In South Asia, a region facing rapid economic growth, immense population pressure, and high climate vulnerability, the circular economy (CE) has become a critical imperative for sustainable development. This study provides a comparative overview of the CE landscape across eight South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The analysis reveals the CE transition is nascent region-wide, though India has advanced its policy landscape through a comprehensive suite of rules and missions and Pakistan is developing a national policy. The primary focus remains on waste management, evidenced by programs like Bhutan’s ‘Zero Waste by 2030’ vision, the Maldives’ Single-Use Plastic Phase-Out Plan, and Sri Lanka’s Clean Sri Lanka Programme. While Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is emerging for plastics and e-waste in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, a significant “policy-practice gap” persists, undermined by weak enforcement and governance fragmented across priority sectors like plastics, food systems, and textiles. Most major CE initiatives are catalyzed by international development partners, with regional programs playing a key role in funding innovation. Finally, while the informal sector is the backbone of material recovery, ensuring a just transition that improves working conditions and secures livelihoods remains a critical challenge. The absence of a cohesive regional framework limits collaboration. Scaling the circular economy in South Asia requires integrated national strategies, prioritizing a just transition for the informal sector, and establishing a regional platform for policy harmonization to create self-sustaining system through multi-sectoral involvement, including the business sector.

Booking for the EIG 2026 Conference in Liverpool is now open: https://www.eigconferences.com/ There will be the usual plenary opening session, including an introduction to the geology of North West England by Professor Peter Burgess, University of Liverpool, and the Ansel Dunham Memorial Lecture by Fiona McEvoy of NWS. This will be followed by parallel sessions, from a variety of geotechnical and quarry design case studies and overviews of professional practice to prospecting, geomorphological quarry restoration, low carbon resources and the water environment. Conference programme can be downloaded here: https://www.eigconferences.com/s/EIG-2026-Liverpool-Programme-May6th.pdf Delegate booking, trade stands and sponsorship opportunities are here: https://www.eigconferences.com/2026-conference NB Delegate Early Bird deadline 30th June 2026.

We run in-person continuing professional development (CPD) sessions for primary teachers from our London and Keyworth offices. If you’re a teacher following the National Curriculum in England or Wales and want to get to grips with rocks, fossils, mountains, volcanoes and other geology teaching in the primary curriculum, join us for a session of lessons and demos you can take straight into the classroom. There are Primary Science Teacher CPD sessions on Rocks, fossils and soils on Thursday 18th June and Wednesday 1st July 2026 The following sessions are available, please click on the links to reserve your place: Thursday 18 June – Natural History Museum, London Rocks, fossils and soils Wednesday 1 July – BGS Keyworth Rocks, fossils and soils Thursday 2nd July – BGS Keyworth Plate tectonics, volcanoes and earthquakes Relative topics public engagement

UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography honored more than 200 graduating students this month for their outstanding academic achievements at this year’s Scripps Recognition Ceremonies. The graduates’ time at Scripps Institution of Oceanography equipped them with an array of expertise in ocean and atmospheric science, climate science, marine biology, earth sciences, science policy, conservation and more. Scripps graduates gathered at Pawka Green on June 12 for festivities celebrating the completion of their respective degree programs alongside friends, families, faculty and mentors. The Scripps recognition ceremonies celebrated students graduating from Scripps Oceanography’s PhD, Master of Science (MS) and Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) degree programs, as well as those earning degrees from Scripps’ four undergraduate programs. Scripps alumnus Thomas C. Fu, MS ‘88, executive director of the Office of Naval Research, gave the alumni commencement address at the graduate recognition ceremony and Scripps alumnus Edgar Ramirez Manriquez, BS ‘16, environmental planner with the City of San Diego, delivered the alumni commencement address at the undergraduate recognition ceremony. The celebrations continued the following day at UC San Diego’s All Campus Commencement at RIMAC Field. Nobel laureate and UC San Diego alumnus Fred Ramsdell, BS ’83, served as the keynote speaker at the June 13 event. We asked several graduates from the Class of 2026 about their college experience, where they’re headed next and what advice they have for future students. Dante Capone, PhD in Biological Oceanography Dante Capone earned his PhD in biological oceanography from Scripps Oceanography with an interdisciplinary specialization in visual arts. He is now a postdoctoral research fellow at the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, where he is studying the impacts of wildfires on Lake Tahoe and how microbial communities shape lake health. Reflecting on his time at Scripps, Capone said, “I started my PhD in the heart of COVID in 2020. Being able to witness the vibrant return to the Scripps campus and engage with the rich intellectual, social, creative and active culture was the most rewarding experience. I love being able to interact with so many different scientific disciplines and delve into deep philosophical or research topics over a sunset beverage. It was a privilege to go on many transformative and awe-inspiring scientific cruises right out of San Diego.” Capone’s advice for future students: Scripps has everything and anything you could need to be at the cutting edge of ocean research. You are truly only limited by your motivation and creativity — the community is supportive of your success, so don’t hesitate to reach out for help! You can connect with Capone on Instagram. Michael Demarte, Master of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Michael Demarte earned his Master of Advanced Studies in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (MAS MBC) from Scripps. His capstone project, ReelMark, is an app designed to assist recreational anglers in staying within California's recreational fishing regulations. Demarte is currently a business process support intern at Dolphin Labs, a marine tech startup, and hopes to pursue a business development role in the marine tech field while continuing to build out ReelMark. Looking back on his time at Scripps, Demarte said, “My favorite memory was going to the Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability on Catalina Island with my cohort. We did hands-on research and got to experience the marine protected areas firsthand, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of learning environment that became a core memory.” Demarte’s advice for future students: Take advantage of your study breaks and get down to the ocean, learn to surf, snorkel the cove and get out of your comfort zone. You can connect with Demarte on LinkedIn and Instagram. Jade Felicidario, BS in Environmental Systems As a UC San Diego undergraduate student, Jade Falicidario majored in environmental systems chemistry in the ESYS program. Her senior project, conducted alongside Scripps postdoctoral scholar Yiqun Ma in the Benmarhnia Climate Epidemiology lab, analyzed the effects of pollen exposure on allergic rhinitis and asthma-related acute care in La Jolla. This summer, Felicidario will serve as a guide for the Outback Adventures Wilderness Orientation program at UC San Diego. In the fall, she will return to Scripps as part of the BS/MS contiguous program, working with the Benmarhnia Lab to quantify the role of Santa Ana and Diablo winds on heat-related hospitalizations during off-summer months in California. Reflecting on her undergraduate experience, Felicidario said, “My favorite part about my undergraduate experience was getting to explore my interests through different avenues, such as research, outdoor leadership and creative pursuits. I am extremely fortunate to have found a community of inspiring, supportive and motivated individuals here at Scripps and UC San Diego, and I am grateful for the opportunity to return back to Scripps for another year.” Felicidario’s advice for future students: “Stay curious, focus on fostering genuine connection, and always put yourself out there. There is a place for you wherever you go and you are surrounded by an abundance of growth opportunities and like-minded individuals, so soak in the stoke!” You can connect with Felicidario on LinkedIn. Julia Hagedorn, MS in Marine Biology Julia Hagedorn received her master of science (MS) degree in marine biology from Scripps, where her research focused on culturing beneficial coral reef bacteria and testing restorative biohybrid materials for natural and synthetic coral reefs. Hagedorn has accepted a position at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center as a genetics technician in the Fisheries Resources Division, where she will assist with analyzing and processing samples from pelagic fish species and endangered abalone species to better understand genetic diversity along the coast for stock assessments. Additionally, she will be supporting NOAA’s abalone restoration efforts as a NOAA diver. Looking back on her time at Scripps, Hagedorn said, “I was fortunate to participate in two fieldwork seasons with the 100 Island Challenge, a long-standing time series project that monitors coral reefs through photogrammetry and tissue sampling. During this work, I traveled to Curaçao with an incredible team of researchers and colleagues, and I will always look back fondly on the memories and experiences we shared. I also had the privilege of being part of the Wegley Kelly Lab. My advisor always planned the best post-work beach activities.” Hagedorn’s advice for future students: Talk to those around you, get to know your peers, professors, and cohort … you never know where casual conversations can lead! You can connect with Hagedorn on Instagram. Brian Keller, BS in Environmental Systems As a UC San Diego undergraduate student, Brian Keller studied environmental chemistry in the ESYS program. He conducted research in the Kubiak Lab in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where he investigated catalysts to electrochemically convert carbon dioxide to carbon-neutral fuel products. In the fall, Keller will begin a PhD program in inorganic chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, where he plans to continue researching catalysts for the sustainable production of fuel and fertilizer. Reflecting on his undergraduate experience, Keller said, “I most enjoyed the passion and camaraderie that everyone brings to Scripps. Everyone I know at Scripps truly cares about what they study, and there are so many people here doing interesting and impactful work. I also love being able to explore the tide pools, beach and sage scrub between classes, and I appreciate the opportunities I’ve had for experiential learning in the field, especially at the UC Natural Reserves. From UC San Diego as a whole, my favorite memories are from guiding trips with Outback Adventures, being involved in student-led community gardens on campus and doing research in the lab.” Keller’s advice for future students: Seek out unique experiences and take every opportunity you can. Go meet people, join labs, volunteer, do field work, learn to surf and anything else that interests you while you’re here, even if it's not something you plan to continue after graduation. Eric Pham, BS in Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Eric Pham graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelor's degree in oceanic and atmospheric sciences, alongside a second major in data science. His research at Scripps focused on climate modeling through his work in the Climate Analytics Lab led by Scripps atmospheric physicist Duncan Watson-Parris. In September, Pham will begin a PhD program in the Earth System Science Department at Stanford University, where he will join Assistant Professor Yuan Wang’s group to study the impact of aerosols on deep convective cloud and rain systems using machine learning and numerical modeling. Reflecting on his time at Scripps, Pham said, “Aside from the amazing views from campus, the friends and academic mentors that I had at UC San Diego were really what made my undergrad experience so rewarding. My friendships helped me grow tremendously as a person, while my mentors gave me opportunities, guidance and wisdom that really helped me further my career in science. I wouldn't be where I am today if I had not met these people.” Pham’s advice for future students: Many career-defining academic experiences present themselves by chance — a cold email, a random posting on a website, a department announcement — so don't be afraid to try your luck if you see anything that interests you. You can connect with Pham on LinkedIn. Greta Schultz, Master of Advanced Studies in Climate Science and Policy Greta Schultz earned her Master of Advanced Studies in Climate Science and Policy (MAS CSP) from Scripps. Her capstone project explored the sustainability of data center growth in Illinois, examining how increasing electricity demand intersects with grid reliability, extreme weather and climate stressors, and the state’s broader climate goals. Following graduation, Schultz will move to Chicago to work as an associate air quality consultant with Environmental Resources Management, supporting air quality modeling, permitting and environmental compliance projects. Reflecting on her MAS program experience, Schultz said, “One of the most rewarding parts of my time at Scripps has been the people. Being surrounded by such a supportive and motivated cohort made the experience incredibly meaningful, and some of my favorite memories include spending time at the beach between classes and happy hours with friends.” Schultz’s advice for future students: Take full advantage of everything the program has to offer. The year goes by quickly, so make time for both the academic experience and the community around you. You can connect with Schultz on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are key agents regulating global hydroclimate and extreme precipitation. Climate models project the increase and intensification of ARs in a warming climate, but their responses to CO2 mitigation remain unclear. Based on large-ensemble climate model experiments in which CO2 concentrations are systematically increased and then decreased, we show that AR frequency and intensity do not fully return to their present-day states when CO2 concentrations are reduced. Instead ARs are projected to remain more frequent and intense, particularly along the western coasts of North America, Europe and South America, in East Asia, and along the Antarctic coast, leading to increased extreme precipitation in the midlatitudes and potential impacts on Antarctic ice mass balance. The hysteresis pattern of AR frequency results from the competition between effects of thermodynamic and dynamic processes, both of which are closely related to the delayed recovery of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the Southern Ocean temperature. Acknowledgements This work was supported by Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through project for developing and observation-based GHG emissions geospatial information map, funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (RS-2023-00232066) and by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant, funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (2023R1A2C3005607). Chanil Park was also supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (RS-2024-00406720) and partly by faculty start-up funding provided by University of Alaska Fairbanks. Model simulation and data transfer were supported by the National Supercomputing Center with supercomputing resources including technical support, the National Center for Meteorological Supercomputer of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and the Korea Research Environment Open NETwork (KREONET), respectively. Author information Authors and Affiliations School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea Seohyun Chung, Yeeun Kwon & Seok-Woo Son Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA Chanil Park Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA Chanil Park International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA Chanil Park Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA Andrew C. Winters Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China Wenhao Dong Authors Seohyun Chung View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Chanil Park View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Yeeun Kwon View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Seok-Woo Son View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Andrew C. Winters View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Wenhao Dong View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding authors Correspondence to Chanil Park or Seok-Woo Son. Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Supplementary information Supplementary Material. (download PDF ) Rights and permissions Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Reprints and permissions About this article Cite this article Chung, S., Park, C., Kwon, Y. et al. Hysteresis in global atmospheric river activity under carbon dioxide removal. npj Clim Atmos Sci (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01454-0 Download citation Received: 03 March 2026 Accepted: 02 June 2026 Published: 12 June 2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01454-0 Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Subjects Climate sciences Environmental sciences

Abstract Carbonate acidizing is a matrix stimulation technique used to enhance well productivity and injectivity by reacting carbonate formations with hydrochloric acid (HCl), generating carbon dioxide (CO2) in aqueous, liquid, gaseous, or supercritical phases depending on pressure, temperature, and fluid composition. Among the ions commonly present in carbonate–acid systems, the effects of calcium, magnesium, and chloride ions on CO2 solubility have been extensively studied. However, the specific impact of H+ remains poorly understood. In this study, acid flooding experiments were conducted at backpressures of 0.1, 2.7, and 8.2 MPa and injection rates of 1, 2, 4, and 8 mL/min at ambient temperature using 1 wt% HCl to investigate H+’s influence on CO2 solubility. Observed differential pressures between the core inlet and outlet suggest that CO2 solubility is influenced not only by calcium and chloride ions but also by the presence of H+. The findings also indicate that the formation of non-aqueous CO2 can contribute to increases in differential pressure, whereas the absence of such increases does not necessarily imply the absence of non-aqueous CO2, as it may be masked by other competing mechanisms. Furthermore, the results challenge the common assumption that maintaining backpressures above 6.9 MPa ensures complete CO2 dissolution. These insights underscore the need for further investigation into CO2 solubility in acidic, salt-containing systems using specialized measurement setups and support the development of improved predictive models that incorporate the role of H+ alongside pressure, temperature, and salt concentration. Funding The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript. Author information Authors and Affiliations Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Khojastehmehr, Arash Korivand, Mohammad Bazargan & Mohsen Masihi Authors Mohammad Khojastehmehr View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Arash Korivand View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Mohammad Bazargan View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Mohsen Masihi View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Mohammad Bazargan. Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Reprints and permissions About this article Cite this article Khojastehmehr, M., Korivand, A., Bazargan, M. et al. Influence of H+ on CO2 solubility during carbonate acidizing. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-56055-x Download citation Received: 18 February 2026 Accepted: 28 May 2026 Published: 12 June 2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-56055-x Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Keywords Stimulation Carbonates Acidizing CO2 Solubility Subjects Chemistry Environmental sciences

Abstract Maximizing the durability and reliability of offshore wind farms is essential for the clean energy transition. In this work, we demonstrate how wave energy converter (WEC) farms can shelter offshore wind farms from cyclic wave loading, resulting in significant reductions in wave-induced turbine fatigue damage. Using experimentally validated hydrodynamic models, we show that modeling WEC energy dissipation through fluid structure interactions rather than rated power provides an unbiased analysis of different architecture’s sheltering capabilities. Through the system-level model, we observe that even small reductions in wave height propagate to the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of the wind farm, resulting in a 4.94% decrease in LCOE with a 6% reduction in wave height. Additionally, WEC farms can benefit from this co-location by sharing siting costs, operation and maintenance teams, and mooring and transmission cables with the offshore wind farm. This work advances the design of integrated wind–wave systems, supporting resilient, cost-effective offshore renewables for global deployment. Acknowledgements We would like thank Dr. Alaa Ahmed and Yashaswini Mandalam for their assistance in the experimental campaign and data processing. Funding This work was funded in part by the Sea Grant Regional Research Project No.: R/ATD-18-NESG, the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability through the 2023 Summer Mentored Research Program and the 2025 FAST Grant, and the U.S. Department of Energy through Testing and Expertise in Marine Energy (TEAMER) RFTS 12. Author information Authors and Affiliations Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA Olivia Vitale Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA Maha N. Haji Authors Olivia Vitale View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Maha N. Haji View author publications Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Olivia Vitale. Ethics declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Additional information Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Supplementary Information Supplementary Information 1. (download PDF ) Rights and permissions Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Reprints and permissions About this article Cite this article Vitale, O., Haji, M.N. Wave energy converters as offshore wind farm guardians: a pathway to resilient ocean systems. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54843-z Download citation Received: 12 December 2025 Accepted: 20 May 2026 Published: 12 June 2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54843-z Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Keywords Wave energy Offshore wind Wave sheltering Subjects Energy science and technology Engineering Environmental sciences