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Volume 10 Issue 4, April 2017

Planetary materials reveal variation in iron isotope composition across planetary bodies. Experiments suggest that this variation can be explained by varying degrees of fractionation during core formation, depending on temperature. The image shows a scanning electron microscope image of an iron isotope exchange experiment: a bright semi-spherical metal which simulates a planets core is found next to a grey, quenched silicate, representing a magma ocean. The black region is the graphite sample container.

Article p317

IMAGE: STEPHEN M. ELARDO

COVER DESIGN: TULSI VORALIA

Editorial

  • Hidden under many kilometres of silicate mantle material, the cores of Earth and other planets are hard to investigate. The Psyche spacecraft, designed to visit a metal body that may be a core stripped of its mantle, could bring a close-up view.

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Correspondence

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News & Views

  • The geological record preserves scant evidence for early plate tectonics. Analysis of eclogites — metamorphic rocks formed in subduction zones — in the Trans-Hudson mountain belt suggests modern-style subduction may have operated 1,800 million years ago.

    • Clare Warren
    News & Views
  • Mineral dust particles interact with solar and terrestrial radiation. Statistical analyses of observational data and global simulations reveal that atmospheric dust is coarser than previously thought, and could cause warming of the atmosphere.

    • Paul Ginoux
    News & Views
  • Freezing and thawing of soils leads to large pulses of nitrous oxide release. An empirical model shows that cropland winter nitrous oxide emissions are substantial, calling for a revision of the global nitrous oxide budget.

    • Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
    • Benjamin Wolf
    News & Views
  • Variability of iron isotopes among planetary bodies may reflect their accretion or differentiation histories. Experiments suggest nickel may be the ingredient controlling iron isotope signatures, supporting fractionation during core formation.

    • Paolo A. Sossi

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    News & Views
  • Over 70% of the volcanism on Earth occurs beneath an ocean veil. Now, robotic- and fibre-optic-based technologies are beginning to reveal this deep environment and identify subaqueous volcanoes as rich sources of sulfur, carbon dioxide and life.

    • Deborah Kelley
    News & Views
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Perspective

  • The atmosphere can hold more water in a warming climate, which may lead to more extreme rainfall events. An analysis suggests that links ofrainfall extremes with daily temperature variations do not provide a reliable basis for projections.

    • Xuebin Zhang
    • Francis W. Zwiers
    • Alex J. Cannon
    Perspective
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