The atmospheric pattern that has shaped Greenland’s climate for thousands of years

Sediments from southern Greenland reveal a persistent link between the North Atlantic Oscillation, precipitation and regional ice-sheet behaviour

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

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The Northern lights (aurora borealis) shines down of the deck of the research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN during expedition MSM111 as it sails towards Greenland, where the sediment core from Narsaq Sound was recovered. Photo: MARUM, University of Bremen; J. Faust

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Credit: MARUM, University of Bremen; J. Faust

In high-latitude coastal areas specifically, Arctic Amplification means that temperatures are rising quicker than the global mean. This combination of rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns driven by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO; see info box) has huge impacts on regions with a ‘cryosphere’ – areas that host ice sheets and glaciers, such as southern Greenland. Present day measurements demonstrate a clear relationship between the positive NAO phases, increasing precipitation and cooler temperatures in southern Greenland. Beyond the time measurements began however, the impact of the large- scale atmospheric circulation patterns on the Greenland Ice Sheet is poorly understood.

The aim of a new study led by MARUM scientists, recently published in the journal Nature Communications, was to create such a precipitation record extending back through the Holocene; our planet’s current warm epoch that spans the last ca. 12,000 years. The international research team used a sediment core collected in 2022 from Narsaq Sound, in south western Greenland. The core was collected during the research expedition MSM 111 BAFFDEEP, funded by the MARUM Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface”.

Measuring rainfall or snowfall over millennia in marine mud may sound challenging, but the researchers found the clue to this by looking at the distinct geology surrounding Narsaq Sound. The rocks that surround Narsaq Sound are unique in that they are rich in Niobium, a rare Earth element. Niobium concentrations are generally low in the ocean and the element remains stable in the environment. Using X-ray fluorescence scanning (XRF), the researchers searched for changes in Niobium concentrations in the sediments as a fingerprint, or tracer, of past precipitation. Elevated Niobium concentrations found in the core sediments result from increased transport of Niobium-bearing sediment to the fjord by local glaciers or by the river draining the surrounding region. This is the first time Niobium sources, usually commercially exploited for steel and electronics industries, have been used as a tracer for past precipitation.

A clear climate-driven pattern in Niobium concentrations was found throughout the Narsaq Sound sediment record. Concentrations were high following retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the early Holocene (around 11,600 years ago). After comparing the Narsaq Sound record with other records containing a signal of the NAO, the authors found the only explanation for this was that over south western Greenland, precipitation was higher but temperatures lower when the NAO was in a positive phase. “What surprised us most,” says lead author Dr. Johan Faust, “was the persistence of the signal: we can trace the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on southern Greenland’s hydroclimate over the thousands of years.”

If this relationship holds in the future this has important implications for the future dynamics of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Some models predict more consistently NAO positive phases under a warming climate. This may increase precipitation in southwestern Greenland, potentially promoting growth of local glaciers despite ongoing climate warming

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-026-77084-0

Article Title

Persistent influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on Late Holocene hydroclimate in southwestern Greenland

 

‘Move away’ and ‘stop that!’: Wild elephants use a rich gestural repertoire intentionally to “mean business”

Elephants check whether others are paying attention, wait for a response and persist with further gestures when their apparent goal is not met

University of Portsmouth

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 The male elephant on the right performs an Ear Flap to the other male on the left. 

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Credit: Credit: Vesta Eleuteri

The study, published in Animal Cognition, is the first systematic investigation of intentional gestural communication in wild African savannah elephants. Researchers observed elephants in competitive contexts in Addo Elephant National Park and Marakele National Park in South Africa, carrying out more than 90 hours of observation and recording around 840 individual gesture instances.

The researchers found that elephants were gesturing intentionally in a recipient-directed and goal-directed way. They visually checked whether another elephant was attending to them before and during gesturing, adapted their gesture modality according to the recipient’s visual attention, waited for a response, and produced further gestures when the recipient did not respond in a way that satisfied their apparent goal.

Dr Lucy Bates  from the University of Portsmouth, co-author of the study, said: "Tracking and understanding that communication is not easy - it takes a lot of painstaking work. So, to have identified so many different gesture types - as ways of communicating clear messages to 'move away', or ‘stop what you are doing’ - is really exciting. We humans use gesture all the time to get our meaning across to people we are talking to. Knowing that elephants also use these signals to communicate with each other suggests gesturing could be a feature of highly intelligent animals that have complex social lives.”

Vesta Eleuteri from the University of Vienna, lead author of the study, said: “If you spend time observing wild elephants, you can’t help but notice their conspicuous gestures. They may fling their trunk or spread their ears wide, and you intuitively understand that ‘they mean business’. But until now, we didn’t know whether wild elephants were using these gestures to communicate intentionally.

Here we find for the first time that, in competitive situations, wild elephants use intentionally over 40 different gesture types made up of 32 gesture actions to achieve two main goals. They ask their recipients to ‘Move away’ or ‘Stop what they’re doing’.”

Of the 33 gesture types recorded in successful communications, 21 (64 per cent) were used for both meanings, suggesting that elephants do not rigidly use gestures with a single goal, but rather communicate flexibly.

Vesta Eleuteri added: "Such extensive, flexible gestural repertoires have previously been shown in apes and a few other primates. Finding the same in elephants is particularly exciting because elephants are so evolutionarily distant from primates. It suggests that sophisticated gestural communication may have evolved convergently in species that share advanced intelligence and complex social lives."

The study compared the gestures used by two South African populations and their findings with the ElephantVoices database based on observations from populations in Kenya and Mozambique.

Vesta said: “The populations shared the same gesture types, suggesting that elephants may share a common gestural ‘vocabulary’ across populations”.

The researchers say the findings provide a foundation for understanding intentional gestural communication in wild elephants and highlight the need for further research into how elephants use gestures in other contexts.

Prof Angela Stoeger from the University of Vienna, senior author of the study who mainly studies vocal communication in elephants said: These findings underscore why studying multiple modalities is essential. In the future, studying the interplay of acoustic, visual, tactile, and seismic signals, together with context, will finally reveal their messages".

Elephants face several conservation challenges, including habitat loss leading to conflict with humans. The findings carry conservation implications.

Dr Bates concludes: “This work is important because humans and elephants increasingly come into contact with each other, as human populations expand in elephant range-states. Understanding how elephants communicate when they’re feeling threatened could help us better read their intentions or recognise when they don’t want us around, giving us the chance to move away before interactions become dangerous”.

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Journal

Animal Cognition

DOI

10.1007/s10071-026-02108-7

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Elephant gestural communication during agonistic interactions: repertoire, intentionality, and goals

The male elephant on the right performs an Ear Flap to the younger male on the left.

Credit

Credit: Vesta Eleuteri

 

Plating matters: How sauce placement can make a dish appear healthier

Researchers found that placing sauces separately can make a dish appear healthier even before tasting

Keio University Global Research Institute

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The sturgeon-filet dish presented using two different sauce arrangements: minimal plating (left) with sauces placed separately on the plate, and drizzle presentation (right), with sauces distributed across the plate and around the food.

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Credit: Motoki et al. (2026) Image link: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15173081

Our experience of eating is shaped by the combined influence of vision, smell, touch, and taste. The way food is presented can shape diners’ expectations before they even taste it. Visual features, such as arrangement and esthetic design, can influence perceptions of taste, quality, healthiness, and overall appeal. Although previous studies have examined factors such as plate size, arrangement, and neatness, relatively little attention has been given to sauce presentation. Sauces can serve as both flavor additions and visual elements, and their placement may shape how diners perceive and interact with a dish.

To investigate these effects, researchers led by Dr. Kosuke Motoki of the Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University, Japan, examined how chef-designed sauce presentations influence consumers’ evaluations of a dish. The research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kohei Yamaguchi and Dr. Haruka Tohara of the Department of Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, and Dr. Shin-ichi Ishikawa of the Department of Food Science and Business, Miyagi University, Japan, along with Chef Tatsuya Noda of the PLUM KNOT Co., Ltd., Japan. Their findings were published in Volume 15, Issue 17 of the journal Foods on August 31, 2026.

The idea for the study grew from discussions among Dr. Motoki, Dr. Yamaguchi, Dr. Ishikawa, and Chef Noda about food artistry and plating at 8go, the restaurant at Gastronomy Innovation Campus Tokyo (GIC Tokyo), where the study was later conducted. GIC Tokyo, developed in partnership with Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd., provides a collaborative setting for researchers, chefs, and industry partners.

“Our study involved 57 participants in a real restaurant setting at 8go, where we evaluated the same sturgeon-fritter dish presented with two different sauce arrangements. Sturgeon aquaculture is primarily oriented toward caviar production, while sturgeon meat is less commercially prominent. Its fuller use may improve resource efficiency, placing the study in a sustainability-oriented culinary context,” explains Dr. Motoki.

Participants evaluated a sturgeon-filet dish in two ways. In the minimal plating condition, sauces were placed separately on the plate, while in the drizzle presentation condition, sauces were distributed across the plate and around the food. Each participant experienced both versions, allowing the researchers to compare individual responses. The dish was prepared in collaboration with a professional chef from a restaurant recognized with a Michelin Green Star.

Before tasting, participants rated various measures including expected tastiness, perceived healthiness, intention to eat, overall liking, perceived artistic presentation, and willingness to pay. Minimal plating produced a significantly higher perceived healthiness rating than drizzle presentation: 4.65/7 compared with 4.05/7. This difference remained significant after correction for multiple comparisons.

“We observed that minimal plating made the same dish appear healthier, showing how small visual details can influence our first impressions of the food,” notes Dr. Motoki.

No significant differences were found in the other pre-tasting measures. After tasting, minimal presentation received higher ratings for overall liking and intention to eat more, but these differences did not remain significant after correction for multiple comparisons and were therefore considered preliminary.

One possible explanation for the pre-consumption healthiness finding could be visual simplicity. The minimal presentation may appear less visually dense, potentially associating it with qualities such as simplicity or naturalness. Additionally, separately placed sauces may also give diners greater control over how much sauce they use, which could influence the eating experience. However, these mechanisms were not directly measured.

The findings offer a practical direction for evidence-based food presentation in restaurants and hospitality. “By bringing together researchers, a professional chef, and 8go as a real-world research setting within GIC Tokyo, we were able to examine how chef-designed plating shapes diners’ evaluations before and after tasting,” says Dr. Motoki. These findings show that sauce placement can help communicate a healthier impression. The preliminary post-tasting results also provide a starting point for investigating whether presentation and the way diners use the sauce may influence enjoyment.

Importantly, the researchers emphasize that looking healthier does not necessarily mean being nutritionally healthier. Further studies across different foods, plating styles, and dining environments are needed to gain deeper insights.

 

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Reference

Title of original paper: How Chef‑Designed Plating Shapes Consumer Evaluations of a Dish in a Real Restaurant Setting

Journal: Foods

DOI: 10.3390/foods15173081

 

About Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI), Japan
The Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI), established in November 2016, serves as a university-wide platform connecting faculties and graduate schools. It promotes interdisciplinary and international collaborative research that transcends academic and geographic boundaries, while disseminating research outcomes both domestically and globally.

In 2024, Keio University launched the Program for Forming Japan’s Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS), funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), under the vision of becoming a “research university that forges the common sense of the future.” Through this initiative, KGRI is strengthening research infrastructure to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration, promoting the societal implementation of research, and fostering a research ecosystem that enables collaboration across the university and with leading institutions in Japan and abroad.

Website: https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/org/kgri/

 

About Associate Professor Kosuke Motoki from Keio University
Kosuke Motoki is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University, Japan. His research focuses on consumer psychology, sensory and consumer science, particularly how sensory cues influence consumer perceptions and eating behavior. His work has been recognized with the 2023 Ando Momofuku Award in Japan and the 2023 Food Quality and Preference Award for Contributions by a Researcher of the Future.

 

Funding information
This research received no external funding.

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Journal

Foods

DOI

10.3390/foods15173081

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

How Chef‑Designed Plating Shapes Consumer Evaluations of a Dish in a Real Restaurant Setting

COI Statement

Tatsuya Noda is employed by PLUM KNOT Co., Ltd. The company was commissioned and paid by the researchers to prepare the food materials used in this study. Tatsuya Noda participated in the preparation of the food materials. PLUM KNOT Co., Ltd., did not provide funding for this study and had no involvement in the study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of the results, writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

 

Value-aligned messages increased COVID-19 vaccination intentions, study finds

Oregon State University

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COVID-19 vaccination clinic

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Credit: Theresa Hogue, Oregon State University

BEND, Ore. – Vaccine-hesitant adults were more likely to consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine when public health messages acknowledged distrust of government and affirmed values such as personal liberty, a new study found.

Researchers at Oregon State University-Cascades developed vaccination messages tailored to values commonly held by vaccine-hesitant individuals – those that delay accepting or refuse vaccinations despite them being available – and tested them in two online surveys involving 1,170 unvaccinated U.S. adults in spring 2021 as vaccines became widely available.

In the first survey, the proportion of participants who said they would get vaccinated as soon as possible after reading a message that acknowledged distrust of government increased by 16 percentage points. In the second survey, after hearing a message that affirmed the value of personal liberty, the proportion of participants who said they were more likely to get vaccinated increased by nearly 8 percentage points.

The study’s authors, Christopher Wolsko, an associate professor of psychology, and Elizabeth Marino, an associate professor of anthropology, emphasized that the approach is not about persuading people to take a specific action.

“We’re not saying this is a way to get people to take the vaccine, but it is a way to create the conditions for information to be heard and considered,” Wolsko said. “Our background research that led to this article indicates that the experience of distrust is often rooted in personal experiences – like feeling dismissed or discriminated against in a health care setting – rather than exposure to mis- or disinformation.”

Marino said that even a brief acknowledgement that people’s fears and feelings of distrust are valid can completely change the likelihood that the next part of a conversation will go well.

“Especially in today’s highly polarized social environment, we think people are constantly trying to determine whether someone poses a threat,” she said. “When you authentically reduce that threat, they become more open to considering new information.”

The study, published in PLOS One, supports a broader communication strategy that aligns messages with audience values. Marino and Wolsko say the approach applies beyond public health, including efforts to encourage safe firearm storage as a suicide prevention measure, conservation behaviors among climate change skeptics, and more inclusive attitudes toward rural individuals among urban centers of higher education – all areas they have studied.

For the COVID study, the researchers conducted focus groups with vaccine-hesitant adults in early 2021 and identified three recurring concerns for their hesitancy: distrust of institutions, concerns about personal liberty and freedom of choice and a desire to protect and reconnect with family.

From this analysis, they developed four messaging slogans:

• Government – “You don’t have to trust the government, here are the facts.”
• Families – “Everybody wants to get back to their families,” which affirmed people’s concerns about maintaining normal family life.
• Choice – “It’s your life, it’s your choice.”
• Liberty – “COVID and politicians: Don’t tread on me.”

They also developed a control message: “First, consider the following information about the COVID-19 vaccines from physicians at the Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”

Participants were randomly assigned to view one of the value-based slogans in large, bold font or the control message before receiving one page of information from the Mayo Clinic and CDC about COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers measured individuals’ attitudes in a few different ways, including by asking them how likely it was that they would get vaccinated on a six-point scale, ranging from “I will definitely NOT get the vaccine” to “I am certain that I’ll get the vaccine.”

Findings included:

• In the first survey, 49.5% of participants in the control group said they would get the vaccine as soon as possible. That increased to 65.6% among participants who received the government slogan. Rates also increased among participants who received the families (58.1%) and choice (55.1%) slogans.  (The first survey did not include the liberty slogan.)
• In the second survey, 40.7% of participants in the control group indicated they would get the vaccine as soon as possible. That increased to 48.5% in the liberty slogan group and 45.2% in the government slogan group. Rates were lower among participants who received the families (39.4%) and choice (39%) slogans.

Marino and Wolsko, co-directors of the Laboratory for the American Conversation at OSU-Cascades, caution against viewing the approach as merely a tool of persuasion or manipulation. Their goal is to better understand the values and perceptions of risk that shape public attitudes and, in turn, improve public discourse.

“Our findings suggest that understanding and empathizing with the authentic experiences of vaccine-hesitant individuals can make communication around health policy less defensive, less volatile and more open to new information – for both sides of the issue,” Wolsko said.

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Journal

PLOS One

Article Title

Incorporating public values into public health communications: Effects of value affirmations on intentions to vaccinate and trust in the U.S.

 

Plant diversity as insurance against climate change: Loss of diversity in grasslands could lead to 15 percent less CO₂ uptake in 2050

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

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A substantial loss of plant diversity could mean that grasslands worldwide, including meadows and pastures, would absorb around 15 percent less CO₂ through photosynthesis by mid-century compared to a scenario in which diversity is maintained. In some of the most affected regions, CO₂ uptake through photosynthesis could decline by 50 percent, even in a scenario in which global warming remains below 2°C. The findings were published today in a new peer-reviewed study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Kiel University (CAU) in PNAS.

“Climate change could reduce the productivity of plants that at the moment dominate pastures and meadows. But if plant diversity is maintained, other plants that cope better with climate impacts have the chance to become more prominent and stem the decline,” explained Stephen Wirth, PIK researcher and lead author of the study.

“It’s not just about the lower rates of photosynthesis, but losing plant diversity also reduces forage supply for grazing animals, which in turn can threaten the livelihoods of people who depend on livestock grazing. Soils also store less carbon and contribute less to limiting global warming,” Wirth added.

Local experiments have previously shown that plant diversity supports grassland productivity. This study built on that work, using a global vegetation model to investigate how the loss of diversity affects CO₂ uptake and soil carbon storage under climate change. The researchers compared how grasslands develop with maintained versus strongly reduced plant diversity. In the model, the researchers assumed an extreme loss of plant diversity to investigate its potential consequences. They examined two climate scenarios with global warming of below 2 and around 4°C.

Substantial differences by 2050

Under 2°C of warming, grasslands with strongly reduced diversity take up around 11 billion tonnes less CO₂ per year through photosynthesis in 2050 than grasslands where diversity is maintained. This reduction in uptake would be comparable to losing an area of grassland with average productivity roughly the size of the Arctic Tundra. The model also projects lower soil carbon stocks where diversity is reduced.

Particularly large differences in CO₂ uptake in 2050 are evident in many tropical and subtropical regions. In these areas, grasslands with strongly reduced diversity take up as much as 50 percent less CO₂ than those where diversity is maintained. The extent to which grasslands benefit from diversity varies across regions.

“In some regions, remaining plants can compensate for the loss of other plant types, and productivity may even increase. Globally, however, the benefits of maintaining diversity prevail in both climate scenarios,” commented Susanne Rolinski, PIK researcher and co-author of the study.

The researchers caution that the exact magnitude of these effects remains uncertain because the model simplifies plant traits and interactions.

“To maintain grassland productivity under climate change, we need management practices that preserve existing diversity over the long term and prevent overgrazing,” said Friedhelm Taube, researcher at Kiel University and co-author of the study.

“Agricultural policy should support farmers in adapting their farms to climate change accordingly. This can help strengthen the livelihoods of people who depend on livestock grazing, particularly in the Global South,” Taube concluded.

Article: Wirth, S. B., Müller, C., Taube, F., Heinke, J., Tietjen, B., Rolinski, S. (2026): Global grassland productivity and carbon storage benefit from functional diversity under climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2528067123

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Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2528067123

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Article Title

Global grassland productivity and carbon storage benefit from functional diversity under climate change.

Article Publication Date

7-Oct-2026