Here, we study the transport of ultrafine particles (UFPs) from an airport to two new adjacent measuring sites for 1 year. The number of UFPs in the air and the diurnal variation are typical urban. Winds from the airport show increased number concentrations. Additionally, considering wind frequencies, we estimate that, from all UFPs measured at the two sites, 10 %–14 % originate from the airport and/or other UFP sources from between the airport and site.

Do microplastics behave differently from mineral particles when they are exposed to wind? We observed plastic and mineral particles in a wind tunnel and measured at what wind speeds the particles start to move. The results indicate that microplastics start to move at smaller wind speeds as they weigh less and are less sticky. Hence, we think that microplastics also move more easily in the environment.

In this study, we compute the distributed sensible heat flux using a distributed temperature sensing technique, whose magnitude, sign, and temporal dynamics compare reasonably well to estimates from classical eddy covariance measurements from sonic anemometry. Despite the remaining uncertainty in computed fluxes, the results demonstrate the potential of the novel method to compute spatially resolving sensible heat flux measurement and encourage further research.

Streamflow dynamics are directly dependent on contributions from groundwater, with hillslope heterogeneity being a major driver in controlling both spatial and temporal variabilities in recession discharge behaviors. By analysing new model results, this paper identifies the major structural features of aquifers driving streamflow dynamics. It provides important guidance to inform catchment-to-regional-scale models, with key geological knowledge influencing groundwater–surface water interactions.

Arctic permafrost ecosystems may release large amounts of carbon under warmer future climates and may therefore accelerate global climate change. Our study investigated how long-term grazing by large animals influenced ecosystem characteristics and carbon budgets at a Siberian permafrost site. Our results demonstrate that such management can contribute to stabilizing ecosystems to keep carbon in the ground, particularly through drying soils and reducing methane emissions.

The layer of air near the surface is poorly understood during conditions with weak winds. Further, it is even difficult to observe. In this experiment we used distributed temperature sensing to observe air temperature and wind speed at thousands of points simultaneously every couple of seconds. This incredibly rich data set can be used to examine and understand what drives the mixing between the atmosphere and surface during these weak-wind periods.

The relaxed eddy accumulation technique is a method used for measuring fluxes of chemical species in the atmosphere. It relies on a proportionality factor, β, which can be determined using different methods. Also, different techniques for sampling can be used by only drawing air into the measurement system when vertical wind velocity exceeds a certain threshold. We compare different ways to obtain β and different threshold techniques to direct flux measurements for three different sites.

The boundary layer (BL) is well understood when convectively mixed, yet we lack this understanding when it becomes stable and no longer follows classic similarity theories. The NYTEFOX campaign collected a unique meteorological data set in the Arctic BL of Svalbard during polar night, where it tends to be highly stable. Using innovative fiber-optic distributed sensing, we are able to provide unique insight into atmospheric motions across large distances resolved continuously in space and time.

We have all seen trees swaying in the wind, but did you know that this motion can teach us about ecology? We summarized tree motion data from many different studies and looked for similarities between trees. We found that the motion of trees in conifer forests is quite similar to each other, whereas open-grown trees and broadleaf forests show more variation. It has been suggested that additional damping or amplification of tree motion occurs at high wind speeds, but we found no evidence of this.