lulu Li, Fu Yang
{"title":"Rational construction of secondary metal on to Ni-modified Al2O3 nanoflower to achieve synergetic catalytic epoxidation of styrene.","authors":"Wanyu Zhang, Hao Lu, Danhong Shang, Xinwei Zhou, Qian Wang, Zengjing Guo, Yangping Zhang, Lulu Li, Fu Yang","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0467","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0467","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Styrene epoxidation to afford its epoxides shows a promising approach for value-added chemicals construction. By virtue of Ni-modified AlOOH nanoflowers as starting materials, secondary adsorption and thermal treatment transform the composite into Co/Cu coupled with NiO-modified Al2O3 nanoflowers. The results indicate that the Ni-modification improves the structural properties of AlOOH and regulates the morphology, while calcination treatment contributes to the surface area enlargement and hierarchical pore structure formation, which benefits the diffusion and accessibility of reactant molecules approaching reactive sites. The secondary introduced metal, including Cu/Co, affords a well-dispersed state close to the in situ formed NiO over the Al2O3 nanoflowers. It was found that the Co-modified catalyst Al2O3(Ni)-Cu exhibited the highest styrene conversion rate and styrene oxide selectivity compared to the Co-modified Al2O3(Ni)-Co and Al2O3(Ni). In addition, Al2O3(Ni)-Cu further showcases the great potential in the selective benzene oxidation to benzoquinone, in which benzene conversion reaches 60% at 10 h, and the benzoquinone selectivity was more than 90%, with near 1448 μmol yield. This finding indicates that copper and nickel species exert synergistic effects by electronic interactions between bimetals to influence the generation of final products, which provides valuable references for further research in related fields. This article is part of the theme issue 'Surfaces, interfaces and heterogeneous catalysis'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2318","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147691533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Annelouise M McCullagh, Stewart Frederick Parker, David Lennon
{"title":"The adsorption of aniline over alumina-supported palladium: an infrared spectroscopic and computational study.","authors":"Annelouise M McCullagh, Stewart Frederick Parker, David Lennon","doi":"10.1098/rsta.2024.0556","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0556","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Vibrational spectroscopy (predominantly infrared (IR) spectroscopy) is applied to examine the adsorption of aniline over a 5 wt% Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. Diffuse-reflectance Fourier transform (FT-IR) spectroscopic measurements at 30°C, undertaken within a low-coverage regime, indicate aniline adsorption to occur in a parallel orientation with respect to the metal at the support/Pd interface. At higher coverages, aniline adsorption shifts to the alumina support. Temperature-programmed (TP-IR) spectroscopic measurements indicate that the adsorption strength of aniline partitioned between four adsorption sites to follow the trend: support/Pd interface < type III tri-bridged hydroxyls < type IIa bridged hydroxyls ≈ type IIb bridged hydroxyls. Computational (density functional theory (DFT)) studies concentrating on the geometry of the Pd-aniline adsorption complex in the low-coverage regime discern the parallel orientation to be the preferred structure, in agreement with the IR spectroscopic studies. The aniline adsorption in a parallel orientation with respect to the metal surface at the support/Pd interface positions the aromatic ring parallel with the active Pd surface, thereby enabling hydrogenation to cyclohexylamine, the first over-hydrogenation product associated with aniline. The predominant re-adsorption of aniline to the γ-Al2O3 support is proposed to limit product over-hydrogenation in nitrobenzene hydrogenation and, thus, contributes to the reported elevated aniline selectivity over Pd/Al2O3 catalysts. This article is part of the theme issue 'Surfaces, interfaces and heterogeneous catalysis'.</p>","PeriodicalId":19879,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences","volume":"384 2318","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147691593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}